Celebrating 25 years of Marie at Cherry Trees Care Home!

Based in Rotherham, Cherry Trees Care Home recently celebrated the 25 year anniversary of Deputy Manager, Marie Dearnley. We spoke to Marie about her career in care, and why utilising in-house training has helped her step up the career ladder.

“I started my career at Cherry Trees Care Home on 4^th January 1999. I was originally a Care Assistant in the night team, which gave me a great opportunity to learn my new role at Cherry Trees. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to work a variety of roles, including Care Assistant in the day team, Senior Care Assistant, and now Deputy Manager.”

Marie’s advice to anyone starting a career in care is to utilise the training available to you. “It’s been an honour to progress my career at Cherry Trees Care Home. I’ve been able to take advantage of many courses over the years, including Orchard’s specialist Dementia Promise training, which I’d highly recommend completing. I’m currently working on my NVQ Level 5, which will help me build my managerial and care skills.”

Part of the Orchard Care Homes group, colleagues at Cherry Trees Care Home can benefit from our Learning and Development programme, which offers excellent career progression through training programmes and courses. Marie’s enthusiasm for further education has allowed her to advance to more senior roles within Cherry Trees, and helps her stay up to date with the latest care practices in the adult care sector.

As Deputy Manager, Marie explained how joining our Rotherham care home as a Care Assistant was the best decision for her career. “I love working at Cherry Trees Care Home! I’ve met some incredible people, including residents, family members and fellow colleagues. The residents have such interesting stories to tell, too - you could write a book on some of the tales I’ve heard.”

The news of Marie’s anniversary at Cherry Trees welcomed many well-wishes on social media, with relatives of family members and health professionals commenting on Marie’s achievement. “Well done Marie, one of the best! Lovely lady, amazing to your residents and to us district nurses” said Carol, a local District Nurse. Marie’s accomplishment was also recognised by a resident’s daughter, who said “Absolutely the best - we can't thank you enough for everything you and your care team have done.”

When asked why she’s enjoyed her career in care, Marie mentioned how rewarding working in a care home can be. “This job is about making people’s lives meaningful and supporting them through a potentially difficult time in their life. We don’t just help the residents; we’re here for their loved ones, and always extend our support to them. We treat every resident as our second family, and care for them in a way we’d want our loves one to be cared for.”

Marie is a true testament to how utilising in-house training can help progress your career in care, and why you should consider working in a care home. Thank you to Marie at Cherry Trees Care Home for an incredible 25 years of service – here’s to many more!

Orchard Care Homes are dedicated to providing excellent training and development opportunities for all colleagues across the group. From our step-up-to-dementia support worker programme to management skills, we can help support your career ambitions. Want to know more? Hit the button below.

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