Building skills for Cumbria: Clearing helps Covid care home worker to become social worker

Three years on and there is a hat-trick of achievements for Amy, who has two young children. 

Amy, 29, (pictured above) has graduated with a first-class honours degree in social work from the University of Cumbria’s Institute of Health and been named winner of its Excellence in Placement prize. She has also secured employment and is looking forward to starting work within the adult social care team at Westmorland and Furness Council. 

Supported by employers across the region and beyond, placements form part of many of the university’s programmes and enable students to apply their learning and develop professional skills in workplace settings. 

The University of Cumbria works with local health trusts, charities, and other partners to provide a range of placements across the health and social care network, helping to develop the workforce of the future. 

Amy, from Penrith, completed two placements – one in a children’s home and, earlier this year, a 100-day placement at the Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Cumbria’s Children’s Hospice. 

Whilst on placement, Amy was part of the hospice’s Patient and Family Support Team, pictured below. Responsibilities included carrying out assessments and teaching Nursing Associates how to carry out certain processes. She also worked with people for whom English is not their first language. Amy also helped host a Family Support Day for families and young people who access services and facilities at Jigsaw, the children’s hospice. 

Amy had worked in social care settings for a decade before considering going to university. 

She said: “Where I was working at the time, I heard about the opportunity to do a degree apprenticeship, but I wasn’t eligible at the time because I didn’t work full time. 

“So I called the University of Cumbria to find out about what courses were offered, and after a chat was invited for interview. That was in August 2020, right in the middle of Covid and Clearing, and I was offered a place. Whilst I was sad to leave my job, I felt that I could do more than what I was doing.” 

Supported by husband Kyle, Amy enrolled on the university’s BSc (Hons) Social Work programme when her youngest child was a year old. 

“I’ve loved my time at university,” said Amy. “It has certainly had its ups and downs, not just through the pandemic but particularly the last six months doing my placement and dissertation at the same time. I reached out to my personal tutor and she was amazing. The support I’ve had throughout has been great. I’ve never felt like I was on my own.” 

Professor Brian Webster-Henderson, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Health, Environment and Innovation), University of Cumbria, pictured left, said: “As a university of and for Cumbria, we are proud to continue to support the development of the local and national workforce, working innovatively with partners to address higher-level regional and sector skills needs.  

“Working collaboratively with employers to co-create programmes helps us to deliver future workforce skills that will enable our communities to thrive.” 

Jenny Wilson, deputy CEO and director of clinical services at Eden Valley Hospice, pictured below, said: "Everyone at the hospice would like to congratulate Amy on receiving her very well-deserved awards and we thank her for her contribution while on placement here.  

"At Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, we're proud to help train the next generation of health and care professionals and value highly our role in developing the workforce of the future, not just within the palliative care sector but the wider health and social care network. 

"The hospice regularly welcomes students from across a range of disciplines, including medical students, student nurses, student social workers, counsellors and more. We are looking to build on this in the future and position ourselves as a centre of excellence for training and it is only through working collaboratively with partners such as the University of Cumbria that we can achieve this." 

The University of Cumbria Institute of Health offers undergraduate, postgraduate, continuing professional development, and research opportunities to nursing and a range of allied health professions. Its trailblazing paramedic apprenticeship scheme is delivered to seven out of 11 ambulance trusts in England. 

The university is also working with Imperial College London to establish a medical school in Cumbria as a way of supporting the local workforce and addressing health and social inequalities in the region. 

Find out more about Clearing and open days at the University of Cumbria online at https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/clearing/ or by calling 0808 178 7373. 

What is it like being on a student placement. Read Amy's blog about her time at Eden Valley Hospice here, or alternatively https://gloo.to/6TJW

ENDS