Meet the team

Contact us

Huntingdonshire

East & West Suites Avro House 49 Lancaster Way Ely Cambridgeshire CB6 3NW

01480 277111
Carolyn Dailey
Principal Director

Carolyn’s passion is to bring excellent service and care for customers in their own home. Before stepping into a career providing care services Carolyn trained to be an optician at the City & Islington College and later moved into retailing optics. Carolyn talks about her passion for providing care in your home:

I am excited to be able to utilise my experience to deliver the highest quality care and exceptional customer service. Home care services are unique to you, therefore, it is vital that you choose the right care provider who will not only meet but also exceed your expectations. Whether you need respite care, Live-in care or daily visits in your home, my care team deliver a tailor made service that suits your needs in the comfort and safety of your home. We are a professional, friendly and approachable team, so please do get in touch for a free, no obligation discussion about your care needs. We would be delighted to hear from you."

Keith Dailey
Principal Director

Having spent almost 20 years of my career in both the optical and dental industries in regional and national roles, I have gained a multitude of experience in recruiting, developing and retaining the best candidates for my customers. At Bluebird Care my passion is to deliver a customer service experience unique to community health and social care by improving the selection, career journey, training and benefits of their care team.

Keith says:

For too long the role of Care Assistant has been devalued. By ensuring we deliver the best training and offer ongoing career development our team are able to provide additional services to our customers, for example: RemindME Care and Bluebird Care Assist. This highlights to our customers and the larger healthcare community the true value of the Care Assistant role.

Heather Porter
Managing Director (Registered)

I joined the Bluebird Care Newmarket and Fenland team, as a support worker, in March 2014.  During my career with the company I have progressed from Support Worker through to Team Leader and have now been part of the Management Team for 3 years.  I currently hold the position of Care Director and am involved with overseeing the day to day running of the care team.

My passion lays with making a difference to the way people perceive and receive home care and ensuring that their experience is a positive and happy one. 

I am heavily involved with the Skills Assessment programme that we run for new members of the care team and I have completed my Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) qualification which assists me to create and deliver our Skills Assessment programme successfully to enable and support our care team to complete their roles when with our customers.

Alongside this I am also completing my Level 5 qualification in Leadership and Management, this I feel will give me a wider knowledge of managing our senior team within their own individual roles and overseeing the day to day running of the business more confidently.

Throughout my career at Bluebird Care I have received constant and professional guidance from my Directors and have used this to further my confidence and competence.  I feel I have more to give and am always looking and working on ways to enhance my position within the company. 

I will continue to work hard at ensuring we at Bluebird Care provide our customers with the best possible individual care experience as possible and look forward to continuing this into the future.

Dani Durrant
Coordinating Director

I have worked in the Health and Social Care sector for the last 12 years, working in a wide variety of roles, starting out my journey as a support worker working daily with customers and ensuring their individual needs are met. I went on to become a lead supervisor carrying out first initial meetings with customers and their risk assessments. While working with the customers. I furthered my knowledge and stepped into the role of Care Coordinator which was a role I felt very passionate and rewarding.

I started my Bluebird Care journey in November 2018 and I was made to feel very welcome within the team. From the minute I first walked through the door I knew this was a journey I wanted to experience and work within.

The Directors, Carolyn and Keith allowed me to have ideas and explore those ideas encouraging me to progress within my role of Care Coordinator to Lead Coordinator. Managing the coordinating team they have allowed me to grow and be confident within the field I work in making me feel confident within my job role giving me the feeling of being a part of the Bluebird Care Family. I have now been given the opportunity to further progress my career with Bluebird Care and I am now the Care Coordinating Director.

Alongside this, I am currently completing the QCF level 5 in leadership and management. This will give me further knowledge and help me with managing the coordinating team within their job roles as well as overseeing the day to day needs of the business more confidently.

I thrive knowing each day I am ensuring the standard of care we deliver enables our customers to stay in their own homes and get the standard of professionalism they deserve. I feel so proud to be able to work within such a great team knowing the differences we make and look forward to progressing my career and helping others progress their career. I look forward to the future and being a part of such a fantastic team.

Joanne Bowman
Operations Director

My whole career since leaving school has been in health and social care, spending time in residential care and independent living services.

Having joined Bluebird Care in October 2016 as a Care Coordinator, I have recently been promoted to Lead Coordinator and I am excited to be part of such a great team and am looking forward to progressing in my career with Bluebird Care.

I believe in treating everyone with the dignity and respect they deserve and developing highly personalised services that meet their needs and enables them to remain living at home independently for as long as possible.

Katie Manson
Business Development Director

I have worked in health and social care for 5 years. After completing my level 3 NVQ in health and social care, I started working as a Care Assistant in the community and in 2016 joined Bluebird Care as a Care Coordinator.

I believe our customers should get the most out of life while remaining in their own home and maintaining their independence. Bluebird Care provides a high-quality level of care to make this possible.

I have now been given a fantastic opportunity to progress my career as Trainee Recruitment and Team Manager. I feel very welcome by all the team and I am looking forward to developing my career further within Bluebird Care.

Emily Orbell
Marketing Manager

I re-joined Bluebird Care Bedford in November 2021. I had previously worked for the business from 2015 – 2018 as PR & Marketing Executive.

I re-joined the business as Marketing and Recruitment Coordinator. A slightly different role to my previous role within the business, where I continued to manage the businesses marketing activities and I am now managing the business’ recruitment activities as well.

