Kennis has been working in United Response services across the Nottinghamshire area.

She has really enjoyed building relationships with people we support, planning community activities like litter picks and ‘Croissant Club’ where people we support get together for breakfast once a week.

I’ve had a lot of opportunities to learn during my placement at United Response. Particularly about how to engage people we support in activities so they can meet new people and make friends.

I’ve changed the way I communicate with different people, depending on their support needs.

I’ve also learnt a lot from my team mates, from how they interact with people we support.

Kennis on the litter pick

Kennis moved from Singapore to Nottingham to start her degree in 2020. She explained how different support work is in the UK:

Social workers in Singapore work for voluntary welfare organisations. There’s no obligation for social workers there to make assessments for people.

I really like interacting with service users and providers so I prefer the model of social care here.

She added:

I have been on other placements in Singapore but I really like how person-centred support is engrained into everything we do here.

Kennis thinks other social work students should definitely consider work placements at United Response:

I believe that this experience is very useful for social work students as we get exposed to what is happening on the frontline of social care.

It’s a really good opportunity to get to know how a provider works, to communicate with service users and understand the care packages that we will commission in the future.

Plus, students bring something different to a service.

Service Manager Liz Farrell-Cutts says Kennis quickly became an ‘integral’ part of the team:

She built positive relationships with the people that we support quite quickly.

Her organisational skills are second to none and she’s assisted us in getting all the groups that we’re currently doing off the ground.

She added:

We couldn’t have achieved all that without her.

Kennis would like to work in a hospital setting as a medical social worker when she graduates and then possibly work abroad.

She’s very thankful to our Nottingham teams and Area Manager Olivia Briggs for guiding her during her placement:

This is one of the most supportive teams I’ve ever been in.

Watch our full interview with Kennis and Liz here.

Are you a student who’s interested in a work placement with United Response? Use our map to find your nearest service.

  • Jenna Lloyd is Senior Content Officer for United Response.