Our Care Team

Jonathan is the founder of Saracen Care and Nominated Individual. He was a local GP for many years, including out of hours provision and continues to be GMC registered. His experience means we can provide care for high-dependency adults with complex medical needs. He liaises with primary and secondary care professionals – talking the same language – during assessment, treatment, monitoring and review to ensure timely and proactive care. Jonathan regularly visits services supporting and advising the staff team.

Julia is co-owner of Saracen Care, as well our Registered Manager. Julia has responsibility for the company’s regulatory and legislative compliance requirements and oversees business growth and development. She has over 20 years of experience in environmental consultancy, managing teams and major projects prior to joining the Health and Social care sector in 2010. As well as a BSc (Hons) degree; Julia has an Extended Level Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership (Level 7) from Gloucestershire College, for which she received the Outstanding Achievement award for her research project work entitled – “Training or Learning? – Effectiveness in the Care Sector”. More recently, she has completed the Quolux LEAD & GOLD Strategic Leadership and Business Development programmes for company owners and Directors. She was awarded “Highest Achieving Leader” by her business peers.

Becci has been with Saracen Care since 2014 and has an extensive career across health and social care which commenced in 2003. Becci has worked with children, adults and older people so brings with her a wealth of knowledge across the age groups. She has supported people with a range of different needs, including the elderly, learning disabilities, physical disabilities and mental health conditions.

Having worked in a leadership capacity at various times since 2005 Becci leads by example and her particular focus is to encourage independence and to ensure the people we support reach their best potential. Since joining Saracen care Becci’s career has progressed to a Senior Leadership role.

Becci has completed her Level 5 in Health & Social Care and furthered her development by completing a bespoke Leadership program developed with Quolux, a local Business Consultancy.

Emma has a background in supporting adults with learning disabilities, physical needs, acquired brain injuries, and mental health conditions. She has significant experience of managing various settings including residential homes, supported living and community support.  Since joining Saracen Care in 2019, Emma has progressed from management roles into leadership, and is part of the Senior Leadership Team.  She has continued to develop the Swindon area of the business to go from strength to strength.  She has a strong drive to positively work in Partnership with stakeholders in order to achieve common goals.  She believes individuals should have wonderfully ‘ordinary’ lives and that everyone should be able to experience the same opportunities!

Emma has a Diploma Level 5 in Health and Social Care, Adults and Young Persons, and has gained an Award from the Institute of Leadership and Management Award in First Line Management, inclusive of Mentoring. To support Emma’s progression into Senior Leadership she took part in a bespoke Leadership program developed with Quolux, a local Business Consultancy.  Emma has previously been a Registered Manager which she believes gave her great insight in ensuring quality and governance runs through the business, and personally gave her the drive to progress herself.

Sabrina started her career in 2013 as a support worker in a rehabilitation unit for people who had suffered acquired brain injuries. She worked her way up the career ladder to Senior Support Worker and then Team Leader. She then found a role as a Deputy Manager and worked up to Care Manager. She has worked with people who have learning disabilities, autism, acquired brain injury, complex support needs and different mental health diagnoses. Prior to starting a career in the care and support sector, she provided support for a family member which is what led her to help more people achieve their goals and make a difference to their lives, however small.

Outside of work, she participates in raising charitable funds for a Childrens Hospice in Maidenhead.

Sabrina believes that leading by example and working in a person-centred way helps to ensure that the people we support have the best chance to develop the confidence they need to take a leading role in their own support needs. In turn, empowers them to make their own choices, to be as independent as possible and achieving their aspirations.

Sabrina currently holds an NVQ 5 in Leadership and Management in Adult Health and Social Care.

Steve has worked in the sector since 2003 and has supported adults and older people. Before working in social care, Steve spent a period of time in the Royal Navy, serving in the Persian Gulf and other deployments around the globe. This provided him with the opportunity to develop transferable skills and to understand the importance of routine and structure for some of the people we support.

Steve has supported people with learning and physical disabilities, autism, and mental health diagnoses. In addition to this, he has spent a number of years working with individuals who have complex clinical needs.

Having previously been an Assistant Area Manager for a care organization, Steve has an understanding of ensuring individuals receive high-quality support despite them residing across a dispersed geographical area. Steve prides himself on managing a dedicated staff team and brings with him an enthusiasm for bringing out the full potential in both staff and the people we support. Steve has a Level 5 qualification in Leadership in Health & Social Care.

Mariama has worked for Saracen Care since 2013. She began as a support worker and has grown with the organisation, becoming a Team Leader and now a Care Manager.

