Jo is the Early Start Team Leader for the Family Support Service in Watford and Three Rivers - we asked her about her career so far.
Can you describe your journey into being a Team Leader in the Family Support Service?
After training to be a Legal Secretary at college, I worked for a large law firm in London as a Personal Assistant to one of the partners and then to the Legal Director an in-house legal department for a large hotel chain. My career working with children and families began after having my own 2 children and volunteering at the local Nursery, where I soon became a Practitioner. I enjoyed being with the children and helping them to learn and develop, but found that the most rewarding part of the job was supporting parents and the wider family. When I saw a role advertised as Outreach Worker for a Children’s Centre I applied, and this began my career in Children’s Centre/Family Centres. I am now a Team Lead for the Early Start Team within the Watford & Three Rivers Family Support Service, leading a team of Early Start Workers to support children and families to have the best start in life.
What support do you get from your employer?
InspireAll are an incredibly supportive employer in terms of wellbeing not just within the workplace. The gym membership and other staff benefits contribute to a feeling of wellbeing and work/life balance. As well as regular support from my Manager, I also find the support from my colleagues and the Senior Leadership Team invaluable to ensure that as a team lead my team feel well supported by me. I have been able to attend a wide range of training to support my role, as well as being involved in working groups with other partners to develop the service.
What do you look for when recruiting into the Family Support Service?
The Early Start Workers are a hard-working team, with lots of different skills and qualities. We look for someone who is fun and enthusiastic as these are the qualities which help engage with children and their families. You will be facilitating baby groups, rhyme time sessions, physical fun sessions as well as more targeted groups for families, as well as our Self-Weigh/baby weigh sessions, so flexibility is key. The job role is varied and the need to be able to “expect the unexpected” and respond is essential. There are some occasions where we need to respond to incidents to safeguard children, so there is a need for an understanding of when and how to, and confidence to be able to do this.
What support is available to staff joining the service?
All staff are given a full induction, which will include meeting the team and learning about the Early Start role. You will be given an opportunity learn about other teams within the Family Support Service and the wider Family Centre Service which includes our Public Health Nursing colleagues. There is lots of training provided when you first join, including Breastfeeding, Introduction to Solid Foods and My Baby’s Brain training. Some members of the team also have the opportunity to do other training, for example Baby Massage facilitator training, Speech and Language training. Some of our team members specialise in an area which they are skilled in, for example we have Breastfeeding Champions and Special Education Needs Champions.
Why would you recommend joining the service?
Not only am I fortunate enough to work alongside some amazing people, working with children and their families is incredibly rewarding. No day is the same but every day we make a difference to the lives of families we meet.