Why Jenny became a Behaviour Support Practitioner
Jenny works at Ruddington View, one of our specialist residential care homes in Nottingham. She’s a Behaviour Support Practitioner (SBSS), assessing behaviour influences for the people we support and providing solutions that promote quality of life. As part of her role at Ruddington View, Jenny also supports people at risk of hospital admission during mental health crises.
Voyage Care stood out to Jenny because of our emphasis on positive behavioural management. She’s enjoying her career progression in adult social care so far, and wants to encourage others to explore a career in care.
Jenny’s career background
My journey in social care started in 2022 with my current role at Voyage Care. I previously worked with children, and studied Psychology at university while I was living in Dubai.
At that time, I was working in a nursery as a Special Needs Teacher. When I graduated, I went on to work in learning support in schools, providing 1:1 support to children with conditions like autism, ADHA, and dyspraxia. During my time there, I completed an extra qualification in Applied Behavioural Analyses (ABA), where I learnt about positive behavioural support. Eventually, I was looking for jobs in the UK and that’s when I discovered Voyage Care.
I’m based at Ruddington View, where some of the people we support have challenging behaviours.
Through my role, I complete all behavioural assessments, as well as training the rest of the team. Training covers everything from safety intervention and drills, to positive behaviour support (PBS) and specific training relating to the mental health of people we support, such as hearing voices.
I also work with the team to implement activities that help the people we support increase their quality of life. This involves finding out their interests and reducing the need to respond to challenging incidences.
Why Voyage Care?
When looking for roles, there were a lack of behaviour specialism positions available. I noticed that Voyage Care places a big emphasis on positive behavioural management which I didn’t see in other organisations – I knew this was the path I wanted to take.
The most fulfilling part of my role is when I can help the people we support and positively impact their quality of life. You can see the positive work you’ve put in has changed their life, and it’s empowering for the rest of the team too. Whether that’s making sure the person we support has the right money to go shopping with, or planning a holiday with them, it’s a feeling that can’t be matched. I get so excited when I see them smile!
Why do you think someone should work for Voyage Care?
It’s a big company that gives you a lot of opportunities – whether you’re coming in as a Support Worker or want to work in the behavioural team like me.
Everyone I’ve met in the leadership and management teams are passionate in supporting career progression. You’ve always got options for further development. I’m currently studying Psychotherapy alongside my role, which Voyage Care has funded.
Our leadership teams are caring and helpful, which sometimes you don’t get in other workplaces. I haven’t really experienced this where I’ve worked before, and it’s refreshing to feel valued and empowered to succeed.
The team at Ruddington View are passionate about what they do. I know some people working as Support Workers think it’s just a job, but the team here are dedicated to always going that little bit further! They want to be here, and they want to help make a difference.
Jenny’s advice to someone who is looking to apply for a role in care
If you are interested in care, and you have all the right morals and values needed for this sector, that’s all you need as a base to get started!
You’ve got to be caring, vigilant and sensitive to people’s needs, and appreciate people for being who they are! It’s so important to treat people as people, regardless of what disability they have.
Until joining Voyage Care, I hadn’t worked in adult care before – so it was completely new to me. It was overwhelming at the beginning and there was a lot to take in. But once you start working with such incredible people, you know you’ve made the right decision.
Learn more about our roles!
We have a range of career opportunities across the UK. If you are interested in joining Voyage Care, view our latest vacancies and start your next best decision today!