Kim Spain

NAME Kim Spain
JOB Senior practitioner, physical and sensory impairment
AREA OF WORK Physical and sensory impairment
EMPLOYER Essex Social Services, adults sensory team
QUALIFICATIONS DipSW, Anglia Ruskin University (1997); BSc social work, Anglia Ruskin University (2001)

I  took my A levels later in life when my children were young and found sociology and psychology fascinating subjects. I was also a care worker, working in residential and nursing homes and felt that I wanted a career in a caring profession. Being a single parent, my life experience, learning and personal nature steered me towards social work. Before I graduated I applied for a post in the adults sensory team, which was confirmed following my results.

I work with people aged 18 to 100+ who have a hearing, and/or visual impairment. My role involves maintaining a complex caseload while managing colleagues and making day-to-day decisions regarding urgent referrals and allocations. I am also a practice teacher. My office is based in Chelmsford and I try to get into the office at least twice a week.

As my team covers the whole of Essex, I spend a lot of time travelling around the county. A typical week might involve anything from assessing service users' or carers' needs, preparing panel presentations and managing cases, to organising direct payments, filling out paperwork and attending or running meetings and training.

My most unforgettable moments...

...come from being a practice teacher, which can be demanding as it means balancing the needs of my own caseload and responsibilities. However, the most unforgettable and rewarding moments for me are seeing students I've taught become employees with us after graduation. I enjoy the practice teaching part of my role since it helps remind me why I'm doing this job.