Meet our people - hear from our colleagues
Our staff are committed, professional people who want to make a difference to the lives of the people of Coventry.
Joining one of our friendly and supportive teams you’ll be providing a service to a highly professional standard. This is an exciting time to join us as we work to put adults and their carers at the centre of everything we do.
Lorraine – Support Worker (Axholme Services)
Hi, I am lucky to be part of the great team that works within Axholme Services. I feel old saying this, but I have worked at Coventry City Council for over 30 years. My first job was as a cook in 1988. As I settled into Axholme I quickly realised that Mental Health Services was a place I wanted to work in. I worked part-time as a Community Rehabilitation Officer for several years, fitting this role around my home life and then became a Support Worker in 2007.
We work with adults aged 18 to 65 years that have either enduring mental health issues or have been in mental health services for several years or have had their first episode of mental illness and through their illness have lost some social skills, general living skills, confidence or motivation. We are now supporting more citizens with a dual diagnosis of mental health issues and drug/alcohol addiction.
We offer support on-site 24/7 365 days per year. We also support a number of citizens that live independently in the community. We support our citizens in numerous ways, including a weekly drop-in service, home visits and support in the community. I have citizens that I “link work” with on a one-to-one basis, as do all support workers.
I am part of an experienced and dedicated team working together to assist and support citizens working towards their goals.
One of the best things about my job is watching a citizen I am working with achieve their goals and enjoy life again. I always feel humbled and privileged that the citizen has allowed me to be part of their journey and although they often experience more than one bump in the road, or even have to take a short break, I am continually astonished at their perseverance and determination to get to a place in their life they feel is theirs.
Sharron – Support Worker Promoting Independent Living Service (PILS)
Winner of the BBC radio CWR 'Make a difference awards 2022 carer award'.
I started work at The Zone in around 2016. During lockdown I came to work with Promoting Independent Living Service (PILS) at one of the residences and stayed here until the day centre restarted. Right from the minute I started I really loved it, everyone was so welcoming and helpful towards me. I loved the variety of the job even in lockdown times two days were never the same. I enjoyed it so much that I waited until a job opportunity arose and applied for it and I am now working across two tenancies for Promoting Independent Living Service (PILS).
The two tenancies are completely different, one is for independent living for eight tenants., there is a resource flat where staff are there 24 hours a day for support. We support each tenant to be as independent as possible in all aspects of living. This includes support with finance, medication, outings as well as new experiences.
The other tenancy I work at is just with one gentleman who lives on his own in a maisonette. He has 24-hour support. I along with the rest of the staff time support him to live his life to the full, he is supported with day-to-day living skills, finances, encouraging healthy eating and lots of new experiences in the community.
I love my job at Promoting Independent Living Service (PILS) I work in a fantastic team who are really supportive of each other and would highly recommend Promoting Independent Living Service (PILS) to anyone looking for a job!
Mikayla – Support Worker
My Name is Makayla I have worked for Coventry City Council for several years in various roles. I currently work within promoting independent living services, supporting tenants to live in their own home, being a valued member of their community, living the life they want to live.
My job role is extremely rewarding each day, building strong positive relationships with each tenant. Prompting independence with cooking, cleaning, shopping, attending medical appointments, prompting positive relationship with tenants' families and friends, engaging with local community events. Access volunteering roles leading to possible paid employment.
Coventry City Council provides comprehensive training to give me the right tools to carry out my duties as a professional Support Assistant. Ongoing support from Senior staff and colleagues within the team. Activity promoting career progression and opportunities.
Leanne – Social Worker in the All Age Disability Team
I began working with Coventry City Council in 2018 on the All-Age Disability team as a relatively new social worker, I have been working on this team now for four years. During these four years I have developed into an experienced social worker and had the opportunity to grow my skills to a grade 7 practitioner.
Here in Coventry, we are a vibrant, supportive team where everyone is approachable from students to senior managers. There are ample training opportunities and pathways to grow further. We work closely with other professionals and have fantastic working relationships.
