Allied Bakeries funds professional training for care workers

Allied Bakeries in Stockport, the baker behind the Kingsmill brand, will support professional training for four additional care workers at a home in Burnley, Lancashire.

The training for the new care home staff members will be funded by an initiative between Health Education England, the National Skills Academy for Food & Drink and British food and drink companies. The scheme will see Allied Bakeries’ own unused apprenticeship levy funds being redirected to pay to train new NHS health and social care workers and forms part of Kingsmill’s Slice of Kindness Pledge.

The four new team members at Acorn Heights care home in Burnley will follow the Lead Adult Care Worker Level 3 course. This NVQ qualification will give the individuals a vital foot in the door of the caring profession, along with the essential skills needed to appropriately support Acorn Heights’ residents. The care home’s residents are aged 36-85 and have very specific wellbeing needs ranging from addiction recovery to dementia. 

The new trainees are Donna Pye, Maddison Gipson, Toyah Sturdy and Nicole O’Neill, who will not only greatly alleviate the pressure on existing team members who cover 24/7 rotas, but also allow for the much deserved promotion of other team members.

Having new staff members will allow for even better care for the Acorns Heights residents who will benefit from increased 1:2:1 time that can be used for anything from a local walk or shopping trip, to help organising administrative tasks or personal belongings. The increased staff support will also allow larger groups to head out for more activities that include bowling, cinema trips and recently, an outing to a local farm to make milkshakes. 

Talking about the funding for the new team members, Care Home Manager Natalie Heaven said:

“At Acorn Heights we’re really grateful to be benefiting from the Kingsmill support. We’re like one big family and we don’t use agency staff as continuity of care is so important to us. Without agency support however, we can find ourselves really stretched as we’re covering 24/7 rotas between us all. Having four new team members will take some of that pressure off, and allow for even more care and attention for each of the 22 residents we have here. 

“Compared to a lot of care homes, our residents are quite young and they understandably like to get out and about. Having more staff makes trips out much more doable – something we know boosts everyone’s mood and energy levels no end. The funding is about so much more than NVQ qualifications – it really is helping with wellbeing across the board.”

About the scheme, Tim Bright, General Manager at the Kingsmill bakery in Stockport said,

“Supporting our local community has always been at the absolute heart of all we do, whether that’s directly through being a good local employer, or indirectly by donating our freshly baked bread to those who find themselves in need across the North of England. Having the opportunity to fund care workers to support and benefit the health of those in our community was always going to be an opportunity we would jump at. We know the training being provided to the new recruits at Acorn Heights is much needed and welcomed by Natalie and her existing team and we wish Donna, Maddison, Toyah and Nicole the very best in gaining their qualifications.”

Liz Sahu, for Health Education England said,

We are very grateful to Kingsmill for their support of the NHS and particularly Acorn Heights care home. We know the new joiners will be such an asset, helping to improve everyone’s well-being and we wish them all the very best in their training and new roles.”

Photo: Allied Bakeries’ Lyndsey Barton (Front left) with care home staff and residents from Acorn Heights, including business manager Natalie Heaven (Front right).