Our Team of Carer Support Workers Expand Our Carer Support Workers are based locally and many have experience of being a carer themselves. They step into the shoes of the carer for a while and take over their role. They provide a practical, personal and specialised service and can carry out any care task that enables the carer to have a break. This can happen in the home but you might see our team out in the community too.
Anthony Lea Business Development Manager Expand Ant is the Business Development Manager. His role is to develop new ways of bringing money and resources into the organisation. This can involve fundraising, grant applications and new contracts, as well as developing working partnerships that improve how we deliver services.
Pauline Steele CEO, Carers Trust Tyne and Wear Expand Pauline became our Chief Executive in January 2011. She has overall responsibility for the running of the charity and works closely with the Senior Management Team to achieve our objectives and maintain excellent service delivery to our carers. Pauline has been a carer herself and understands fully the impact this can have on daily life. She is passionate about the work of the organisation and making lives better for carers and their families.
Carol Watson Young Carer Service Lead Expand Carol manages the Young Carers Team. Her role includes exploring ways to develop and improve the services we deliver, planning activities, writing reports and working in partnership with other agencies to ensure that all young carers are offered the support they deserve.
Maureen Kew Young Carer Service Assessor Expand Maureen has been our Young Carers Assessor for over 13 years. She is the first point of contact when we receive a new referral to our service and is the person that will visit young carers at home to carry out an assessment and identify their caring responsibilities. Once young carers have completed their assessment, they will then become registered with our service. Maureen also carries out reassessments, to make sure we know of any changes in young carers' circumstances and caring responsibilities.
Karen Miller Young Carer Support Worker Expand Karen works in the Young Carers Team. Her main role is providing one-to-one emotional support to young carers of all ages. She also have responsibility for providing our youngest group of young carers with a welcome pack and regular updates until they reach 8 and are able to join the larger group activities.
Andrea Overton Young Carer Support Worker Expand Andrea works in the Young Carer team and her role involves liaising with schools. She co-ordinates and delivers lunchtime drop-ins at secondary schools, where young carers can pop along for a chat and a catch-up. She also provides young carers with 1:1 emotional support and enjoys getting involved in social activities with young carers of all ages.
Christine Tindale Young Carer Support Worker Expand Christine is a Young Carer Support Worker but does a bit of everything in the Young Carer Service. She helps out on school drop-ins, makes contact with new young carers, pulls together much of the admin that's needed to make an activity happen and is out most Saturdays on young carer social activities. If it's a sports or outdoor activity, you'll probably see Christine.
Sam Allport Young Carer Activity Worker Expand Sam is a Young Carer Activity Worker. He carries out different activities with children and young people and tries to bring some fun into their lives away from their busy schedules. He's there for advice on personal issues and helps to build positive relationships between young carers and the service.
Karina Sikorska Central Service Administrator Expand Karina is a Central Service Administrator and provides support to the Care Service team. She maintains their internal database and archive system, ensuring that data and documents are stored in a logical manner and easily retrieved when required. Karina has many years of experience working in an office environment, where she developed skills in customer service, workload management and an ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.
The carer I want to refer doesn’t live in Gateshead but the person who has the care needs does. Can I still refer? Information about which localities we can work in. Expand We can provide a service, but it would not be covered under our main contract with Gateshead Council. The carer would need to pay privately or via a direct payment if they have an individual budget.
Do you offer cleaning and help around the house? Tasks that a care service could include Expand A Care Service can include almost any task that enables the carer to have a break. A Care Coordinator will discuss this during an assessment in the home and negotiate a care plan with the family. Click here to read more about what our Care Service can offer.
The person with care needs doesn’t live in Gateshead. Can they still receive a service? Information about which localities we can work in. Expand We can provide a service, but it would not be covered under our main contract with Gateshead Council. The carer would need to pay privately or via a direct payment if they have an individual budget.
At what age do you stop working with young carers? Information about the age of young and young adult carers that we work with. Expand We currently work with young carers until the reach 18. At some point after a young adult carer turns 17, we will offer them a Transition Assessment. This is an assessment of their needs as they become an adult and can include supporting them to access adult carer services.
What kind of support can you offer young carers? Information about the services we offer to young carers. Expand We offer a range of support to young carers, including Young Carer Assessments; Transition Assessments; social activities; one-to-one and group emotional support; school drop-ins; practical workshops; access to funds; discount cards and newsletters. A young carer can be registered with the service and receive and assessment without having to access other parts of the service if they don’t want to. Click here to find out more about our services for young carers.
Are there any health conditions that you are unable to provide care for? Information about the disabilities and health conditions that we can support. Expand Every circumstance is assessed individually. There are no specific health conditions that we cannot support. However, we must assess the extent of care required and whether we have the capacity to provide it. We must also consider whether a person’s behaviour presents a danger to our staff.
How is the Care Service funded? How are replacement care services paid for? Expand The Care Service is funded in several ways. We have a large contract with Gateshead Council to deliver carer relief services. We also deliver services based on individual small contracts with the Council. In some circumstances, a service may not be fully covered by our main contract but a social worker may apply for additional funds to pay for the service. If a person has chosen to have a personal budget from the Council, they can use this to pay for our services. Carers can also purchase our services privately.
Are there any age restrictions? Information about the age of carers that we work with. Expand The Young Carer Service supports children and young people from age five until their 18th birthday. The Care Service can provide replacement care to give someone of any age a break from their caring role. While most people receiving this service are adults, we do provide care services to support young carers as well.
Can I make a referral on behalf of a carer? Information about who can make a referral to our services Expand Yes. Anyone can make a referral on behalf of a carer if they have their permission. If you’re a parent/guardian and want to refer your child as a young carer, please make sure they’re happy for you to do this. We can’t provide a service to a child or young person who doesn’t want it. In some circumstances, a young carer would like support but does not want their parent/guardian to know. This is not unusual. Illness and disability are a very private issues for many families. Children and young people can feel like they are breaking someone’s trust to talk about it. We cannot register a child or young person for a service without their parent/guardian’s permission. In some circumstances we can arrange to visit them in school, or they could attend one of our school drop-ins. If you believe someone is a young carer, we will always encourage you to gain the parent/guardian’s permission. By doing so, you could be helping them to get the support they need as well.