Help!

[bettyboop]

This site might give you an idea of what you may or may not need.

http://www.careuk.com/latestvacancie...FRYesgodpn1dow

[Lyn]

Such a shame that you are the one who has missed out because of the bullies. Hugs to you and good luck in whatever you end up doing. I am sure you'll be great at it

[brighteyes]

(sorry i haven't time to read the other replies).
You do not NEED qualifications to get into caring. here are nvq based courses you can do. You will also need enhanced CRB clearance (basically a clean criminal record!)
My daughter is disabled so what i'm saying comes just from my experience. Lots of care now is aranged by something called direct payments. The family is given the money to hire their own carers rather than social services etc sending someone out. Volunteering at special needs groups is a good way to get to know people if this is the route ytou want to go down.

You also need to think about what you could handle. I can handle dirty nappies no problem with kids, but i have BIG issues with wiping adult bits with all their hair I NEVER signed up to that when i decided to have kids. Plenty of day services places the clients are self sufficient in this way, thats the route i'd choose

If you want to go down the kid route you can pm me if you like telling me where you live - i am a member of a charity with people all over the uk and i could find out which direction to point you in regarding possible employment or someone to talk to (if there is someone in your area i can ask).


Funnily enough, there is quite a high ratio of carers who are not straight, it is a career that you could go far in without worrying about bigotry (of course there will always be the odd person...)

good luck

Paula

[Wendy]

Hi George,

Really sorry to hear your situation. Lots of advise in the other posts to help you on your way, the only thing i can add is that my mum is a carer, she left school at 15 with no qualifications but didn't need any to do the job at entry level. Since starting work as a carer she has been doing NVQ qualifications with placements at various places such as our local hospice and shadowing Macmillan nurses.

What ever you decide to do and which ever route you take to get you what you want, i wish you luck for the future. x

[lindso3000]

Hey george
Im sorry i cant answer your Q but well done you and good luck for the future- also 1 of my torts is called george Jus thought id share that with you
Linds

[paganlis]

Hi George,

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear you had such a hard time of it at school. I know it feels as though you've been disadvantaged, but honestly, GCSEs aren't everything. What you've been through, however unpleasant, has made you the person you are today, and from reading your posts, I think you sound like an incredibly intelligent and caring young man. (You're not a female George, are you?? If so, sorry!)

Anyway, onto the real issue - how to go about becoming a carer. I appreciate that you've had a tough time in education so far, and possibly aren't very keen on returning to it, but it really might be worth a trip to your local college to find out what's on offer. I work in an FE college as a mentor (looking after students' personal problems), and it is SUCH a different environment from school. Because people have that bit more freedom, real personalities, styles and tastes come out a bit more, and everyone feels a bit more able to be themselves, without fear of prejudice or bullying. I'm not saying bullying doesn't happen - it does - but it's picked up on and dealt with really quickly, and there tend to be a lot more people around to offer you some support.

I know at my college (well, it's not actually mine, I just work there ) we offer Health and Social Care courses at all different levels, and if for any reason someone doesn't have the official entry requirements we'd look at the reasons why and try and come up with something. Most colleges also offer a scheme called E2E (Entry to Employment), which is aimed at people who, like you, have had a pretty bad experience of education in the past. Although E2E students will be on the same courses as 'normal' students, so no one would b able to tell the difference, they get a hell of a lot more support than other people, just to ease them back into education.

It's good that you have a decent Connexions worker - it really might be a good plan if you ask them to find out about courses near you. As someone else said, voluntary work could also be a good route - have you got a volunteer bureau near you? Again, your Connexions worker should be able to help with this.

I think you are actually in a far better position than a lot of people your age - most 16 year olds haven't got a clue what they want to do with their lives! You seem to be one step ahead in terms of maturity and ambition. You'll have the last laugh, when you're earning good money in a job you love and the bullies are still wondering what the hell they're gonna do with their sad little lives...

Whatever you decide to do, good luck! Feel free to PM me if I can do anything to help out.

Lisa xx

[Evie]

Hi George - Firstly let me say "well done you" for coming through that difficult year and now beginning to focus on the rest of your life.

I found from personal experience that having in a career in caring is extremely rewarding.

I think that volunteering like some of the others have mentioned is an excellent start - you may even become established in your volunteering role and get a job from it.

Many care/residential homes will offer NVQ courses to their employees.

I can see that Lisa has offered you some good information about further education.

The thing is to stay focused and positive in what you want to do - put your past experiences behind you and GO FOR IT!!!!

[lisa]

Hi George

Train to gain is brilliant its government funding for NVQ google the website and apply, you've got nothing to loose. I'm doing management level 3 all paid for by them.

Lisa