Frankie Rowe joined home care company Bluebird Care in 2012 while looking for flexible work after the birth of her daughter, and is now Senior Registered Manager of its Exmouth office and live-in care services.

Bluebird Care, owned by married couple William and Sara Flint, is rated 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission. It delivers premium home care services throughout the region, including home visits, live-in care, companionship, and complex care to vulnerable adults living within the local community.

Frankie had just had her first child when she started working for the company as a care assistant.

She said: "I was really nervous at first but the job satisfaction from day one was amazing, knowing I'd made a difference to somebody was what I loved about the job.

"I had had no experience as a care assistant before, but the hours were flexible, and my husband worked shifts, so it allowed us to work around each other.

"I was doing 30 hours a week when I came back off maternity leave. It was really flexible work that fitted in around having children."

Career progression

Frankie enjoyed the role so much that she was eager to get more involved in the planning aspects of the business and applied for more senior roles. After just six months, she became an assistant supervisor. Then, six months after that, she became a supervisor and completed an NVQ Level 3.

In 2015, two and a half years after starting with Bluebird Care, Frankie began the new role of Quality and On-Call Manager, supporting staff out of normal office hours and auditing customer files, working with the two offices then running in the area in Exeter and Honiton.

Frankie was then invited by owners William and Sara Flint to be involved in a new venture in 2016 – to open a new office in Exmouth. She was made manager of the Exmouth office and was also supplied a company vehicle to support her with the commute.

She would later become a CQC-registered manager, and is now the Senior Registered Manager for Bluebird Care's Exmouth & live-in care services.

In 2018, just two years after opening, the Exmouth Bluebird Care hub was rated 'Outstanding' by the CQC on its very first inspection.

Frankie said: "I felt incredibly proud. I enjoyed the process, and the inspectors could see how much we were doing and caring for people by spending a few days with us, auditing our processes and speaking to our customers and our staff."

'There's a real family feel … everybody looks after each other'

Frankie manages the team in the Exmouth office, and supports over 30 care assistants who work in Exmouth, Budleigh and surrounding areas as well as overseeing the live-in care services across north, east and west Devon, describing everyone she works with as 'amazing' and 'inspiring'.

She said: "Everyone in the office team has worked their way up, we all started as care assistants so we know and understand the role and can support each other in the right way.

"My uniform is on the back of the door, the same as everybody else's – I don't expect anybody to do anything that I wouldn't do myself, we're all a team and contribute in the same way.

"There's a real family feel … everybody looks after each other, celebrates each other, and celebrates the customers as well. So much so that we even have family members working alongside each other."

Frankie often leaves her door open for staff to be able to come and talk to her and share any issues they may have.

She added: "They're allowed a platform to say what they need to say; to give us ideas, to give us feedback, to just come and talk to us or have a cup of tea."

The Exmouth hub also has regular awards for its employees, including Care Worker of the Month awards and more.

Bluebird Care is currently hiring in Exmouth – click here to find out more and to apply.

Exmouth Nub News is sponsored by Bluebird Care. Without support from local community-minded businesses and charities like them, we would not be able to provide the dedicated local news we do every week. Please support them.