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 a bit 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 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 fourth novel will be published soon.
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, 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 cat 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.
Daphne Hayward

Team Leader – Daphne Hayward has been with Care Forum since 2006 and is the Team Leader for the Aylesbury area.
Daphne has years 20 years of experience working in schools for children with special needs and before that was a police officer. Daphne uses her numerous contacts to recruit fantastic part time carers who are very experienced and qualified and has literally built her own team.
Daphne finds that her work, grandchildren and house renovation prevent her from having time for hobbies although she does enjoy a spot of gardening.
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 young son or chasing after her toddler as he tries to eat his brother’s pet snail.
Tia Diack

Office Manager – Tia Diack works almost full time in the office as well as supporting one of the Care Forum children.
Tia has been with us since October 2015 and makes sure we do everything we are supposed to do and keeps us in order. Keith draws the line at her tidying his desk though.
Tia has a Degree in English and her favourite pastimes are cooking with her daughter and walking with her three pugs.
Karen Elliott

Home Support Worker – Karen has been a registered nurse for 33 years and has supported children with complex needs for 27 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 for 18 months 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.
Alison Gyau-Awuah

Home Support Worker – Alison has worked with children with special educational needs on a 1:1 basis in a nursery and a children’s centre.
Alison is extremely hardworking, organised and reliable. Alison is very caring and professional and understands the needs of the children and families she supports.
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.
