This week we caught up with Coreena to see how her new role was going. Coreena started working for us back in 2023 before becoming a Team Leader and has recently taken up a new role as a Regional Supervisor for services in the South of England. We asked Coreena about her experiences.
What made you want to work for Bespoke Guardians?
Making a difference to the young people we support. It sounds like a cliché that everyone says but it really is what attracted me to the role. Not only are the children we support vulnerable, but many haven’t had a stable adult influence in their life and being part of a service that helps make the children feel valued and safe is hugely rewarding.
As a Team Leader, what were the biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
If we experienced a difficult and challenging shift, then as a team we talked through the events to ensure staff members are looked after and listened to, and most importantly, that the team feel valued.
Gaining the trust of a young person and building a support relationship can be very challenging – especially when they have previous experiences where they have been let down by someone responsible for their welfare. Through being consistent, communicating clearly and having patience we get there in the end.
It can be challenging when a young person has a setback. Whether they start repeating previous behaviour patterns, putting themselves in risky situations, or just disengaging from our support it can be disheartening, but as a team we work through this with the young person. From experience we know this happens and it doesn’t mean it’s a failure. Neither has the hard work by the young person or the team has been wasted. It’s just a setback and all part of the learning for the young person. Helping them overcome the setback, to understand why it happened and how to work through it – focusing on all their successes and progress – is part of how the team help the young person not to be discouraged.
Are you excited by your new role?
We put the interests of the children and young people at the heart of everything we do. Not only do I get to continue this, working with the young people, I also get to shift my focus into supporting our teams. Now I’m in the position where I can share good practice, help with any challenges and contribute towards the future growth of the business. It’s a big change for me, being based in an office again, but I still get the opportunity to work shifts providing support and to visit the teams as part of our quality assurance and welfare for all.
What’s the best thing about the role?
This is the first Regional Supervisor role we have had so I’m looking forward to making a success of it! I strongly believe in not only listening to people, but making them feel heard. If I can support the Team Leaders it can only help the teams and result in even better support for the children. Team Leaders have a difficult role, balancing the needs of the team, the business, the commissioners and the children, so my focus is definitely on helping them navigate all their priorities.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of working for us?
Reach out to us and we can talk you through the role and answer your questions. Come to us with an open mind and when you do the training you may be surprised by what you learn and exactly what the role entails. Listen to the case studies and you will gain a new perspective.
Working here, supporting the young people really is rewarding. It can also be fun, helping children to ‘be children’ and letting them experience what it’s like to have good care.
My final piece of advice: Learn to duck! You never know what might come flying your way!
