Sarah Robertson is a support worker from our North Lanarkshire Supported Living branch.

She started her Modern Apprenticeship in August 2021 and is due to finish in March this year.  

Sarah had been working in social care for fourteen years before starting the Modern Apprenticeship and was in supervisory roles from 2016. “I was a Mentor in Cornerstone for a year and half and previously worked for the Thistle Foundation in Edinburgh and Sacro in Aberdeen.” 

Having worked in social care previously, for Sarah the Modern Apprenticeship meant refreshing previous qualifications. “I had other Personal Development qualifications but when I went back to general support work I needed to go back and do my SVQ.” 

The best bit of the Modern Apprenticeship for Sarah is getting to know the policies better and reflecting on her practice. “It’s great to be able to reflect on anything I am doing well or anything I can be doing better or differently.”  

“The Modern Apprenticeship is really helpful no matter where you are in your career. If you are new to the role it would be absolutely brilliant as you get great on the job training and learning, with lots of support.” 

“For me, the most rewarding aspect  is thinking about how I can positively impact  the person I’m supporting. It’s great to be able to look back and see what’s worked well and the impact you and the team have made on them achieving outcomes.” 

People on the Modern Apprenticeship can track their progress and impact through the portal One File which acts as an online portfolio for all their work. Sarah explained that she has been finding the online portfolio easy to work with. “It’s quite user friendly, there is a ‘fuel gauge’ on it that shows you how much you’ve done and how much you’ve still to do. It’s also easy to get in touch with your assessor through the portal too.” 

“I haven’t had to call upon my SVQ assessor that often for support, but she is there and you can email and call her at any time if you get stuck! There is lots of support available, even some SVQ study days, so you are definitely not on your own while doing the Modern Apprenticeship”. 

Sarah would highly recommend doing the Modern Apprenticeship. “If you are new to social care or not, everyone has to do their SVQ, and the Modern Apprenticeship is a brilliant way of doing it, so go for it!” 

To read more stories like Sarah's you can go here.