Mentoring: a way for social care leaders to support each other

One of the greatest things people tell us about working in social care is the peer support among colleagues and within the sector. This is particularly true when it comes to mentoring. We spoke to registered manager Sophie Crowton about her experiences of being a mentor through Skills for Care.

Sophie is a registered manager and has been working in care since she was 15. Her interest in social care started early as her grandma had dementia. Sophie spent a lot of time with her grandma’s carers, which eventually led to her taking on a role with the Alzheimer’s Society. After nine years Sophie was promoted to the role of deputy manager and ultimately registered manager.

Sophie first considered mentoring when she returned to work after having her daughter, but at this point she was looking to be a mentee rather than a mentor.

She tells us:

She’s also learned how to build strong relationships and trust with new team members, and how to let her team know she’s always available if they need her without micro-managing.

Sophie says she would definitely recommend mentoring, either as a mentor or a mentee, but she does say that to be a mentor you need patience and understanding.

For Sophie, the main thing she thinks that mentees gain from mentoring is extra confidence and she’s happy to be able to provide that as she knows there has been times in her career where having someone to provide that confidence would have been beneficial to her.

She says:

Sophie thought a mentor would help provide that extra bit of support and confidence as she settled back into the role that she already knew so well.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a mentor available at the time for Sophie, but the benefits of mentoring remained on her radar and when she was approached and asked to become a mentor with Skills for Care she was happy to take on the role and provide support, as she knew how beneficial the support of a mentor could be for people needing a confidence boost or some practical support.

So far Sophie has worked with around seven mentees to support them in developing in their careers in the rewarding world of social care. Due to lockdown most communication has happened via Zoom calls and emails, but it’s been important for Sophie to continue this support in this time, even if that’s virtually. In fact, the past two years may have been the most important time for many to be able to access the support of peers and mentors, and having that support available is credit to the people who work in social care and the supportive nature of colleagues in the sector.

Sophie says that in most cases her mentees have been newly-registered managers looking for help with those first steps, or people who really just need a bit of a confidence boost. She might talk through regulations with them, discuss structures for team meetings, or set tasks to work on and then run through together.

She says the process is very flexible depending on what each individual mentee is looking for. On average she tends to work with each mentee for around one to three months, but her door is always open and she thinks sometimes people are just happy to know you’re there if they need you.

As well as helping to develop the people she mentors, Sophie says that mentoring has helped her to develop new skills too, that can be applied in her role.

Find out more on about becoming or working with a mentor.

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