Care Sector “Inspiration” Ann Retires After 45 Years Training Thousands and Earning Palace Honour

Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to a care sector “inspiration” who trained thousands of people before retiring after four decades.

Ann Serridge, 66, from New Brighton, near Mold, is stepping down after years leading the award-winning Pendine Park Academy in Wrexham.

She spent 45 years in social care, rising from a young care worker to a senior assessor, shaping the next generation.

Her dedication was recognised with a gold Wales Care Award in 2012 and an invitation to a Buckingham Palace garden party honouring her service when she was accompanied by her husband, William..

After joining Pendine Park she ran training programmes at the care organisation’s Hillbury Road site and later moved to a specially built in-house training academy at Wrexham Technology Park, which also houses Pendine’s admin team.

It includes a virtual training centre featuring totally realistic recreations of a resident’s lounge, bedroom and dining area, as well as a pop-up pharmacy, pub, ice cream parlour and even a hair and beauty salon.

It provides training for 300 care practitioners every year, not just for staff from Pendine Park but also for other social care organisations.

Pendine Park owner Mario Kreft MBE said Ann’s legacy of mentoring people to deliver the highest standards of care will be appreciated for many years after she retires.

He said: “I have known Ann for more than 30 years and always been hugely impressed by her sense of dedication. Her compassion and empathy for those in her care was apparent from the moment we met. I could not think of a better mentor for people coming into this sector.

“Having started out as a young carer herself she knows firsthand that working in social care requires a huge array of skills, some of which cannot be simply learned about in a book, and some of which go largely unappreciated in the wider world.

“Ann has knowledge, professional skills, experience and a natural ability to pass on to others all that she has learned over the years. She does this in an informed and encouraging way, and as a care organisation we are lucky to have reaped the benefits of her teaching.

“She has helped us train up our staff to the very highest standards, to consistently deliver the person-centred care which our residents and their families have an absolute right to expect.

“We want to say a big thank you and wish her a world of happiness as she embarks on a new chapter of her life in retirement.”

At a celebratory lunch to mark her retirement, friends and colleagues also praised her passion for delivering the highest standards of care and her commitment to the importance of ongoing training.

According to Ann, she’s looking forward to taking some time off with her husband.

She said: “I will definitely be doing some relaxing for a little while before I decide what comes next.

“It will be nice to spend some more time with William and the family and maybe go on a few outings.”

“In the meantime, I want to thank all the team who have supported me here at the academy and Pendine as a whole. I know I will be leaving the training programme in good hands.

“If I have managed to teach them anything I hope it has been my own guiding ethos that everyone in the organisation can always benefit from training, whether at the start of their career or as ongoing career progression.

From the youngest newcomer to the management ranks, the gardeners, the caterers or the cleaners, no matter what their job, training gives people confidence, keeps them updated on new practices and it helps them better engage with each other and with our residents, which is the most important benefit of all.”

Colleague Ann Chapman, who manages Pendine Park’s Bodlondeb care home in Wrexham, said: “Ann is a dear friend, who has always being wholeheartedly committed. It has long been her goal to provide, not just generic training, but the right kind of training, suited to individual needs.

“She is passionate about ongoing career development, best practice and ultimately improving the well-being of anyone in need of social care provision.

“We cannot thank her enough for all she has done at Pendine Park and in the care sector as a whole.”