Mariama sees supporting people as a vocation having worked since school in a number of settings across health and social care. Her ambition is to make a positive difference and improve the quality of life for people we are supporting. She believes that this should happen on a day to day basis, as well as for longer term objectives such as working towards a holiday or employment.

Mariama supplements her extensive experience with a Level 3 Diploma in Health & Social Care.

Debbie started her career as a volunteer youth worker over 20 years ago working with 10- to 16-year-old prolific offenders with the Youth Offending Team, moving on to become an Electronic Tagging Officer for offenders living in the community. Over the last 7 years, Debbie has been working as a Team Manager with semi- independent care leavers with complex needs, and adults with a learning disability. Debbie has an NVQ level 3 in Health and Social care and is in the process of completing her QCF Level 5.

Charli has worked in the health and social care sector for 6 years, after finding her passion for care in college. Charli has worked in a variety of roles, including a Volunteer, Support Worker, Service Lead, and most recently Care Manager, joining Saracen Care in June 2023.

Charli’s roles have given her the opportunity to support people who have a range of needs, including autism, learning disabilities, mental health, elderly people and people living with dementia. The majority of Charli’s experience has been working with individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities, supporting adults who are non-verbal and have complex health and care needs. From this, Charli gained invaluable skills and recognised her commitment to making a difference in the lives of vulnerable adults.

Charli holds a Level 5 Qualification in Health and Social Care.

Alex has been working in the Health and Social Care sector since 2016. He has held roles such as, Learning Disability Broker, Assistant Care Manager for young people and adults with needs within the Learning Disability Transitions Team and most recently a Contracts and Monitoring Officer for a Local Authority. Alex was responsible for monitoring compliance of service providers in line with the Local Authority and the Clinical Commissioning Group frameworks and the Care Quality Commission standards. This has provided him with transferable skills and experience within the Health and Social Care sector.

Alex holds a level 5 qualification in Operations and Management and is a Chartered Manager and member of the Chartered Management Institute CMI.

Ben has worked for Saracen Care since April 2020, prior to this he was management in the hospitality industry. He started with Saracen Care during lockdown as a support worker and found he had a real passion for the role. This allowed Ben to progress to Senior Support Worker and then become a Team Leader. Recently Ben decided to make the move over to the quality team, where he will be delivering staff training and undertaking quality projects to enhance the lives of both the staff and the People we Support.

Ben is able to train staff in Emergency First Aid and in the new year will also be a Positive Behaviour Support and Management trainer as well as Mental Health First Aider for the Swindon area. In addition to this, Ben also holds a level 3 diploma in Lead adult care work.

Rachel has worked in Social Care for 12 years, starting as a support worker through to her most recent post as a dual registered manager with the CQC and Ofsted. Prior to her career in Social Care, she worked across the North West of England as a Sign Language Interpreter.

Rachel has always had a passion for supporting employees and individuals to understand and promote Positive Behaviour Support. As a PBS/PBM trainer for a number of years, understanding the functions of behaviour promoting person centred responses, led her to her role at Saracen Care as the PBS lead. By understanding what is being communicated through behaviour, we have a much higher chance of being able to respond appropriately, and support individuals to feel heard, understood and know they are at the centre of their care and support.

Ashleigh began her career in health and social care in 2002 as a community support worker.  Her passion took her in the direction of neurodiversity, mental health, supported work and eventually, teaching and training.  Ashleigh has a level 3 diploma in health and social care, a level 5 diploma in education and training and a level 4 in counselling. She has delivered training and qualifications in health and social care at all levels since 2014 and more recently became a lead trainer on the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in learning disabilities and Autism programme.

Jodie started working at Saracen Care in August 2021 as our Swindon Administrator and quickly progressed to Learning and Development Coordinator, specialising in coordinating training for all Saracen Care staff and managing our learning management system. Jodie completed her Level 3 Award in Education and Training in July 2023 to enable her to start training staff, starting with our company inductions. Jodie has previous worked in the insurance sector and as a home care worker before joining Saracen Care to follow her passion for care.

Tanya has been working in the Social Care Sector since 2012 and began her career with Saracen Care as a support worker in 2018, where she was given opportunities for professional growth through Saracens Management pathway. Throughout her time working in the social care sector, Tanya has supported individuals with a variety of needs, such as autism, learning disabilities, mental health, and physical disabilities, in addition to this Tanya has experience around challenging behaviour. Tanya is passionate about building a culture of inclusivity, by delivering person centred care to the people she supports to ensure they are living fulfilling and independent lives.

Tanya holds a BA (Honours) degree in psychology and achieved a level 3 diploma in Adult Health and Social Care.