It has been a privilege to support people, entering their lives at a time of crisis and working creatively with them to find person-centred support solutions.
I have recently moved to our intake team, and I absolutely love it. It can be fast-paced, and no two days are the same, but we are a wonderful team and would welcome new members. We do experience challenges as that is the nature of Social Work but having a strong team, which we do makes all the difference.
Sue – Support Co-Ordinator (Brandon Wood Farm)
Hi, my name is Sue and I have worked for Coventry City Council for over 15 years. I work at Brandon Wood Farm (BWF) as the Support Coordinator. I hope that my passion for providing an enjoyable day for the people we support is shown through the standards provided by the teams of support assistants and seniors, that I have been fortunate to work with.
BWF has always supported people with learning disabilities to manage the farm and the animals here. The people attending BWF now have very complex needs and may have Autism, which can often result in them not being able to manage in settings that we take for granted such as supermarkets, cafés, cinema etc.
Due to the unique environment BWF are able to work in ways that are truly personalised to each person. Within each group activity, a staff member may be working with a person’s anxieties along with keeping another engaged to remain with the group, which takes a lot of skills and motivation. We have recently recruited new staff to the farm, adding to the team’s knowledge and skills as they come from very different working backgrounds. We have dedicated staff working with the animals who have really developed their skills to supporting the new people attending using the caring for our animals as therapy to the people we support.
Me and my team have been provided with great opportunities to undertake training and development to keep progressing. Since starting at Coventry City Council I have seen how Coventry has developed from being ‘historic’ to a forward-thinking, thriving, multicultural city which I am proud to be part of. My current role is extremely varied which makes every day very different.
Jay – Team Leader
Hi, my name is Jay. I am a Team Leader for Axholme Services. I help lead a team of Support Workers who support people through their mental health recovery, both in our open rehabilitation unit, as well as in the community. I have only been in the field of support work for a relatively short time. I came from a completely different environment as I used to teach music at schools. I did that for around nine years previous to my current role but I have definitely found my ‘niche’ in this vocation.
I started as a Support Worker in January 2016 and within a year, I had been promoted to Senior Support Assistant as part of a secondment to another service (Promoting Independent Living Service – PILS). Although I loved my time and experience at PILS, I also recognised that my heart was in mental health. I’ve always been interested in mental health and I’ve wanted the chance to learn more about it, so being given the opportunity to lead a team of extremely skilled Support Workers was like a dream come true.
The Service supports ten placements and we also have a very successful outreach service, which we are currently expanding. This service provides support to people in the community who are living independently, but may need support with everyday things such as budgeting, organising appointments, shopping, prompting and generally keeping well. We currently have around thirty Citizens in the community who we support, and we run a drop-in service on a Tuesday at our main office
What attracted me to the service was how friendly the entire team was right from the beginning, and how highly skilled each support worker was. I remember that even during the interview process back in 2015, I was made to feel welcome and relaxed. I believe that the reason that I am a good leader is that I’m incredibly passionate about mental health and recovery, and I have a fantastic manager. I am very comfortable in my role and I hope that one day, there will be capacity there for me to move even further up the ladder. Who knows what the future holds?
Dolly – Registered Manager
Hi, My name is Dolly, I have worked for Coventry City Council for over 30 years, starting out as a care assistant in a residential home and working my way through the ranks to my current position as a Registered Manager over two Housing with Care schemes.
I have been in management positions for 26 years and I have managed Housing with care units for over 15 years now. Housing with Care has changed over time, historically we used to only support frail older people, now we support people as young as 40, with a wide range of backgrounds from learning disabilities, mental health, substance dependencies and so on. This makes my job much more challenging at times and rewarding at the same time!
As a council employee the employment conditions are very good, Training is excellent and the opportunities to progress are available if you want it and are willing to work hard. There are many other employee benefits that we can access. I have had the opportunity of working with many other different professionals both inside and outside of the organisation. This has helped me to develop my knowledge and connections in many different areas. The saying ‘you learn something new every day’ is so true.
