How do we provide exceptional person-centred care in Kent?

At The Old Rectory, our dedicated team of staff are keen to establish and nurture relationships with those in our care. Recently, one of our carers reconnected with her former headteacher, Miss Latham, who is using our services.

Keep reading to discover more about this heartwarming story:

Care in Kent | About The Old Rectory

Committed to providing top-quality services, The Old Rectory offers residential, dementia and nursing care in Kent.

Our dedicated team of staff consistently go above and beyond to provide exceptional care to residents. We’re keen to offer personalised support, helping those in our care to blossom and grow during their time with us.

In a fascinating twist of fate, one of our care workers, Kayleigh, is now caring for her former headteacher, Miss Dorothy Latham. As well as this, Miss Latham is showcasing her amazing teaching skills by helping another one of our caregivers with their Open University studies.

Care in Kent | Introducing Our Resident, Miss Latham

Our resident, Miss Latham, originally started her career in 1955, when she joined Baldwins Hill as a primary school teacher.

She later moved to Kent County Council to teach at Dymchurch County Primary School. Here, she met Kayleigh, who now cares for her at our residential home The Old Rectory.

During her expansive career, Miss Latham worked as the headteacher of Dymchurch Infant School, a senior lecturer at Christchurch College of Higher Education (now known as Canterbury Christchurch University), and later became headteacher of Dymchurch County Primary School, once the two local schools amalgamated again.

Care in Kent | The Importance of Helping Others

Alongside providing high-quality care in Kent, our staff at The Old Rectory consistently nurture our residents’ talents.

Miss Latham, for example, thrives off the passion of teaching and education, despite having retired from the profession almost 30 years ago.

Keen to facilitate this, we encouraged Miss Latham to mentor our registered manager, Kelly Parker. Miss Latham was more than up for the opportunity, and now assists Kelly with her history degree at the Open University.

Honouring Our Residents’ Life Achievements

Despite working full-time in her younger years, Miss Latham continued to delve into academia.

She spent a year at the Cambridge Institute of Education to study Advanced Primary Education, before studying at university. Here, she gained a first-class BA in psychology – specialising in children’s memory and learning – and later graduated with a Master’s degree.

After retiring, Miss Latham kept herself busy and went on to lecture at Canterbury Christchurch University for a year. She later worked as a school inspector, before getting a position with the Ministry of Education, assessing classroom assistants who had completed a special diploma at university.

Following years of hard work and dedication, Miss Latham finally retired at the age of 77.

A Message from Miss Latham

Miss Latham is now receiving care in Kent at the Old Rectory. In her spare time, she likes to read history magazines, work on her laptop and write letters to friends. She’s also currently working on her biography, so be sure to keep an eye out!

Speaking of her fulfilling career, Miss Latham said: “I can’t think of one single best moment in my career – I had many happy and jolly occasions.

“Teaching is very rewarding, it gives you a good feeling when you know you have helped children to achieve, but now being cared for by a former pupil is lovely, and it has a proper family feeling about it.”

A Message from Our Registered Manager, Kelly

Kelly, our registered manager here at The Old Rectory, expressed delight in receiving support from the former headteacher.

She said: “It’s lovely to see Miss Latham so passionate about her career, even now after all this time. She’s devoted her whole life to education and continues to offer a helping hand, and I’m lucky that I get to experience it first-hand. It’s something we both look forward to, and find really rewarding.”

At ACI Care, we offer residential, respite and dementia care to help transform the lives of others.

If you’re interested in finding out more about our care in Kent, please contact a member of our team.

 

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