At Thornbury Community Services, our team is at the heart of everything we do, and we want to take this opportunity to show our gratitude. In our latest blog, we learn more about one of our Learning Disability and Autism team members Elizabeth Sharp, who is the LD&A Registered Manager at Thornbury Community Services.
Elizabeth’s background
Before starting her career in learning disability and autism, Elizabeth already had some experience when she was growing up. Her auntie has a learning disability, so she was able to learn about the various challenges and support needed to ensure she received the best care possible.
When we spoke with Elizabeth, she mentioned how much of an inspiration her auntie was and that she is the reason why she is so driven to achieve the best possible care for our clients.
Elizabeth has been working in the learning disability and autism field now for over 33 years. Since starting her career as a care assistant where she was supporting elders with dementia in a residential home, she has advanced drastically in her career.
Elizabeth later went on to work for the local authority in Somerset. Her role with the local authority was in the Learning Disability Service. During her time in Somerset, she worked in a variety of different roles and ended up working her way up to a Service Manager. In her new role, she was responsible for a range of provisions, such as:
●Residential
●Supported living and domiciliary
●Day service
As well as the above points, her main responsibilities were to manage, oversee, and support the team managers in delivering the services to adults with learning disabilities.
When the Learning Disability Services was transferred to a new organisation, Elizabeth secured a promotion as the Area Director, where she managed a portfolio of 22 services for adults with learning disabilities.
During her career, Elizabeth has achieved an NVQ Level 4 in Health and Social Care and has also completed a Level 5 diploma in Health and Social Care management. Since achieving the qualifications, she has grown her understanding of the policies, procedures and government legislation and how they impact the services we offer and the decisions we make.
Elizabeth’s role
Elizabeth is currently responsible for the Learning Disability and Autism Services at Thornbury Community Services. In her role, she is accountable for maintaining relationships with existing clients, building new relationships and also ensuring the service delivered is safe, effective and responsive.
Since joining us, we have learned how passionate and motivated Elizabeth truly is. She is always driven to improve the quality of our Learning Disability and Autism clients lives, whilst growing meaningful relationships with them. We are very lucky to have Elizabeth as part of our LD&A team. She is part of the hard-working team who keep our services running at the highest standard possible.
For more information about Learning Disability Week, visit Mencap’s website.
Interested in joining the TCS team? Register your interest today.