The Grove

Ana Rita leads The Grove with drive and enthusiasm to offer a unique residential setting for those living with dementia. Ana Rita’s passion to work with residents and create a home from home has seen the smooth implementation of Allegra Care’s Household Model at The Grove, further enhancing residents’ quality of life.

The decision to embark on a career in social care was made after Ana Rita cared for her grandparents, both of whom were diagnosed with dementia. Ana took time to educate herself about dementia and how she could best support them. After Ana Rita's grandparents passed away, she moved to the UK and started working in a nursing home. Ana Rita joined Olive Tree House when it first opened in 2016. Ana Rita's career quickly progressed from care assistant to team leader, as she completed her NVQ Levels 2 and 3 in Adult Social Care. Four years ago, Ana Rita became the Trainee Deputy Manager of Olive Tree House, completing the NVQ Level 5 in Management and Leadership in Social Care. She then went on to become the Deputy Manager of Rose Garden, the group's sister homes.

Ana Rita leads a vibrant team, and together, they create a warm, engaging environment with activities that celebrate each resident’s individuality. Ana Rita is committed to providing the mentorship to the team that she has received during her career in care.

Outside of work, Ana Rita loves spending time with her family. Originally from Portugal, she says how much she loves the sun and hot weather!

Having dedicated her career to working with the elderly, specialising in dementia care The Grove are delighted to have Angela onboard as Deputy Manager. Angela has worked with Allegra Care for over five years at Rose Garden.

Angela supports residents with compassion and ensuring their well-being is at the heart of her role. Angela thrives working with a team to do all she can to create a positive and caring environment for staff and residents alike; all to ensure The Grove really is a home from home.

Angela is keen to build on her experience and will be taking on further studying to enhance her professional development.

Anita joined The Grove team in 2023 as part of the housekeeping team, she left her position as a carer in another local home as she needed more regular hours to be able to care for her own mother. When the Activities Coordinator role became available Antia jumped at the opportunity, bringing her experience to enhance the lives of the home’s residents with new ideas for activities and events.

Anita has had a varied career from working in pubs to prisons, but her love of care started when she worked as a rehabilitation carer at Frenchay Hospital’s Brain Injury Centre. This role gave Anita a real insight into all aspects of care including working with psychologists.

Outside of work, Anita enjoys spending time with her mum as well as being a carer for her, she also enjoys relaxing with a good book and spending time socialising with friends.

After graduating in 2022 from Bournemouth University with a degree in HR Management and Business Raph decided to take some time off, but that didn’t last long, Raph found out about the receptionist position at Blossom Fields and was working there by the end of the year!

Raph’s skills and knowledge led him to become the home’s administrator soon after starting work at Blossom Fields and now he is responsible for The Grove’s administration as well.

Raph finds his role fulfilling and loves working in the care home environment and the values that go with that. Raph works closely with Saba the Blossom Fields’ receptionist to keep the two busy homes in order.

In his free time, Raph enjoys spending time with family and friends and loves being outdoors. Raph greatly enjoys visiting historical sites, history has been a personal passion for as long as he can remember.

Paul has joined Allegra Care with 27 years’ experience in the health and social care sector, including working in senior leadership roles for the last 18 years, covering operations, business management and quality assurance. Paul has a real passion for person-centred care and how that is delivered at the highest level.

Paul has worked across a diverse sector over his time in health and social care and brings a wealth of experience to his new role as Regional Manager. Paul believes in integrating real and meaningful values and culture into a service and in doing so, delivering the outcomes for the people we support. Paul goes by the theory of values with no meaning, which has no value.

Outside of work, Paul is the father of three boys and a 2nd degree black belt who teaches Judo.

Catherine has worked in sales and marketing her whole career, after graduating with a degree in Textile Management she worked in Corporate Workwear for many years. Catherine’s first role in the care sector was working with a disability charity that ran nursing homes and enablement projects for young adults. While her two children were younger, she joined her husband in his estate agency, but was delighted to return to the care sector in 2020 and now cannot imagine doing anything else.

Catherine’s role with Allegra is to support residents and their families as they explore care options. Working with the teams in the individual homes she ensures that during every stage from initial enquiry through to moving in with us every question is answered, and we offer the reassurance needed for the next chapter in our resident’s life. It is important for our residents to remain part of the community in which will have lived for years, often all their lives, so the other part of this role is connecting with local community groups, charities and organisations.

Catherine has said that working for Allegra with their groundbreaking household model means we are offering a home with compassion and care whilst ensuring residents are retaining their independence and quality of life.

Out of work, Catherine enjoys baking, gardening and walking the family Labrador. The children are older now, but still keep her busy!