Staff Case Study
Daniel Dearlove – Registered Manager – Residential Care
“I have recently taken pride in passing on knowledge to help develop staff new to the role, and so the cycle can continue!”
Daniel, known as Danny, met one of our directors whilst a volunteer coach at a local boxing club in Hebden Bridge. Danny thought he required specific qualifications to work in social care and didn’t know, at that point, at Restorative, we train all our staff to a Level 4 standard within their first two years of employment. “I had no idea full training could be provided and that a degree in social care wasn’t required to start a career.”
Danny started within our supported accommodation service, which was his first role working with looked after young people. He began as a support worker and progressed to house leader within three years of being with us, including completing his Level 3 qualification.
Danny left Restorative for a period of time to branch out as a lead practitioner and became a registered manager for another social care company. “I managed a two-bed home for two years and obtained my Level 5 in Leadership and Management before coming back to work at Restorative as a residential registered manager.”
Talking about his development within Restorative, Danny says, “I’ve been provided with all of the standard mandatory training required for the role and was supported to achieve my Level 3 when I first started my career in social care”. Danny has also completed various other training with Restorative. “I’ve also completed PACE (therapeutic training), MHFA (mental health first aid training), DSL (designated safeguarding lead) training and Nebosh health and safety in the workplace.”
We asked Danny why he decided to pursue a role in social care. “I had coaching experience in both boxing and football, working with a lot of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. When I found out that I could progress with a career in social care I was delighted that I could continue to make a difference in young people’s lives, whilst earning a living.”
Danny told us how much his role at Restorative means to him. “I get a great sense of self-pride from doing the job I do. Knowing that trying to improve someone’s life and give them an opportunity to succeed is amazing.”
But how does Danny feel when the going gets tough?
“I feel it’s important to not shy away from tough discussions that sometimes need to be had with children for their own benefit. It comes from a place of nurture with the aim to promote resilience and form attachments and trusting bonds. As I have now worked in care for several years it is nice to have maintained positive relationships with young people who have become adults and remained in contact and are respectful of the role you played on the journey they had.”
Danny mentions how it’s not only the young people our staff work with, but sometimes their families as well. “I take just as much pride in being respectful to the families of children in care and show the understanding they deserve with regard to the challenges of the care system’s processes.”
Danny has some new recruits to his team who also have no previous experience in social care, just like him, when he first started. “I have recently taken pride in passing on knowledge to help develop staff new to the role, and so the cycle can continue!”
We spoke to Danny about what he would say to others who were interested in a role at Restorative. “There isn’t a job out there as diverse. There isn’t another job that pays you well to help people and provide you with all the training to be successful. This job also benefits your mental health. If you can do this and face the challenges head on then everything else is easy.”
Danny tells of his future goals with the company. “For the short-term future I plan to help develop future managers, have an Ofsted Outstanding home, and be part of the team that can deliver good quality training. I also have a keen interest in the therapeutic-based model of care behaviour management, which I enjoy learning about and would like to learn more on.”