Anna started working in care around 15 years ago, as a support worker for adults with learning disabilities and behaviours that challenge. Anna progressed to a team leader before moving to supported living in a similar role and then onto Deputy Manager and Care Manager within domiciliary care.

Anna has worked with many people during her time in healthcare with varying support needs including autism, mental health support, physical complex needs, dementia and end of life care. Anna has also completed specialised training in supporting people at the end of their life.

Anna has always had a passion for supporting people to live the best life they can and has helped in various organisations since childhood with family, which Anna believe drove her passion to work in healthcare.

Anna believes in supporting people to achieve their goals and aspirations, no matter how big or small and providing a person-centred approach for the people we support enables them to work on achieving that goal.

Anna is currently completing a Level 5 qualification in Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care and is a qualified emergency first aid trainer.

Simon began working in Health and Social Care in 2013 looking to start a new career having worked in Hospitality and Security previously. Over the years Simon has progressed to where he is today, starting as a support worker for a domiciliary care provider, then moving onto roles such as – Team Leader, Care Co-Ordinator, Training Manager, Registered Manager and Quality. Simon has experience of supporting and managing teams supporting individuals with Learning Disabilities, Autism, Complex Needs and Mental Health Conditions.

Simon has a Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care and Level 5 in Education and Learning.

In Simon’s free time, he is an active person who enjoys taking part and watching sport, such as Football, Padel and Running. Simon completed the London Marathon on behalf of a local charity in 2019 raising approx. £3000. Simon also enjoys travel and experiencing different cultures, most recently having spent time in New Zealand.

Lorna started her career in care in 2004 and joined Saracen Care in 2017 as a Team Leader working across all services.

Lorna has recently taken on the exciting role of Deputy Care Manager, working alongside Anna.

Lorna holds her Level 5 in Health and Social Care Management.

Jason joined Saracen Care in 2022 and has progressed within the company to his new role of Deputy Manager. He will be working with Tanya to continue to achieve the high quality of care deserved by the people we support.

Jason has a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care and a BA (Hons) Fashion and Design.

Sarah is responsible the HR functions of the company and that staff welfare, engagement and satisfaction remains a priority for the company.

With 25 years’ experience as a Manager within the NHS Sarah brings with her an in-depth understanding of multi-disciplinary working and a commitment to high quality provision. Sarah has been with Saracen Care since 2015 and has worked in a number of roles so has a detailed understanding of all aspects of service delivery. Sarah has a BSc (Hons) in Health and Social Care, a CMI Award in Management and an ILM Level 3 Certificate in Leadership and Management.

Victoria is our newly appointed Recruitment Co-Ordinator. She has worked in Health and Social Care since 2021 and has specialised knowledge of Safer Recruitment policies and Visa Sponsorship.

Victoria is keen to ensure that recruitment needs are met in a timely manner with good quality staff who are willing to collaborate in the delivery of high standards of care.

Julie has worked in the care sector for over 20 years providing support and enablement for adults with learning difficulties, behaviours which may be challenging and complex needs. She has an HNC in Managing Health and Care services and completed Gloucestershire County Council’s new managers induction in 2016. Julie is one of the most long-standing members of Saracen Care and holds a vast knowledge of the people we support.

Julie works to ensure the PWS have a support team that is confident and competent to deliver the high standards of service delivery while building a rapport to ensure consistency within the team.

Julie continues to work directly with the people we support providing valuable insight to how support is delivered day to day, as well as leading by example through mentoring staff; and responding to issues and incidents as necessary.

Alison has 20 years’ experience within Health and Social Care, supporting vulnerable adults with learning difficulties, autism, acquired brain injury, mental health and complex challenging behaviours.

Alison began her career at Saracen Care in 2021 as support worker; Her passion and drive to ensure safe and effective care, supporting and mentoring her team, and achieving positive outcomes within the services she supported in, which led her to achieve developmental goals within the organisation.

Alison embraces learning and challenges, which has supported her Growth to a Senior Support worker, Team Leader and presently input job title, where her experience and knowledge of the services and needs of the people we support are pivotal in ensuring quality of care is upheld.

Julie is our newly appointed Finance Administrator. She has previously worked for 18 years in the finance department for a local school, where she was responsible for a range of duties, including payroll and bank reconciliations. She is looking forward to sharing her skills and knowledge at Saracen Care.

Dawn has worked with Saracen care since 2017, providing a range of management accountancy services. She has responsibility for producing timely accounts for the business to enable us to both monitor our progress in achieving our aims and to meet our financial obligations.

As well as having a Degree in Pure Mathematics & Statistics, Dawn is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) and as such, she has over 35 years’ experience in working both in Industry & in Practice for a large variety of SME’s and Charities.