Meet Siobhan
Siobhan used to work in Business Travel but decided to look for a new, rewarding challenge.
How did you start working in children’s homes?
I started working in children’s home because I was looking for a new challenge. I’d worked in business travel beforehand. My sister works in children’s homes as well so I knew I was walking into. I knew it was going to be difficult, but also incredibly rewarding at the same time.
Tell me about the needs of the children you care for
The children vary. Quite a lot of them just need that stable environment and somewhere where they can flourish, where they can feel safe. That’s obviously what we provide. We care for kids that have emotional and behavioural needs, autism, ADHD, and we cater to each of their individual needs and find ways that work for them. Each child is completely individual and that’s how we treat them.
Quite a lot of the backgrounds are domestic violence, abuse and neglect. Parents themselves can struggle with their own mental health, so obviously we help the kids with the way they look at themselves because quite a lot of them have really low self-esteem when they come to us.
The children’s home gives them that stable, safe environment that they desperately need to be able to grow. We give them support with education. We make sure all the kids are in full time education where possible, and that they’ve got the right support in place to be able to go on, and that once they leave us at the age of 18 they are able to live the lives that they want to, and to achieve the outcomes and the goals that they have set for themselves.
What does a day in a home for you look like?
A day in the children’s home is in many ways as normal as your own home. You get up in the morning. You follow your morning routine, get ready for school. We support the children in taking them to school. When the kids are out, that’s when we do the normal tasks like cleaning, food shopping, preparing everything that we need for the day. We pick them up from school in the afternoon, have an evening meal. Everyone sits together. No-one’s excluded. Everyone sits together like a normal family does, and then we follow the evening routines – so whether that be them having baths, showers, and they settle into bed.
At weekends it’s things like taking them out to swimming lessons, or any other activities they’ve got planned. Quite a lot of the time we’ll take them out for walks or to theme parks or a local fair. We get them all involved in local activities around the area as well.
What do you think the children and young people need that a children’s home provides?
They need their daily routines. They like having their routines and we make sure they have an input in how they want their day to go. They have an input in the activities that are planned for them, even down to menu choices. They’ll always have a say.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part for me can sometimes be the challenging behaviours displayed by the children when you can see from the outset what might have caused that behaviour, and you know there’s a lot more underneath that needs to be worked on to support that child. Sometimes it’s about taking that step back and asking, “Where have they come from? Are they reacting this way because they’ve seen it before and they think it’s the normal way to act?” It’s about looking that little bit deeper.
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
The most rewarding part for me is seeing them achieve what they want to achieve. We’ve got one young person at the minute who’s just started his GCSEs. He’s going to college to pursue public services with the idea that afterwards he wants to become a Police Officer. So to support that we’ve got him into the Police Cadets and are working with them. I’ve had young people that have phased out from being in a children’s home and they’re now in education, college or a job. So it’s seeing them get to where they want to be, and seeing the difference from when they walked through the front door to when they leave – even the little steps in between.
Tell me about a child / young person that you remember, their journey and outcomes.
So the one young person’s journey that I remember from start to finish is from when I first started about three years ago. He’d been in the home for about two years before that, so I was there for the last stage, seeing him transitioning and growing in his independence and skills ready to move on. It was even with those little things, it’s seeing how well he was adapting and understanding that he was going to not have our support in the same way, but knowing that we would still be there for him when he had gone. It’s not a case of you walk out the front door and that’s it. We do, where possible, like to still be involved because at the end of the day we are their family. We are the people that they’ve grown up with. We can be the only family that they’ve got.
What are you career plans for the future?
For me personally in my career, I would love to take the next step from where my current role is to an Assistant Manager, and a management role. That is what I’m working on at the moment, and where I’m hoping I can step up to.
What would you like to say to someone reading this who is thinking about working in a children’s home?
It is a very rewarding job, but also at the same time it does come with its difficulties and sometimes you do have to take that step back and have a look at the bigger picture. When you’ve been challenged by something, sometimes taking that step back and considering things like, “Well, actually, two weeks ago this child wouldn’t allow me to help them make a sandwich, but now they’re asking for that help.” It’s knowing that those kids feel safe and comfortable enough to do those things with you that makes it the most rewarding part. Even little hugs at the end of the day. When you’re coming in after being off for a few days, and you’ve got three kids running towards the door just to wrap their arms around you and give you a big hug because they’re actually happy to see you, it gives you that warm feeling inside.