A year into her role as Senior Support Development Coordinator at Teamwork’s Wellingborough centre, Madeline Bailey has not only organised lots of exciting and interesting trips and activities for service users, supported the centre manager and helped out on the factory floor, she has developed new ideas to engage with some of our longstanding community contacts in Wellingborough. She has also built some really lucrative new relationships with key partners, organisations and businesses.

Here she talks about what she loves the most about working at Teamwork Trust…

“I used to work with children with special needs at Isebrook College, but my role at Teamwork is far more varied,” said Madeline who explains that no day is ever the same.

“One of the great things about Teamwork Trust is the drive to engage in the community – if we want to be able to give our service users the same chances and opportunities as everybody else, we have to partner with local businesses and organisations. Over the past year I have grown relationships with community groups and looked to develop new ones too – an element of my role I have really enjoyed."

“Another responsibility is to arrange activities and trips for members – I talk to them, find out what they would like to do and whether it’s feasible, and then come up with ideas. This year I have organised Diwali celebrations, bowling trips, flower arranging activities, gardening projects, theatre shows and visits to Birdland and the seaside. I always try and ensure there is a purpose too – whether that’s teaching them independence, which could include how to pay for their own tickets, or learning how to use equipment.”

Supporting the centre manager, helping out in education classes and assisting members as they carry out their jobs on the factory floor is another element of Madeline's role.

“I need to ensure that jobs which come in from companies are suitable for everybody because providing opportunities for all is what Teamwork Trust is all about. That might mean I have to liaise with organisations to decide what work might be best for them to outsource. There are lots of challenges and I am learning new things everyday, but I get a huge amount of satisfaction from my role. It is really rewarding being able to make a difference to someone’s day, and to give them confidence to succeed at things they might not have thought possible.”