Hi, welcome to The Care Staff Community, it's great to have you! My name is Tash, and I've worked in the UK care and support sector since 2018. Over my years in the sector I've worked as both a support worker and a team leader, and I have a Level 3 BTEC in Adult Care. I learnt very quickly one of the number one rules of working in care when I started my first job - staff teams absolutely have to have each others' backs. The work is physically, mentally and emotionally demanding, and sometimes all you've got is each other. I created this space for care assistants and support workers across the country to come together and offer support, insight and shared experiences that will be supportive and useful during the daily grind. We keep things professional and confidential here so you're safe to share respectfully. In the free tier of the group, we have regular weekly discussions to get to know each other and offer support. These include: - Shift Challenge on Wednesdays: here we discuss our most difficult moments of the week and offer support, advice and guidance to each other. - Skill Focus on Tuesdays: this is where we discuss a particular skill that is pertinent to care and support and how we can implement these skills in the workplace. - What Would You Do post on Fridays: discussing a particular scenario and how we would deal with it according to our experience. - Weekly Wins on Sundays: the final post of the week which celebrates successes and sets us up for a positive outlook in the week ahead. - Free downloadables to help in your professional development, up to three available at any one time on a regularly rotating basis. If you join the premium tier, you can access a regular rotation of thorough downloadables to support you in your professional development and mental/emotional health whilst working in the sector. There will also be additional benefits announced shortly... and it costs less than the price of a McDonald's 👀 The Weekly Schedule is included in this post. Please make sure to read the house rules too!