Autism West Midlands logo

Meet the Team

Gorse Farm

 

 

Neil has been with Autism West Midlands for a number of years, starting as an Outreach Manager responsible for a team of people supporting individuals within their own homes. He then move to a Registered Care Manager role before moving to his current role as an Operations Manager. He is responsible for the day to day running of Gorse Farm.

We asked Neil a few questions about his role and his career journey.

What made you choose a career within the care sector? Can you describe your career journey?

I started as a student completing health studies at college and attended a placement working with adults with autism, learning disabilities and mental health needs. Through this and work experience I gained more skills and motivation to want to lead my own team and to be a registered manager and more. I was lucky to have a very inspirational manager during my time as support worker and I moved into a Deputy Manager role. This person taught me a lot and is the single person I give credit to where I have got today.

How long have you been in your current role and what have you done so far?

I have now been in my role as Operations Manager for over a month, during this time I have been able to engage the team to help them understand our vision for Gorse Farm and the vision of Autism West Midlands as a whole. As well as building positive relationships with families, professionals and other stakeholders associated with Gorse Farm.

Describe a typical day working at Gorse Farm.

I don’t think there is such thing as a typical day, every day is different and that is what I love about the job. Some days are more challenging than others but it’s about knowing the people you are supporting and meeting their needs.

What is the best part of your job?

Seeing people succeed or go through something that would usually cause a great deal of anxiety but having structure and strategies in place to limit that anxiety.

Describe how your role enriches the lives of autistic people?

By allowing people freedom, choice and control over as much of their life as possible really shows individuals personalities. I can allow risk management to take place in a real positive light by looking at the difficulties and planning creative and safe ways of overcoming these so that people can positively take risk and try new things.

What nugget of wisdom have you learnt since working for Autism West Midlands?

Take the good with the bad, Rome wasn’t built in a day! Make sure your staff feel supported and have someone to go to who has an open door at times of distress.

What is the working environment like at Gorse Farm?

We pride ourselves on giving the people the best they can have at Gorse Farm, there are really exciting plans for the future development of the home, and I can’t wait to be part of this.

What is in the pipeline for Gorse Farm and what exciting projects are you currently working on?

We have been lucky with a Grant from National Lottery funding which has helped fund the development of an allotment at the home. This should really enhance the lives of individuals at the residential home, learning new skills to healthy eating and improving the wellbeing of people.

Close