Meet Chris

Residential Practitioner, Leicester City

I began working with Leicester City Council residential homes in January 2020. Before working for LCC, I was self-employed teaching children in primary schools. Having not been in care myself, I was new to the experience of supporting Looked After Children. 

My inspiration to work in a children’s home came after I was advised by a close friend that my personality would be beneficial for a residential setting. They encouraged me to apply for the role of Support Worker.

I started during the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant a lot of things changed during my initial experience supporting Looked After Children in a residential setting. I was supported by my managers and colleagues to settle in and get familiar with my somewhat unfamiliar surroundings, including the paperwork for the job.

The young people definitely made my learning experience enjoyable. I quickly found out that the young people were appreciative towards staff members who took an interest in them and supported their day-to-day living. Some of them experienced traumatic upbringings, which impacted on their mental health and self-esteem, sometimes struggling with the concept of living in care. As a result of their past experiences, the children would often display challenging behaviours. With the support of my team, I built up my confidence to provide the young people with the right care for them.

I recently passed my Level 3 Diploma in childcare which was supported by LCC. I spent 3 years as a Support Worker, and then it was recognised by my managers that I could potentially be promoted to the role of a Practitioner. LCC supports staff with undertaking training and qualifications with the vision of each person having the opportunity to move forwards and work their way to a management position, should they wish to.

I thoroughly enjoy my role at Leicester City Council supporting the children; taking them on activities, fulfilling their positive lifestyle choices, supporting family contact and watching the children grow into young, mature adults are some of things that I enjoy the most. A demanding job with higher rewards, highly recommendable for anyone who has a passion for supporting young people.