About Us
who we are, what we do & our history
Hello, we are Care Forum and we are a family-run business providing support for children and families with disabilities. We all work very hard to provide high standards of care and have been awarded an Outstanding rating by the Care Quality Commission who regulate us.
We started in 2005 when Kerry Swan decided she wanted to employ her own team of carers to start a worthwhile enterprise using her 25 years of social work and care experience. All required policies, procedures and paperwork are written by us and tailored to our families’ needs. We are not an ‘off-the-shelf’ franchise and see each child as a unique individual deserving of a personalised service.
We exist to make life easier for the whole family by giving you as parents, carers or siblings, a break from looking after your child with a disability so that you can re-charge your batteries and enjoy the time you have with them.
We provide enthusiastic, experienced and qualified carers. We can help with the daily care routines, take the kids to the park, zoo, cinema or swimming or we can help with complex needs such as gastrostomy feeds and epilepsy.
If this sounds like something you need then you can contact your local Social Services Children with Disabilities Team who will assess whether you qualify for funding.
We also provide care to families on Direct Payments and those who wish to pay privately. Contact us for more details.
Kerry Swan
Founding Director – Kerry Swan is the founding Director of Care Forum (MK) Ltd. She has a social work qualification, a Degree in Applied Social Studies, NNEB (nursery nursing) and an NVQ Level 5 in Operational Management.
Kerry worked for Bedfordshire Social Services for 25 years. Her last post was as the Head of Disabilities for Bedfordshire.
As Kerry sits at a desk all day she likes to go for long walks with her dog or swimming. She is learning the piano to keep her brain active and in her spare time paints with water colours or writes psychological thrillers under her real name of Kerena Swan. Her fifth novel will be published by Hobeck Books in 2022.
Keith Swan
Director – Keith Swan is a Director for Care Forum.
Keith has reams of knowledge about a wide range of subjects and has the ability to make IT equipment work again just by turning it off and on after we have already tried that.
Keith is responsible for the company finances including payroll, invoicing, and accounts. He just can’t keep his desk tidy.
Keith enjoys the odd game of golf (Lynn says his playing can be a bit odd) and watching football.
Lynn Bracey
Deputy Manager – Lynn Bracey has worked for Care Forum since the company was created in 2005, initially as a carer then Team Leader and now Deputy Manager.
Previously a carer for the elderly, she has worked and studied hard over the years and now has an NVQ 3 in Children and Young People, an NVQ 4 in Management and an NVQ 5 in Health and Social Care. Lynn has also completed numerous short courses and is qualified to teach the team safe moving and handling.
Lynn is very serious about her job and her golf, especially when she is challenging Keith to a game.
Tamara Rowe-Bullen
Team Leader – Tamara Rowe-Bullen is a registered nurse with 16 years of experience.
Tamara is Team Leader for the Bedford area. Tamara is trained to teach the team about medication management, epilepsy and rescue medications.
She has a busy family and demanding cats to look after but is still a workaholic who has to be forced to take annual leave. She takes a little less persuasion to go shopping or visit Snoopy exhibitions.
Lucy Bascom
Team Leader – Lucy Bascom (née Bryant) has been with us since 2014 and is the team leader for the Bigglewade area. Lucy has over ten years’ experience working with children with special educational needs with various complex and life limiting medical needs. Most of Lucy’s free time is spent answering numerous questions from her curious son or consoling his younger brother when his chocolate bar snaps in half.
Karen Elliott
Home Support Worker – Karen has been a registered nurse for 40 years and has supported children with complex needs for 34 years.
Karen is a popular worker with families as she is calm, thorough and kind. Karen says she will only ever work for Care Forum now and loves her job.
Darren Clayton
Home Support Worker – Darren has been with Care Forum since 2015 after hearing about Care Forum from a friend and wanting a complete career change.
Darren had knowledge of children with autism through teaching Aikido (like Tai Chi) and has personal family experience of autism.
Darren is very popular with teenage lads who he takes to rugby matches, climbing, swimming, walking and even shopping. Darren visits the gym and cinema in his spare time and enjoys cooking.
Angela Playle
Home Support Worker – Angela has worked in the childcare field since 2004, most recently as a SENCO and as a Family Support and Outreach Worker supporting vulnerable families with children.
What a parent said about Angela… Angela is an excellent carer, she is extremely professional and is able to bring calm and experience to her role. She has a very sociable approach, which means that she works well with both parents and children. She has a wide number of experiences and strategies to draw on and that is evidenced in her ability to take the heat out of situations and ensure that parents can enjoy a worry free session.
Could this be you?
Do you want to do something worthwhile and still get paid? Due to receiving a steady stream of new referrals we always need to recruit more. Do you have a passion for supporting children with disabilities?
We particularly welcome students who are studying Social Work, Teaching, Nursing or Health and Social Care.
Visit our vacancies page to find out more.