Valley Court

With over 24 years of experience in health and social care, I am passionate about delivering outstanding, person-centred care that enables residents to live fulfilling and independent lives.

I have successfully managed care homes for several years as a Registered Manager, consistently achieving good CQC ratings throughout my career through strong leadership, effective governance, and a hands-on approach to quality care. I am proud to have been recognised as a National Skills for Care Gold Award winner and have extensive experience supporting services to improve from “Requires Improvement” to “Good”.

My professional background also includes working as a Lecturer in Health and Social Care and with the Alzheimer’s Society, where I helped establish dementia services across the West Midlands. As a qualified Level 5 Leader in Management, I work closely alongside managers and teams to promote high standards of care, safety, compliance, and resident well-being.

I am passionate about creating meaningful experiences for residents and currently lead initiatives such as the “Wishing Well” project, helping residents’ wishes come true, and the Hygge Project, which focuses on creating warm, comforting environments that promote identity, belonging, and happiness within our homes.

As a hands-on Area Manager, I remain committed to supporting teams, driving continuous improvement, and ensuring every resident receives compassionate, dignified, and high-quality care.

With 19 years of dedicated experience in the care sector, I have built a strong and compassionate career across nursing, residential, and complex dementia care. Has my background given me a deep understanding of person-centred practice, safeguarding, clinical standards, and the importance of creating environments where individuals feel safe, respected, and valued?

Am I passionate about delivering high-quality care and supporting teams to achieve excellence? Over the years, I have developed a leadership style rooted in empathy, accountability, and continuous improvement. I believe that great care starts with great people, and I am committed to nurturing a positive culture where staff feel supported, confident, and motivated.

In my current role as Registered Manager, I am responsible for ensuring the highest standards of care, regulatory compliance, and operational effectiveness. I work closely with staff, families, and external professionals to maintain a safe, well-led, and responsive service. My focus is on strengthening team development, enhancing quality assurance processes, and driving forward improvements that benefit both residents and staff.

I remain deeply committed to my role and to the people I support. My goal is to lead a service that is not only compliant but truly outstanding — a place where residents thrive, and staff feel proud to work.

I am proud to serve as the Area Quality Support across Valley Court, Cole Valley, and Hurstway. I have worked for the company for 8 years. I have built my career around a genuine passion for delivering safe, compassionate, and person-centred care, and I am committed to ensuring that every resident receives the dignity, respect, and support they deserve.

I strive to maintain the highest standards of quality across our homes by working closely with teams, supporting best practice, and ensuring that our care remains responsive, evidence-based, and tailored to individual needs. I believe strongly in creating environments where residents feel valued, families feel reassured, and staff feel confident and empowered in their roles.

My approach is rooted in transparency, teamwork, and continuous improvement. Whether I am completing audits, supporting managers, or guiding staff through development, my goal is always the same — to help create a warm, safe, and thriving home for every person we care for.

My name is Kerry, and I work as part of the Area Quality Support team across our group of homes. I am passionate about ensuring that every resident receives safe, compassionate, and consistently high-quality care. Supporting our teams to deliver the very best standards is at the heart of everything I do.

I take pride in building strong relationships with staff, residents, and families, and I believe that great care comes from teamwork, transparency, and a genuine commitment to continuous improvement.

I’m the Executive Chef (my posh new title!). I have been at Valley Court for 5 years and working in hospitality since I was 16. With my team of kitchen assistants., we work hard to provide nutritious and tasty food and drinks for our 60+residents. There is quite a lot to my role – planning the menu, dealing with suppliers, catering for individual preferences, pureed diets for those with swallowing difficulties. I know all the residents here and will regularly go and see them. We have a “resident of the day” process in place where they are asked about their individual preferences, checking they’re being catered for. I ensure they get to eat their favourite food and avoid what they don’t like. It is their home after all.

