THE POST: NSPCC Adult Helpline Development and Quality Manager
POST HOLDER: Paddi Vint
As a Development and Quality Manager with the NSPCC Paddi Vint looks at ways of working that help reach more children and families
Give a brief outline of your career to date
My first job after college was as a Hospital Play Specialist in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. I was part of a team providing therapeutic play, surgery preparation and distraction techniques, designed to support children and their families, and provide them with the opportunity to use play to try to normalise what could be a very frightening and traumatic experience.
After moving to England, I worked in nursery and early years settings, before moving to Germany for several years and working as a British Forces Early Years Inspector, which meant that we were accredited with Ofsted to register childminders and inspect preschool and day nursery provisions across Germany.
When I came back to England, I worked within Sure Start provisions as a family support worker and then as a manager for five years. I also worked as a safeguarding pastoral lead in a school for children who had complex learning difficulties.
My entire career has been based around keeping children safe and ensuring that their voice is heard, so when I returned to Northern Ireland, I wanted to work for an organisation whose values matched mine and as a result, I have been with the NSPCC for six years.
What was your favourite subject at school?
Not surprisingly, child development. This allowed me to get out of school and volunteer in a nursery school. That was when the drive to support children really came to life for me.
Did you go on to further/higher education, if so, what did you study and where?
I trained to be a nursery nurse at Belfast Met. Having dyslexia, study and education was always something that I struggled with at school. However, in my adult life it was something I took a real passion in.
The opportunity to study what I was interested in saw me return to college and train as a hospital play specialist, and then as an NVQ childcare and education assessor and then as a facilitator for adult education.
How did you get into your area of work?
From my previous work in early years settings, it was evident to me that to make the most impact on a child’s life, education alone could not make the difference and that support was also needed to be given to the adults in the child’s life and the society they lived in
Joining the NSPCC Helpline in 2016 as a Child Protection Specialist allowed me to support many families and safeguard children across the UK. In 2020/21 during the pandemic, we responded to almost 85,000 contacts from people worried about a child and I am proud to have played a part in that. Having been with the NSPCC for a few years, I took the opportunity to move into the Development and Quality Management side of the Helpline and I am now managing a team and overseeing a Domestic Abuse project.
Is this what you always wanted to do?
Absolutely. Helping to safeguard children is a priority for us all. Many people don’t realise that NSPCC also supports adults. The NSPCC Helpline offers support and advice to parents and carers, as well as members of the public and professionals who are concerned about the welfare of their own or any other child.
We assess those concerns and when appropriate, make referrals to statutory agencies. We have teams based in Belfast, Manchester and Birmingham and last year we responded to almost 67,000 calls from people worried about a child.
Were there any essential qualifications or experience needed?
You need to be a qualified social care, health or education professional with extensive experience in safeguarding children and young people and previous experience of managing a team.
Are there alternative routes into the job?
Not really. Working to help, and working with, vulnerable children and their parents or carers does require an initial qualification, often followed by specialist training and learning development whilst in post.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
Good communication skills, positive attitude, and as we often deal with upsetting issues, understanding of the need for self-care.
What does a typical day entail?
The NSPCC Helpline is open 365 days a year, and a Development and Quality Manager I generally work Monday – Friday with occasional weekends.
Part of my role is looking at ways of working that helps us reach more children and families and improving outcomes for them. This involves me attending meetings in relation to accessibility for service users, recruitment and working with external agencies. I also manage a team and provide supervisions for staff.
Staff well-being is really important to us at NSPCC and we ensure that all staff members have regular supervisions to allow them an opportunity to reflect on the work that they are doing.
My day may also see me deliver training or delivering presentations to community groups in relation to the Helpline and the work we do.
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
The best part of the job is working with amazing teams in Belfast, Salford and Birmingham who all share common values in safeguarding children. The most challenging aspect of the job for me is ensuring that we have the ability to meet the high demand for our service.
Why is what you do important?
Half a million children every year suffer abuse in the UK. Every day we receive nearly 200 calls from adults worried about the children in their lives – over a third of them are so serious that we immediately involve external agencies. Without the Helpline, those children may never have been protected, that is why our work is so important.
How has Covid-19 impacted your business/role?
Covid-19 had a massive impact on the work of the NSPCC. Being at home is not always the safest place and during the pandemic we saw an unprecedented rise in people contacting us for advice and to also share their concerns for children. In particular, the Helpline saw a rise in 35% a month on people reaching out for support in relation to domestic abuse.
What adjustments have you had to make?
We made an application to the Covid-19 support fund and received funding for a three-year domestic abuse project. This is allowing us to answer additional concerns in relation to domestic abuse and wider harm by building our capacity with additional staff, providing our existing Child Protection Specialists with specific training in relation to domestic abuse and sharing our learning and knowledge with the community through podcasts and videos.
What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?
Get as much experience as you can working with children and young people. Check out what qualifications you will need for the role you want. Consider volunteering with NSPCC NI. Volunteers with our Childline service receive excellent training and support and there are lots of other volunteer roles available too.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you like to do?
Anything that involved travel and preferably someplace warm and sunny.
What is the one piece of advice you would give to yourself on your first day?
It’s ok not to know everything, just have a willingness to learn, ask questions and be yourself.
Describe your ideal day off
I love interior design. My ideas are often more ambitious than my talent but this does not stop me giving it a go and getting stuck in with paint, glue guns and fabric remnants.
And finally, what’s the key to any successful job search?
Do your homework on the organisation. Working with the right organisation is as important as doing the right role for any further career development and job satisfaction.
The free NSPCC Helpline provides adults with a place they can get advice and support, share their concerns about a child or get general information about child protection. The Helpline can be contacted 365 days a year on: 0808 800 5000. www.nspcc.org.uk
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