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Fiona Havord, Principal Social Worker talks about new approaches to adult social care, apprenticeship opportunities, progression pathways and her dedication to delivering the very best service for our residents.
Adult social care
Fiona's journey
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We're opening up our doors
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Learn more about Fiona's career in adult social care.
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That's where I saw the difference that social workers make.
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Oh no, it was never what I expected
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I went all through school thinking I was going to be a primary school teacher and then I went off to university. I quickly realised that wasn’t for me.
I studied psychology undergrad because if I’m honest, I didn’t know what to do myself. I went on to get a job on a mental health ward in Liverpool; that was my first experience of adult social care.
That’s where I saw the difference that Social Workers make
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I was working in an inpatient unit and there were some severely unwell people but seeing them through to recovery was eye opening.
I was grasped by the long-term picture and how, with support people could live radically happier and healthier lives.
That was my ‘lightbulb’ moment
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Social work is all about helping people to live the lives they want to live. Nine times out of ten, people come into the social care profession because they want to help people.
As a social worker, you come into people’s lives at a time where they need support, they need a little guidance. If you’re hard working and passionate, then the rewards you get back are unparalleled by any other career.
Adult social care jobs
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Do you want to make a difference to someone's life? If so, why not join our adult social care team.
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Doing it differently
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If you’ve got your sights set on the world of social work, there’s no better place to build a career than here. Oxfordshire County Council is a huge organisation and there’s lots of directions you can go within adult social care.
We know that listening to our colleagues and implementing new ideas is essential to pushing our service forward.
We don’t stick to traditional methods
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We’re able to think creatively and we’re given space and time to do things differently.
Initiatives like the Cheers M’ Dears ‘pub’ are testament to our commitment to new ideas and ways of thinking, the Oxfordshire Way is another. That in itself is very flexible, it’s very community focused and it’s very person centred.
The ‘Oxfordshire Way’ focusses on strength-based practice
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When you enter the world of social work, you learn about lots of different approaches and theories and models. But essentially, at the heart of it, there’s the person. Focussing on their strengths, to help them live their life, the way they want to, is so important.
We’re connecting with people in a very human way and we’re seeing the difference.
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For the first time ever, we’ve gone external with our apprenticeships
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We have a rich culture of developing from within – that’s something we’ve always done well. This year, we’ve got the opportunity to offer up to ten apprenticeship positions and where normally, we can only offer up to three.
We’re opening up our doors
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We’re saying come and be part of the team and learn all about how we deliver adult social care and in return we’re going to support you to develop, what I believe is, a fulfilling career in social work.
This is exciting because not only is it an opportunity for existing staff who may have been thinking of doing the apprenticeship, but we can now invite external candidates to come and be part of Oxfordshire County Council and to develop the social work career with us.
We’ve revised progression pathways
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We’ve recently changed the way we look at pay progression for care coordinators, social workers and occupational therapists.
We’ve made it more value based, to help our colleagues develop their skills and experience and develop their confidence as practitioners.
Return to work
In Oxfordshire we feel strongly about supporting people to reach their potential and build their skills. That’s why we have developed a ‘return to social work’ scheme to support people who have had a break from the profession but want to regain their registration and enhance their practice.
We know life takes us all in different directions and sometimes that means people take a break from social work, but that doesn’t mean they have to leave it behind forever. We love working with passionate social care practitioners and we want to make sure we have a variety of frameworks to support and nourish people in their social work journey. Building a workforce of confident, capable practitioners helps us ensure the best experience for our residents.
We know life takes us all in different directions and sometimes that means people take a break from social work, but that doesn’t mean they have to leave it behind forever. We love working with passionate social care practitioners and we want to make sure we have a variety of frameworks to support and nourish people in their social work journey. Building a workforce of confident, capable practitioners helps us ensure the best experience for our residents.
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Sally's journey
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From supervisor occupational therapist to service manager, find out about Sally's journey in adult social care
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