Real stories from real people
Find out if you have what it takes from our case studies below.
Jackie Banwell
Foster Panel Coordinator
Jackie works as a Foster Panel Coordinator for the fostering service in Carmarthenshire. Her role involves recruiting foster carers and taking them through the various stages to become a foster carer and onto panel where they are approved. She finds her role very fulfilling and enjoys meeting potential and new foster carers.
Q1. How long have you worked in the fostering team?
Twelve years in the fostering team. I started working for social care and housing as it was previously called and have worked for twenty-one years in Carmarthenshire local authority, first as an administrative assistant and then I progressed to fostering recruitment on a secondment and this is where I still work.
Q2. What is the main role of the fostering team you work with?
We support our current foster carers and support the recruitment of new foster carers. We are a mix of supervising social workers and recruitment social workers, and we all get along really well.
Richard Bartlett
Foster Carer
Richard grew up in foster care and always wanted to give something back to the foster family and local authority that saved his life.
Richard and his wife have two children and they have supported 69 placements and 74 children over the past eleven years. Many of the children they have fostered have complex needs and learning disabilities. Richard is also a foster mentor and helps and supports new foster carers on their fostering journey.
Have you experienced any challenges as a foster carer?
One challenge we had was when we looked after a child who was from a Muslim background. We had to alter our household and support his Muslim culture while still living our own culture. We supported and respected his religion and culture which was very different to our own and we supported him through Ramadan. It was quite difficult, but we got there in the end.
What is the age range of the children you have fostered?
The first child we had was four and now we have an eighteen-year-old. Some children and young people we have fostered have had complex needs. We have also gone into hospital and looked after children in hospital as well.
What has been your most rewarding moment?
Every day is a standout moment. We had one child with disabilities, and he came to us and could not use a knife and fork, was on medication and was shaking a lot and could not write, and two years on he is off all medication and is learning every day, it is lovely to see.
Keneuoe Morgan
Deputy Manager at Hafod Mawddach Residential Home
Keneuoe is originally from Lesotho. She moved to Bala in 1997 and began working for Gwynedd Council, where she took advantage of the opportunity to learn Welsh at Aberystwyth University, becoming fluent in the language in 2000. Keneuoe now works in a care home, supporting people with dementia and complex needs.
Promoting people’s rights and focusing on the person and what’s important to them is an important part of Keneuoe’s role. By communicating with residents in their preferred language, Keneuoe is able to build relationships with and support them, which helps them maintain their well-being.
Catrin Jones Williams
Nursery Child Care Manager
Providing compassionate and thoughtful care to nursery children is Catrin's passion and purpose.
Describing her role as a privilege, the manager of Camau Bach explains how her apprenticeship accelerated her career and enabled her to transition into a senior care role.
Driven by a genuine devotion to care for children and their families, Catrin recognised that she needed to refresh her existing skill set to suit a nursery setting and undertook a Level 3 Apprenticeship.
The training provided her with a background in nursery education and equipped her with the skills needed to support her team.
Her drive to make a difference and her dedicated approach makes Catrin an asset to the care sector.
We care Will you?
Courteney Farley from Pineshield gives us a taster of her role as a Home Care Worker and how she makes a difference to people's day everyday. We'd like to thank Tommy Rhys-Powell for acting as the care receiver in this TV advert, Tommy's from The Hijinx Actors.
Gaynor Richards
Childminder
Gaynor began childminding after having two children of her own and being asked by some of her friends if she could look after their children too.
Susan James
Senior Childcare Development Officer
Susan works for the Family Information Service supporting the childcare sector and parents in accessing the services they need.
Ann Davies
Co-owner of Cwtsh Y Clos
Ann Davies has always worked with children and was a Peripatetic Music Teacher before qualifying as a Childcare Practitioner. She started the Cwtch y Clos in 2014 to offer childcare to families that has an outdoor environment, animals and a farm ethos as being part of the childrens care.
Job vacancies in care
Wales needs more social care workers.
Many people working in social care have made the jump from jobs such as hospitality or retail. Use your transferable skills and apply for roles in your area now.