I’m not the perfect parent but I pray daily that God will teach me how to be a good mother. Whilst on holiday with my family, my seven year old son has been leading us in prayer before we go out. We tell him daily how blessed he is to have gone on holiday as many are not as fortunate as him to have been given the same opportunities he has experienced in his young life. We remind him that God is our provider, that God gave his mum and dad their jobs, the food on his table, the clothes on his back, the money to buy his toys with. My two year old daughter has been copying his prayers and at meal times is the first one to remind the rest of the family to pray and give thanks for the food.

I’m so thankful to my mother who is an exemplary Christian teacher to my children. We were driving to Disney World and she led a family discussion about the ten commandments. She did it in a fun way for the kids to understand and my son raised questions which my husband and I were able to answer.

Teaching children about God is a lifestyle and should not be ‘cloak and dagger’. I am always reminded by the bible verse Proverbs 22:6 ‘Train a child in the way that they should go so that when they are old, they will not turn away from it’. There’s too much going on in the world today to not be concerned as to what happens with your child. I heard somewhere that if you don’t discipline a child by the time they are seven, it’s going to be struggle to instil discipline thereafter.

The only down side which I am not afraid to criticise is the amount of room service we have had or should I say lack of it. We are still within the first week of our Florida holiday and I am a little upset that we are not having regular room service, provision of clean towels or made up beds. Isn’t that what a holiday is all about? The ‘not having to do anything aspect because it gets done by other people’. I did phone front desk and ask how often room service is and their reply was once a week. However, they said that I can request for someone to clean the apartment if I call in the morning. Though through all my years of travelling, I have never had the need to call for housekeeping because it is automatically done. In addition, we are expected to throw our own trash out. If you don’t mind doing a little bit of housework on holiday then the ‘Encantada Experience’ is definitely for you!

Now with all that said and done, Encantada is a superb investment for those looking to purchase property as it literally is only 15- 20 mins out from Disney, Sea World and other main tourist attractions. My family are enjoying Encantada and I would definitely come back in a few years with the great hope that they could sort out their housekeeping.

Ooo one word of advice, Encantada rent out their satellite navigation GPS systems for $25 a week. A far cry from the astronomically over priced $60+ a week at the airport. Whatever you do, don’t hire a sat nav system from the airport as I would consider it ‘daylight robbery’.

• Work through your Provider Compliance Assessments and create an evidence based folder (you may end up with two or three)
Having completed my Level 4 leadership and management qualification last year, I applied the same principle of creating an evidence based folder for the PCA’s. I use it as a working folder and update it when the need arises. i.e. up-to-date training statistics, staff and resident meetings etc. It helps to have everything in one place rather than going off in an inspection trying to find all the documents that you need.

• Get your staff to work with you
I am in no way an autocratic leader and in some respects, one might even call me “soft”. However, I have learnt through my eleven years of management that working with the staff gets things done. Sometimes it might be slower that you would like but more ‘heads are better than one’.

• Prioritise
Planning never ever goes to plan. I can’t tell you how many times I have planned a day only to be disappointed that everything in my planner wasn’t achieved for that day. Simply because of other things that cropped up which took priority over what I had planned.

I particularly like Steven Covey’s quadrant urgent/important quadrant. In a nut shell, you simply put the issues that you are tackling in the relevant box which helps you prioritise.

To find out more about this topic, go to practice this

• Have minuted daily flash meetings
Running a large care home is no easy task but in order to know what goes on, on a daily basis, I have flash meetings with dept heads and RGN’s. This keeps me in the know and allows me to support, supervise and direct staff to the most appropriate action

I have to say that although I prepared for the fit person’s interview the day before, the inspector who interviewed me made me feel at ease and it felt more like a conversation than a set of questions.

Although she did have an interview sheet, she did say that it wasn’t a job interview and she was just trying to establish if I was sound enough to carry out the responsibilities of a Registered Manager which somewhat relaxed me.

I think that if you have been a care home manager before, you will have the knowledge and experience to carry you through the interview.

Below is just a rough guide of the questions that we tackled and my answers to them to help you.

Q. Can you tell me a little bit about your home?

(I gave the inspector a brief run down of the home and the staff ratios etc.)

Q. You have been managing the home now for several months, can you tell me what changes you have made and how this has affected the home?

