By Natalie Clarke, July 2024

In January 2021, I had been working for Amber Family for 7 years when I was approached about starting a Social Work qualification, and I loved every minute! I had worked my way from Support Worker to Key Worker and was at the time, the Registered Manager of one of Amber Family’s four settings. Supporting families who really needed it, watching them flourish and grow as individuals whilst residing with us and making precious memories with their babies. Even if families don’t leave together as hoped, they still leave with more confidence than they came with, and that for me was so rewarding.. and still is!

Amber gave me the opportunity to do the degree alongside my full-time working hours. The degree was an apprenticeship, meaning I would attend university one day a week, and the other days, I would put my theory into practice which for me was perfect. I am not the most academic, never have been nor will be, and much prefer a practical route! I can’t lie, I had a few wobbles within the first few weeks, especially given we were still in Covid. I remember staring at the screen on a virtual seminar, looking at the faces of over 30 other people who had worked within the Local Authority for 10+ years, and already had lots of knowledge and ‘associates’ on the course. I was nervous and worried when the lecturer would ask me a question, in fear of getting it wrong and feeling out of my depth in this pool of people who all knew about the Care Act, Mental Capacity Act and DoLS! I remember Googling what that stood for in the hope nobody would ask me anything about it…

Fast forward to 2022 and 2023, I started to relax into the course and realised very quickly, that we are all human and all there to learn. It was just that we had different areas of expertise and knowledge, and this became apparent when we looked at ‘Child Law’, an area lots of my peers didn’t know about. This made me feel a lot better, given I had been working alongside Children’s Services for years, and it was now me who had the confidence to speak up. I continued on my Social Work journey completing assignments alongside lots of reading and research, coupled with long days and late nights! I could not get my head around academic writing and struggled with the referencing side of things, but I didn’t give up! I was determined to take feedback along the way and apply those pointers to my next piece of work. I completed both my 70-day and 100-day placements and was observed by a practice educator from UCLAN. I had to do presentations and assessments both independently and as part of a group, alongside daily timesheets for all my on-the-job and off-the-job hours as evidence.

I have now graduated with a 2:1 in BA Hons Social Work, and I couldn’t be prouder! Studying alongside working and raising a toddler wasn’t the easiest, but I look back and honestly wouldn’t change anything for the world. This has given me another ‘string to my bow’ and enables me to continue my professional development. I look forward to many more years of being part of an amazing team of individuals who make a difference without even realising and helping those in need achieve their desired positive outcomes.