Staff dedication celebrated in special ‘thank you’ event

Staff working in residential childcare homes across North Devon were treated to a night of live music, local food and family fun as their employers paid tribute to them in a special ‘thank you’ family celebration.

Keith and Christine Burley, founders of Blue Elephant Childcare, planned the evening not only to say thank you to their staff for their hard work but also to their families.

Keith said: “The event is just one of our ways of saying thank you to our staff and especially to their families.

“Our concept is that we ‘borrow’ our staff from their families to help Blue Elephant to be a family and it is important that they realise that we acknowledge and are thankful for that.

“Our Blue Elephant family work tirelessly to understand and meet the needs of the young people we care for and always keep our young people at the very centre of everything we do.”

Blue Elephant Childcare was founded in 2017 and have six small homes across North Devon. Their work to ensure the safety, aspirations and growth of the young people in their care has been such a success that they are due to open their seventh home later this year.

“With the expansion in our homes we are looking to recruit more people to join the Blue Elephant family,’ said Keith, who has more than 35 years’ experience as a qualified social worker, spending all that time in the residential sector.

“Our staff are our biggest asset and that’s why we invest so much in them, encouraging them to be the best they can be.

“We believe that helping our staff to develop makes it easier for them to help our young people to grow.

“We are proud to say we are a truly child-centred organisation, constantly adapting our services to meet the changing needs of our young people.”