(I gave the inspector an outline of the changes that I had made for example: major changes to the staff units which at first was not well received although it was for the benefit of the home as a whole. There were staff who had resigned or were about to resign at the time that I had started and therefore I had to look at the staff compliment and staff skills and competencies in order to provide a good skill mix amongst the staff. I talked about how this affected the residents and the relatives).

We somehow got onto the topic of abuse (I do tend to waffle) but this answered a set of questions without her having to ask me them.

Q. Can you talk me through the process of how you report abuse?

In the case of alleged abuse, I would notify the local safeguarding authority, the individual’s social worker, the police if necessary, and also inform CQC through the statutory notification which is Regulation 18.

We also talked about person centred planning, deprivation of liberty and best interest. I gave an example of an individual at my home where best interest is used as we were depriving that individual of the right to go out by himself as he had no road safety awareness. Though he was able to access the community when supervised. (Again, although not asked the question, this tackled the topic around mental capacity).

Q. Can you talk me through a learning experience that you have encountered at your home?

I gave her an example of a meeting that I had with all my direct reports and one staff member had made another staff member very upset. On reflection I could have tackled the situation in a different manner but this was a learning curve for me.

I also discussed with the inspector issues around medication and how I ensure that medication is administered safely.

I referred to the medication policy and procedures and the fact that we do monthly audits on the medication to pick up any anomalies. If there are any, an action plan is put into place to ensure that the anomaly is rectified. I also ensure that staff are trained on the safe handling of medication, checking of medicines is carried out by two members of staff.

Q. How do you ensure that residents views are taken into account?

By holding regular resident meetings, ensuring that the complaints procedure is robust and adhered to. By putting an action plan together if the complaint is substantiated in order to ensure that the issue or complaint has been rectified or met. Holding manager surgeries which I have on a Thursday afternoon although I do walk around the building and get to talk to the residents and relatives to ensure that they are satisfied with the care that is being provided. We are also recruiting for a resident and relative representative within the home whereby relatives or residents can go to the specific person to discuss their concern should they feel that they are unable to talk to a member of the staff team. Lastly resident surveys on their home, actives that are being provided, food and quality of care. It’s not just about the collection of the surveys but what you do with that information. Hence an action plan would be formulated to carry out the expressed opinions of the residents as far as reasonably practicable.

The inspector did say that she would be recommending me for registration which made me smile from ear to ear.

I dare say that the above is exhaustive but hopefully it will give you a heads up on the process of the CQC fit persons interview.

I thought I was well prepared. I figured my usual 30 minute drive from work to home would take roughly a couple of hours due to the snow. I brought with me 4 small bite size chocolates, a packet of mentos and a bottle of water. I resigned myself to the fact the journey would take as long and psyched myself up. Little did I know that my anticipated 2 hour journey would take a little under 4 and a half hours and I just thank the good Lord for gadgets like the mobile phone to keep me occupied whilst sitting in traffic that did not move. Yep, Twitter and Facebook has never been more entertaining. I got through the bite size chocolates and the packet of mentos but I did give up on drinking the water for fear of not being able to go to the loo. I did not want a full bladder to be the icing on the cake.

I am fortunate to be able to drive a 4×4 in the midst of the snow and I thank God that I changed my bald tyres a couple of weeks back. Though they were expensive to change, I believe God blessed me by knowing the bad weather would come and urged me to change it. I saw so many cars struggle on slip roads and lorry and truck drivers really put their foot on the gas but their vehicles wouldn’t budge.

Another thing that annoyed me was lorry drivers blocking exit roads unnecessarily which made the traffic jam much worse. I thank God that at least I’m home safely and for really giving me the patience to sit through all that mad traffic. I tell you what though, I brought work home with me because I am not gonna sit through that again tomorrow.

The first week, he copied the verse into his notebook and stuck the memory card on the mirror. I then helped him recite it but found the most important aspect of reciting the verse was Sam being able to understand what it meant. I therefore spent time telling Sam why Jesus died for us. He had many questions like ‘Why did God allow Jesus to die?’ ‘Why do we have to believe in Jesus?’ and ‘what is eternal life?’ Once he understood the meaning of the verse, it became revelation to him (his light bulb moment as we like to put it) and he could recite it better. Today I wrote the verse on a piece of paper and cut it up into small groups which he then had to put together (a bit like a puzzle).