I see Valley Court as an extended family and I care about those here as I would my own. I see it as a privilege to get to know these lovely people and do my bit to try and make their life here as happy and fulfilled as possible. I’m working on a pilot with a speech and language therapist to help educate staff about how to support those with swallowing difficulties. I like projects and learning something new. Recently, I have been developing my skills with pureed diets – I managed to take a full English breakfast (popular with our residents) turn it into puree and put into the shapes of the original items. Residents loved it and I get many contacts from other homes asking how I do it (secret!).

What I especially enjoy is variety – for example we make birthday cakes fresh for each resident birthday and we go and sing to them with the cake and candles – the whole thing to make them feel valued. Unfortunately, Liam our home manager joins us who sadly can’t sing (don’t tell him!)

In my spare time, I do some work for helping promote singers and bands with marketing. I managed to get Paul Burrell (Princess Diana’s ex butler) to record a tribute to the home which was fun. I also help Liam with the social media.

The highpoint of my career at Valley Court was at Christmas 2020, singing “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby / David Bowie with Liam the Home Manager to residents in the nursing wing. I was Bing, Liam was David Bowie (he has the hair). Remember that..rum pum pum pum? It was funny..we went into various rooms and sang lots of times, we were experts by the end! Forget BGT!

Hi my name is Helen Baddams my role at valley court is Activities Coordinator working with Amanda – I cover the nursing residents upstairs, with facetime calls, 1 to 1’s, pampering and other activities. I’ve been here since 2010! Some of the residents within nursing are nursed in bed, so I make it a priority to ensure we get some time together. This means a lot to many of the residents here – I know them all from when they first joined us.

What I love about my job? The feeling that I have made a difference to some of the beautiful people living here, I find that really fulfilling. I enjoy working here – there is a good atmosphere. I get on with everyone, attend daily management meetings, we support each other. This is what I think running a care home well all about. In the last year, with a new manager, there have been many changes for the better – whether the new hair salon, or refurbishing the rooms – it all looks far nicer for the residents and their families. We’ve had lots of positive feedback. It’s a nicer place to work too.

I’m best friends with Amanda the other Activities Co-ordinator. We’ve known each other since we were 4! She likes to think she holds my hand and looks after me as she did then (it is really me looking after her!). It’s nice as we got on and we’re like family.

My name is Amanda, and I am proud to be the Head of Domestic Services here at Valley Court. Many families and residents already know me from my years as the Activity Coordinator, where I had the pleasure of bringing joy, creativity, and meaningful engagement to our home. Now, in my new role, I’m excited to continue supporting our residents in a different but equally important way.

Creating a clean, safe, and welcoming environment is at the heart of what I do. I believe that a tidy, well-kept home makes a huge difference to how comfortable and relaxed our residents feel. My team and I work hard every day to make sure Valley Court is a place where people can truly feel at home.

Because I’ve spent so much time working directly with residents, I understand how important the little details are—the familiar smells, the cosy spaces, the sense of calm and comfort. I bring that same resident-focused approach into my domestic role, ensuring our environment reflects the warmth and dignity every person deserves.

I’m passionate about maintaining high standards, supporting my team, and making sure families feel confident that their loved one is living in a clean, caring, and well-managed home. Valley Court is a special place, and I’m proud to play a part in keeping it that way.

I started at Valley Court in 2006 – 20 years of service. I’ve seen many changes in care – standards have got a lot higher – whilst there is more paperwork it is all about better care and better outcomes for people living here.

I am a manual handling trainer which I enjoy. I have always worked days, I enjoy the company of the residents and the home is like a 2nd family to me. I think effective teamwork is the most important thing to run a care home well, me and my colleagues work together really well. We trust each other.

We aim to give the best possible care to those that live here. I have always worked on the nursing wing – I have a passion around palliative care -ensuring we make those important final days. Months or years count as much as possible. We get good support from our clinical lead and we’ve a great team of experienced nurses. This gives me confidence to do my role.

My secret ideal job is to a librarian! Me and Liam the Home Manager have a good joke about this. He has promised to buy me a librarian stamp for the books. I find this funny, he thinks it dull! He just doesn’t get it!