How and when did you decide upon working within Children's Residential Care?
After my long stint in education, leaving with a keen interest in Psychology and child development, I needed to earn some money! Therefore, I began working at the local RDA Charity (Riding for the disabled) horse yard. It was here where I began to meet, work with and love spending time with young people with a connection to the care system. RDA offered these young people with various disabilities, disorders and adverse childhood experiences, an hour of there week where they could spend time with horses either riding or caring for them. This hour was their favourite hour of the week, and I adored facilitating that hour.
I then found a second job too good to miss. Rainbow Horses, an alternative education which enabled young people to spend their entire school day, learning, exploring, and enjoying a nature focused setting where animals, the outdoors and their positive relationships with the staff were the emphasis. This educational setting focused on developing a child’s emotional regulation, self-awareness, resilience, and social skills through adult-supported interaction with horses, other animals, and the natural environment. This job role, alongside my academic background opened my eyes to the world of fantastic and engaging young people who deserve caring and nurturing professionals to progress and potentially heal any missed areas of childhood development.
I then moved back North to my hometown and decided that having supported these young people throughout their hobbies and their education, Residential Care would be my next step, where I would be able to care for and support young people in every aspect of their lives. From then on, I have enjoyed each day working for North Lakes Children Services.
What is your proudest moment from Residential Care?
I think it would be an injustice to the young people I have looked after, if I didn’t say the moment(s!) I am most proud of, have been watching each of the young people I have cared for grow, progress, and develop into fantastic young adults, whom each have engaging and intelligent identities, personalities, and futures ahead of them. I have only recently this summer said goodbye to one of our longest residents of North Lakes, and it has been bittersweet to say farewell. Young people often arrive at North Lakes Children Service fearful, anxious and with an extremely low-confidence, and it has been heartwarming to see these negative emotions slowly drift and transform into feelings of safety, comfort, and self-worth.
What are your hopes and plans for Morton Lea home?
Having been lucky enough to grow up with and continue life with some form of connection to all thing’s nature, one of my biggest hopes is to be able to offer a home where there is a vast opportunity for each young person to have some form of space to explore the countryside, animals, and wildlife. I would like to be able to emphasise the benefits the natural environment can offer. I believe access to space in an environment with a focus on nature can allow young people to explore their interests and process their feelings through a wide range of activities. Through each of my previous job roles I have observed and been over-whelmed by the beneficial effects that the natural environment and interactions with animals, has to offer. These constructive interactions allow for non-verbal processing of emotions, experiences of positive relationships with others and feelings of achievement through meaningful self-selected and intrinsically motivated moments of success. It is these vital moments and experiences I hope to be able to provide at within the safe and welcoming environment of Morton Lea home.