Currently, within the Housing with care unit, I manage we have several short-term placement flats. This means that we work closely with the Hospital Discharge team and social work team to enable a safe discharge for individuals who are medically fit but not quite ready to return home. The main objective is promote and encourage individuals to be as independent as possible over a six week period. The success of short term placements is that the majority of people will return to their own homes. For me this is very satisfying that we have played a part in achieving that. Working with other professionals to enable each individual who permanently live in Housing with Care to live their life as independently as possible and being able to make their own decisions.
Debbie – Day Care Manager
Hi, My name is Debbie, I have worked for Coventry City Council for 30 years in various roles within Internally Provided Services.
Working for Coventry City Council I have been able to develop my knowledge and therefore progress in my career. I am now a manager of two day opportunities and the Coventry Telecare Responder service. I have had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of people from Learning Disabilities, mental health and dementia in different settings such as Housing with care, Residential and Day care. I started my career as a care assistant for 12 years and really loved this job but wanted to progress my career. I then applied for a job that I really didn’t think I would get as a Residential social worker within Housing With Care and was successful.
I then moved to a new service being developed in intermediate care, as a Team Leader and was successful. Aylesford was a residential reablement service for people coming out of hospital. Whilst at The Aylesford I developed my skills and abilities further, so much so that when the opportunity arose, I applied for the Assistant Manager post. I was the Assistant Manager for about 4 years.
I then undertook a secondment working with people with Learning Disabilities which was a great opportunity to work with a different client group and another feather to my cap. Once the secondment was up, I then moved into the role of Support Coordinator at Maymorn Day Centre and quickly added to this with Gilbert Richards Day Centre. I have also recently taken on the management of the Coventry Telecare Responder service which is great and a really interesting role.
Working now in day care I can see the important part we play in someone’s life. A lot of older people are socially isolated and coming to the centre helps prevents them from becoming depressed and lonely. It also provides a carer’s break for their primary carer at home.
At the day centres we do many different activities including Singing for the brain, Move and Groove, flower arranging, knitting, quizzes and many other games etc. One of the day centres I manage is for people with a diagnosis of Dementia. I found a quote that is now my motto “I may not remember what you said to me, but I will remember how you made me feel”.
There will always be challenges ahead however it is a really good feeling when you know that you have made a difference to someone’s life and that they have enjoyed their day at the centre.
Darren - Community Resources Manager
I have been working for Coventry City Council for 36 years. Currently, I am the Community Resource Manager for Learning Disability Day Opportunities and I am also the Registered Manager for the Promoting Independent Living Service (PILS). I am also a team Teach trainer and studied with the Institute of Applied Behavioural Analysis in Los Angeles, to apply non-aversive techniques to manage challenging behaviour. I also have a post Graduate qualification in Social Work Management.
I have worked hard to ensure we are offering a varied range of options for people to achieve their goals in the day, with an emphasis on being part of the local community in which they live. I am very proud that Coventry Day Opportunities have been recognised nationally in the past for many accomplishments and staff have won awards including manager of the year.
PILS is the largest service in IPS and continues to be CQC regulated as a good service that supports people to live as independently as they are able.
I am as excited today as I was 36 years ago to be working for Coventry City Council. I have had wonderful management and fantastic support all of my working life. I have had amazing training opportunities and the opportunity to advance my career.
Jason - Commissioning Manager
I’ve worked in adult social care for Coventry City Council since September 2008. In my role as a Commissioning Manager I am responsible for providing effective contracted social care provision to internal and external stakeholders. This includes operational social work teams and the individuals receiving services.
My role is to ensure that there is a strong and sustainable market for social care provision in Coventry so that people have a range of options to choose from in supporting them to meet their individual outcomes.
The Commissioning Manager’s role involves making decisions on where the City Council should spend its money as well as influencing and engaging with external organisations to develop models of support. Achieving that balance between the best use of all available resources and connecting with the aspirations of service users and carers can be a tough challenge but it’s one I embrace. I continually seek to ensure that quality and standards are maintained.
