Isabelle secures paid position after successful work placement. 

Aspiring nurse Isabelle Tucker impressed the staff at her work placement and was offered a paid position. She completed her work placement with CareTech; a residential home that delivers individualised care and support to those with various learning difficulties. 

Jack Boland from CareTech visited EKC Ashford College to tell our aspiring Healthcare workers more about the different type of work placements available within the care sector.  

He said: “We want to work with young people and give them a chance and nurture them, so they are with us for a long time.” 

Isabelle secured a placement at residential home 21 Church Lane, which supports 16 residents with various degrees of learning disabilities, including wheelchair users. Isabelle helped the home to offer personal care and daily living skills such as assisting and prompting residents to wash, brush their teeth and get dressed. She helped to run day-to-day activities such as arts and crafts, games, and spending time outside and making food and drinks. She fitted straight into her role as a social worker and quickly became a valuable part of the team. 

We asked Isabelle why she wanted to study Health and Social Care at EKC Ashford College, and she said: 

 “I’ve always wanted to help people. All the careers I’ve ever thought about, have involved giving something back to other people and helping them to live their lives in the best way possible. 

I thought I’d go to college to do Health and Social care to become a Learning Disability Nurse.” 

We spoke to Dawn Charlton; the house manager about her experience having a student on work placement for the first time at Church Lane and Dawn praised the experience. 

“Isabelle was quiet during the first few weeks she was with us, but she developed very quickly. She is very understanding of people’s needs and notices things that staff do and say to our residents and applies the same. 

Izzy is coming out of her shell well and is now working on a bank contract as we value her so much. She isn’t just a student fulfilling her hours each week, she is part of the team.” 

Isabelle has grown throughout her work placement and feels more confident in making decisions and understanding people with diverse needs and adapting to support them in the best way she can. Her time at Church Lane has also supported her college work and given her a better understanding of social care, which she was able to apply to her coursework, making it easier to complete. 

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