Working in care is often seen as a “job” rather than a career with a variety of opportunities it has to offer.

Care can offer both a career and a strong sense of belonging. Because the work is people-focused and emotional, every moment teaches you something about the person you support, yourself and your role within the team. Wanting to understand people better, respond more confidently and do the right thing in complex moments is what naturally motivates us to learn more.

That learning opens doors to many different pathways within care, not just caring roles. It can lead into senior care, care practitioner and then nursing positions, as well as leadership opportunities across departments like domestic, maintenance, kitchen and administration. These are all forms of career progression we’ve seen time and time again over the years at Frome Nursing Home.

With the right training, support and belief in you, confidence grows, new skills are learned and responsibility follows. What may begin as a job can become a meaningful career, shaped by people, connection and purpose.

A Journey Built on Belief

Sarah’s story shows what’s possible when people are given the chance to grow and how, since first joining the team at Frome Nursing Home, she has grown not only in confidence and knowledge over her 7-year journey, but also in self-belief. Her passion for care has never changed; her growing confidence has come from the people around her who believed in her – even when she didn’t believe in herself. What’s mattered most to Sarah is feeling accepted for who she is and being supported as she builds a career in care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah’s Story

“I started working at Frome Nursing Home in May 2019 when I moved from Southampton, where I worked in care homes as a carer for 6 years.

I first began working in Woodlands (Frome has two separate buildings which we call “houses”, Parsonage and Woodlands, each supporting people with different care needs), where I was supporting residents who we call family members as a care assistant. I settled in straight away as it was the care I was used to giving and the team were brilliant, I settled in so quickly because they just let me be myself. I’m naturally quite loud and always laughing, and they just embraced my sense of humour and let me be me.

I quickly progressed in the same year to house lead because the home manager supported me and saw that had the leadership skills to do this role, even though I didn’t see this myself.  I’d never had any leadership training so had no idea leadership could come naturally!  I was already supporting the team without really knowing it, taking responsibility and taking an interest in the computer side of the job, enjoying understanding how important detailed care notes and communication are.

Running in the Family

After working as a house lead for 2 years, again it was pointed out to me that I showed the skills and passion to take on a care practitioner role. This was a massive change for me as it was about supporting the nurses, so after a year long care practitioner programme delivered by our training academy (Evolve Care Academy) I was handling medication, recording care and medication notes, being able to read body language for those that couldn’t communicate verbally, mobility assessments and carrying out observations on family members who needed extra care support. Being that involved gave me understanding of the many conditions our family members live with and how it affected them emotionally as well as physically.  

Alongside this I took on an induction lead responsibility also, where I really enjoyed supporting the new team members with their first 12 weeks training in our home, I really enjoyed teaching them and motivating them.

I guess my relationship with my grandad had a lot to do with it, he was a dispenser at a pharmacy (even making up prescriptions for the Queen!) and he inspired me to want to learn more about medicine.  Supporting people has always come naturally to me, as my nan always said when she felt down, she was glad she always had me to make her feel better and to make her laugh.

Present Day

I loved being a care practitioner and care side of role but as my confidence was growing so was my interest in the wider parts that made the home a home. So when an opening for the home administrator role came up, it was again our home manager that had a quiet word in my ear that this might be the next step for me.  I had to think very long and hard because although I would still be working for Frome Nursing Home, this would be a whole different type of job and as I had no administration experience listened to that voice in my head that I couldn’t do this.  But then when I started to look at what I would be doing, I realise I had the knowledge, I had computer skills that I had built through all my other roles, I knew rotas and how important it was to get that right.

So in 2024 I became Frome Nursing Homes administrator! Coming into work each day makes me feel happy, I still get to be with the team and family members so that part of what I love is still there.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of work: meeting deadlines, report running, rotas, recruitment, and marketing. The list is endless, but I enjoy the new challenges, I am learning all the time, and the team here is really supportive.

Outside of work I love banger racing, watching it, as I would love to race but I value my bones and I wouldn’t be in work on a Monday morning! I also enjoy building Lego, which I’ve shown family members pictures of, and they like to see what I’ve made.

I bring this all back to 7 years at Frome is because I feel a part of a community, dare I say a family because I can be myself, in past care homes, I felt I had to be fake. I have worked in care for 14 years now and this is the first care home where I can be my silly self and be open about my sexuality.

advice to someone who is interested in working in care is to give it a go like me, to find a role that you really want to do. I have been lucky that I’ve been supported through my career progression had the opportunity to try different pathways.”

What Social Care Needs

Sarah’s story has grown out of the opportunities she’s been given. Frome Nursing Home, as part of Evolve Care Group, offers lots of different ways for people to develop. But what Sarah doesn’t tend to talk about is what was clear from the very beginning – her values, her passion, her appetite for learning and continuing to grow and of course quite clearly how much she cares for others.

With encouragement and support, confidence grows and responsibility follows. For Sarah, that’s meant finding her place in care and the confidence to show up as herself each day. People like Sarah are what social care depends on.

For more information about Frome Nursing Home, and Current Vacancies, please visit: https://fromecarevillage.com/join-our-team/

For more information about living with us, please visit: https://fromecarevillage.com/live-with-us/