Thatcham Court Care Home

I was born in London in 1962 and I started my career venturing into several different areas but never felt I achieved job satisfaction until I started in social care.

Around twenty years ago I started my career while raising my children, as the children got older I had more time to give to my work life. I have worked for North Devon Social Services and West Berkshire Social Services Community Care, which I really enjoyed and met some amazing people.

Just over seven years ago I joined the team at Thatcham Court and haven’t looked back since. The team at Thatcham are friendly, welcoming and well trained; we aim to give high quality care not only for our residents, for their relatives too when they need us.

I started working at Thatcham Court in Aug 2014. Before I came to Thatcham Court I was working at Tesco and although I enjoyed my job I felt that I needed more and something more fulfilling. This is when I came to Thatcham court as a care assistant.

After working as a care assistant for one and a half years, and developing my skills, I was then promoted to senior care assistant and remained in this role for around a further one and a half years before being promoted to care team leader. During this time I have completed my medication management level two, NVQ 2 and I am just about to complete my level 3. I am also the wound care champion for the home.

I like working at Thatcham Court because we have a close knit team who always support each other. My job is very rewarding and I love coming to work.

I have been in the caring profession for eight years with a brief period in retail, I then decided that I needed more and a more fulfilling job and this then led me to Thatcham Court where I became a care assistant. I worked as a care assistant for around two and a half years and was then promoted to senior care assistant.

Whilst I enjoyed the role as senior care assistant I decided that my skills lay better within the activity field. I have always been artistic with a love of crafts, photography etc, and with my acquired senior carer knowledge and skills I felt that I was in a very good position to take on the role of activities coordinator as soon as such a vacancy appeared.

I very soon progressed to senior activities coordinator. I feel I made the right decision, as since being part of the activities team I have brought stimulation to our residents and they, in turn, have broaden my ideas and creativity to bring them an enriched experience within the home and to also build on our links within the community.

Thatcham Court is more then just a care home, we are one big family.

I left school at 16 years old and became a trainee chef for an electrical company under the supervision of a ex-Army chef. I then progressed from here in different roles; television and film location catering, deputy manager at Kingston Hospital in the catering department and sous chef at air products head office. I then became chef manager in a nursing home.

I then opted for a change in career and went into security for a short while but my heart and passion was in cooking and I this is when I joined a Bupa care home care in Fleet for around two years. I then transferred to Thatcham Court in January 2017.

At Thatcham Court we pride ourselves on our home made food and always trying new things and new ways in meeting all our residents needs.

I enjoy working at Thatcham Court because it's a nice home, with nice people and an outstanding team with a friendly, family atmosphere.

I am the Financial Administrator at Thatcham Court. I had always been interested in working as a secretary so, when I first started work in the manufacturing business, joining a company on a YTS scheme this was as a secretarial assistant. I stayed at the same place, doing a variety of different roles, until I was made redundant.

Shortly after joining a new company, as a wages clerk, I became pregnant with my first child and did not return to work on a full time basis until both my children were at school. This was when my career in the care sector really began, as I joined a company as an administrator for the domiciliary team, before helping out with some care in the community. My last role was a deputy manager, which I didn’t enjoy so after much consideration I decided to leave and worked at another manufacturing company, in the accounts department.

However my passion for working in the care sector did not diminish so when the opportunity arose to join Thatcham Court, as a financial administrator, I was only too happy to apply and was delighted to be accepted.

I have now been working at Thatcham Court for just over two years and love being part of the amazing team that works here.

I was born in Reading in 1965 and I am the youngest of three but have lived in Thatcham all my life.

My first job after leaving school was as an office junior for a large firm of solicitors in Newbury. It was whilst working there I met my husband whom I married in 1985. I left the solicitors after a couple of years to gain experience in other non legal environments. I discovered though I preferred working for a law practice and joined a firm in Thatcham as a full time legal secretary but then, after the birth of my son, I worked part time as a receptionist/secretary. I worked at this firm for almost 30 years until it had to close in 2015.

I started working at Bupa Thatcham Court in June 2016 as a part time receptionist. I absolutely love my job which is down to the wonderful residents who live here. Thatcham Court is a really warm, caring, fun loving home where no two days are the same.

I have been working at Thatcham Court for just over three years.

For the previous twenty years I have had senior reception/admin positions in two prominent, local health related establishments. My links with the Thatcham Court community are therefore strong and even within Thatcham Court, I often meet those I have known and befriended in my last positions, or have known in my thirty eight years of living here.

I also have strong links with Thatcham Court itself, my father-in-law was a resident here for over two years and his care was exemplary.

Thatcham Court has a strong family feel to it and this makes for a close team with caring for each other and our residents at it's heart.

I came to Thatcham Court with the hope that I would feel fulfilled and rewarded in my role and that I could possibly give more than had been possible in previous (NHS) positions and I have not been disappointed.

I have been a home manager at Thatcham Court since 2023. My career began in the care sector as a Carer in both Domiciliary and Care Homes. I then worked at a Nursing Home in Foxfield for 6 years as a Senior Carer. I wanted to find an opportunity to progress, so I started my role as a Care Coordinator at a centre in Newbury but soon got promoted to Manager. Within 6 months of being Manager, I improved the facility's CQC rating from a 'Requires Improvement' to 'Good'. Once I achieved this, I decided I wanted to return to the Care Home sector, which is when I found the designated Home Manager position at Thatcham Court. I have my NVQ Level 5 and I'm hoping to start my Level 7 as soon as possible.

I strive to take our service users' feedback on board and always look at ways to go above and beyond for each and every resident, and their families. I love the "home from home" environment. I encourage a person-centred experience for all residents and staff, and I enjoyed getting to know everyone at a personal level ensuring that everyone's interests and needs are met. I am proud of what I do, and I am proud to work for Bupa.

I live in Newbury, which is a ten-minute drive to Thatcham Court, with my husband, Oli. I enjoy gardening when the weather is nice, and I love crafts. Travelling is a big hobby of mine, and I especially enjoy visiting my dad who lives in Spain. My husband and I like to go abroad to different countries, Italy is our favourite. I absolutely love Autumn and Christmas! We are hoping to get a puppy in the near future but my husband just needs that extra bit of convincing- watch this space.