Since September 2022 I am now the Operations Manager for Bedford as well the Marketing Manager for Bedford, Cambridge & Cambridge South, Newmarket, Fenland, King's Lynn and West Norfolk and Huntingdon. 

I have over 9 years’ experience in marketing, some of my previous roles included Group Marketing Executive for a national supported living care group and Head of Operations for an international digital marketing agency.

I am passionate about providing high quality care and support and promote our company’s values through our marketing activities in our local communities.

Outside of work I enjoy reading, socialising with friends & family, DIY and spending time with my partner and our daughter.

Terri Evans
Training Manager

I have worked within the Health & Social Care Sector for the past 15 years. My career started off as a Support Worker supporting Adults with Learning Disabilities in a residential setting. During the first 10 years of my career, I worked within a variety of roles including Team Leader, Care Manager & In-house Trainer whilst supporting individuals with Learning Disabilities, Physical Disabilities & Complex Needs.

During my career, I have achieved my Level 3 NVQ in Health & Social Care, Level 3 Assessors Award and also Education & Training Award Level 3. Prior to joining Bluebird Care in April 2019 as a Support Worker, I worked for national training companies delivering Health & Social Care Level 2 & 3 qualifications to residential and domiciliary care staff.

I am passionate about staff development and progression through effective training and developmental support and I am thrilled to be able to join the team in such a worthwhile and rewarding role. I look forward to seeing our care team develop within their roles and continuing to provide the highest level of care and support to our customers.

Cathleen Anderson
Supervisor

Cathleen is one our Supervisors who help support both our Care Assistant Teams and our Office Support Team. 

 

Full Bio to follow

Virginia Zahr
Quality Director

My career in Health & Social Care began in 2014, as a Support Worker, working across residential care settings supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, and the senior care. In 2019 I started my journey with Bluebird Care as a Trainee Care Coordinator. I felt welcomed and was supported in various tasks in order to complete my job role and get to know the business. Over the years I experienced customer appreciation, employees progressing and the business growing. I have continually learned various aspects of the business and have enjoyed supporting our customers and care team in the community. Whilst at Bluebird Care, I have completed my NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration and have now recently had the opportunity to become the Office Coordinator which I happily embraced, and I am looking forward to my future with Bluebird Care.

Jade Warwick
Operations Manager

I started with Bluebird Care in July 2023. I very quickly slotted straight in with the Office Support Team and found it really interesting learning about the different aspects of the business. I initially joined as HR & Recruitment Manager, however since January 2024 I am now Operations Manager based in our Ely office.

This is my first role in the health and social care sector, working in care has always been something I have been interested in. I have had personal experiences with care through family and it is a sector that I have been keen to influence and learn more about.

I have now joined the family business to help support my auntie & uncle (Carolyn & Keith Dailey) to build and develop our businesses so we can support more people in their own homes.

Outside of work I am a massive family girl, being the oldest sister and cousin in our family, I love spending time with my brothers and cousins. We love holidays and days out to our favourite places (Alton Towers, Blackpool). An interesting fact about me is that I recently moved from the North, and I am starting a new life with my family and Bluebird Care.

Summer Thurston
Lead Customer Care Manager

I started my care journey within health and social care 5 years ago after completing my NVQ level 3 in Health and Social Care at a local college. I became a care assistant before being promoted to team leader in a residential setting working with customers with Dementia. I felt that I had reached a point whereby I really wanted to progress my knowledge and become further advanced into many areas of the management within the industry.

I began my new career  journey with Bluebird Care earlier this year as a Training Customer Care Manager and was made to feel very welcome and supported. 

My passion is ensuring our customers have a positive experience when receiving care at home and maintaining a high standard of support. 

I am really looking forward to furthering my career with a company that is clearly very supportive and engaged with allowing their teams to progress.

Eloise Baker
Customer Care Manager

I started working for Bluebird Care in 2021 as a Care Assistant and I held this role for a year before becoming a Care Mentor in 2022. In February 2023, I was approached by Carolyn and Heather to ask if I would be interested in being promoted to Training Customer Care Manager and of course I accepted!

My role involves carrying out care assessments, writing care plans, carrying out risk assessments, completing six-month reviews and making amendments to our customer’s care plans when required.

During my time with Bluebird Care, I have completed my Level 2 in Health & Social Care and I will be starting my Level 3 later in 2023.

My career before Bluebird Care was very different as I worked in sales and market research. I was made redundant due to COVID-19 so I decided to become a care assistant, which was the most challenging, yet rewarding thing I have ever done!

 

Cathy Tofts
Team Manager

I started working for Bluebird Care in April 2022, I have worked in care for nearly 30 years, in various settings. I have also previously worked as an assessor.

My role at Bluebird Care is Team Manager, a position I was promoted to at the beginning of 2023.

 

My role involves supporting the care team and supervisor teams in the community. I complete spot checks and supervisions with the care team while also supporting the care team with customers who have complex needs. I work both in the community and in the office.

 

I started working in care because it seemed like a career I would be good at and enjoy – it turns out I was right! I love working in care and providing support to my team as well as our customers.

I really enjoy working for Bluebird Care. The way that we complete care plans for customers is excellent and different from the way I have worked previously. The support from the office and management team is also fantastic, supporting me to develop my career.

They are a great team to work with, and I have settled into the office quickly. I really enjoy working on both sides of the business and getting to know the team is great.