Corrine
Senior Carer

Our team of fantastic colleagues makes every Home a Caring Home. And across our business, we work alongside people from all walks of life, who all share the same passion to help every resident live life to the full. Corrine is a Senior Carer at Bradbury House in Braintree, Essex. You’ll love her story, it shows that no matter what your background is you can learn new skills, build confidence and have an outstanding future with us:

"If I’m honest, I fell into my job by luck as much as anything. A lot had recently changed in my life, I’d turned fifty and decided that the job I’d done for 20 years, as a Pre-school manager, just wasn’t for me anymore. The house was sold, and I moved with my partner to a different town and the carers job at Bradbury House was the first job I applied for. I didn’t really have a clue what I was doing, all I knew was that I wanted to try something different and look after older people. It was daunting, as I knew nothing about Care and I wasn’t even sure I’d like it.

Two and a half years down the line and I’ve done things I never would have had the confidence to do years ago. I’ve looked after some amazing people from all different backgrounds, countries and cultures. One gentleman, Jack a professor from Burma, I absolutely loved him. We’d chat about our families and him being a Marshall at the 2012 Olympics, he was so proud of the cap he earned doing that. I gave the eulogy at his funeral, which was such an amazing honour.

Another lady calls me her honorary granddaughter and I sit and chat with her as if she were my own Mum. She was the one that encouraged me to take the promotion to senior care assistant, I was saying I couldn’t do it and she said, ‘don’t be silly, of course you can’. You get so close to people here, we’re like a big family and with the encouragement from the residents and my manager Kirsty.

I’m now a senior and I’ve done so much more than I’d ever imagined. Like I suggested we should get an inhouse trainer, but nobody wanted to do it so I said I would, now I’m doing an accredited course to deliver ‘Move it or Lose it’ exercise classes to over 65’s. One of the residents made a joke that he’d love a bar in the Home. Kirsty said she thought that was the kind of thing I could do, it was almost like she was daring me, so next thing you know I’m coming in work on my days off in my little boiler suit following YouTube videos and building a full bar out of old pallets and a bookcase we were throwing out. The activities co-ordinator has even formed a relationship with a local pub, so it’s fully stocked, and they provided the Optics and anything it needs.

Then when we came out of lockdown, our minibus driver couldn’t come back so we couldn’t take the residents out. I’ve got an old grandad licence so I was allowed and I’d never driven a minibus in my life but I said I’d do it, I’d never have had the confidence to do any of that before.

They invest in you here, they’re all about your personal development and recognise your hard work. Kirsty nominated me for a Caring Star award for the exercise classes, the bar and the driving and I won, we got to go to London for an afternoon tea. But most importantly I’ve gained a new career with an amazing team and developed new skills and confidence in my 50’s that I never thought I’d have."