He had fun doing this! The one thing that I have learnt about my time sharing to Sam about God is appreciating the time we have together. Though my 1yo lingers in the background doing her own thing, Sam appreciates the attention that I give him during these short intervals and these moments of bonding I wouldn’t miss for the world.

I read somewhere yesterday that if we do not share to someone the things that they have done wrong then their blood would be on our hands yet if we shared to them and they did not listen then we would be blameless.

I could not have it upon me not to share about the love of God and be a bystander of seeing someone go to hell. Hell is real to me and the bible tells us that everyone who does not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour will not be a part of Heaven. There are only two places to go to after death and that is Heaven or hell. Hell does not become me or anyone else.

How do I approach it at work? As always I would ask permission. If the person is willing to hear then I would share about God and His love. If not then I have done what was required of me and pray that someone might have been able to achieve what I could not. The boundary between professionalism and who we really are out of work is a fine line but I consider my pulpit my work place. Not everyone is called to be a pastor or a pulpit minister but everyone has an opportunity to minister in their workplace where ever that might be. Could you be sharing to someone whose days are soon numbered?

My job has many different dimensions from dealing and managing staff to dealing with customers and making sure that everything ticks along whilst keeping harmony and balance within the work place.
I’ve learnt to totally rely on the Holy Spirit and each morning devote myself in prayer to ensure that every decision, action and thought that I make through the day is not only wise but favourable.

The woman opposite me was angry, tearful, hurt and honestly I could see her pain. I thank God that he gave me choice words. Words of comfort, words of encouragement, words of hope, words of wisdom and by Gods grace he granted me favour with her. I manage to alleviate her concerns and anxieties. There is no way on earth that I could have come up with what I did by myself and I just want to give God the glory for bringing me out of a very tricky situation.

Prayer is worth it. I know it and I’ve seen it work in every area of my life. Depend on God today to bring you out of any tricky situation you may find yourself in.

I dug the following information from this website which comes from a very anti-satanism perspective

Where did it begin?

It began over 2000 yrs ago with people known as the Celtics. They lived in what is today England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This was also the beginning of the Celtic new year, a time to give thanks to the sun-god for the harvest.

What is it all about?

Halloween, All saints day, All hallows eve or All souls day is a festival. It was held to honor the Samhain the so-called “lord of death”. It was a Druidical belief that on the eve of this festival Samhain, lord of death, called together the wicked spirits that within the past 12 months had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals.

It was a pagan belief that on one night of the year the souls of the dead return to their original homes, there to be entertained with food. If food and shelter were not provided, these evil spirits would cast spells and cause havoc toward those failing to fulfill their requests.

Sacrifices were offered on this night to the dead spirits because it was thought they visited their earthly dwellings and former friends.

There was a prevailing belief among all nations that at death the souls of the good men were taken possession of by good spirits and carried to paradise; but the souls of the wicked men were left to wonder in the space between the earth and the moon, or consigned to the unseen world. These wandering spirits were in the habit of haunting the living…But there were means by which ghosts might be exorcised.

To exorcise these ghosts, that is to free yourself from their evil sway, you would have to set out food and provide shelter for them during the night. If they were satisfied with your offerings, they would leave you in peace. If not, they were believed to cast an evil spell on you.

In modern day Satanism and Witchcraft covens, this is the day when Satan himself comes to “fellowship” with his followers. Many changes have occurred over the centuries, but one thing ha stayed the same, the practice of giving an “offering” has stayed the same. Oh we do it under the name of fun but what is the real meaning? Is it still the same as in the old days? The answer is YES.

What does the Bible say?

Young children are innocent in their thinking and as parents we have a responsibility to teach them what is right and wrong.  The Word of God tells us

1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil

Deuteronomy 18:10 There shall not be found among you any one that makes his                                                         son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses                                                                 divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a                                                               witch.

If you are a practising Christian, you should not take part in this un-holy day and teaching your children about Halloween and the origins of it will make them wiser .

I proposed that when Sam has learnt 10 memory verses, I will give him a token of money so he can save up to buy something that he wants. This ways he is also learning about the value of money and what it means to save up for something that he really wants rather than for me or his dad to buy it for him.

Sam was also very intrigued about the story of Lot and his wife running from Sodom and Gomorrah and the consequences of not listening and obeying Gods word.