Senior Day Opportunities Officer Review

Completing audits to ensure our service is compliant with the CQC standards and Key Lones of Enquiry. Lead and manage a staff team, providing data to stakeholders and senior management. Development of the services. Ensure clients outcomes are being met and clients are cared for in a safe way. Risk assessment completion.

Yes I have learnt how to apply management and leadership models in my role to develop my team. Used methods to problem solve and make decisions. Better self awareness and improved confidence. Improved understanding of budgets, finance and governance. Set objectives for the service and individuals. Review and monitor coaching plans.

I really enjoyed learning about communication in particular. All of the different methods and what approach is best used in which circumstances. I liked learning about how to chair a meeting and following up actions with team members. I feel the apprenticeship has improved my confidence and self belief to a great extent.

I feel the units were set out in a good order. However I did get confused about the learning outcomes to begin with. I sometimes went into too much detail which I didn’t need to do I did waste some time. The tutor was able to guide me through the apprentice and set achievable deadlines.

I got a lot of support from my manager in terms of giving me the study time I needed when I was working on a big unit. However I didn’t feel I got the support I needed in helping me to work through the units that I wasn’t sure of. Sometimes the feedback I received was too generic so I found it difficult to see which areas I needed to improve on.

I received a lot of support and the tutor was very efficient in marking my work and handing it back so I could finish it off using the feedback I had received. I had asked to put the apprenticeship on hold though for 6 weeks when I was off sick but was told I couldn’t because I would lose my funding. This was disappointing.

I feel I have come on quite a lot since finishing my apprenticeship. My decision making skills have improved and my team have also commented on this. I am much less hesitant than I used to be and I have the confidence to performance manage people which I always previously tried to avoid.

Not that I know if. I do look out for networking opportunities outside of the company whether that be through training or events. There are specific extra tasks that can be take on such as GDPR champion or Safeguarding champions. This could end me up somewhere else if I wished to pursue it.

Yes

The tutor was very supportive. The content of the course and the different elements allows you to learn not just through reading but doing and through reflective practice. I found it very motivating. Even though all of the meetings with my tutor were via teams, it still worked well and I found it easier to meet with my tutor because I could just video call her when needed.

Makes sure that you are in the right time of your life to be studying. I underestimated how much of my time it would take up but if it is the right time for you, go for it! I would also say if you are struggling with a unit, just shout for help. Don’t spend ages thinking about something, I always found after a quit chat with my tutor I was back on track and able to complete the unit pretty quick.