Meet the people behind Heydays

Heydays Care & Support Services was founded in 2011 by Dawn Darby and Kelly Shaw, who both felt passionately about creating a care service that could not only provide the highest standards of care, but that also made a real difference to people’s lives and the lives of their families.

Whilst the Heydays care and administrative staff teams have grown over the past ten years, both Dawn and Kelly believe that it is crucial for them as owners of the business to remain hands-on with the care of clients as regularly as possible. This allows them to ensure that the ever-changing needs of clients are being met. 

Heydays Care & Support Services prides itself on having a close professional and understanding relationship between its clients, care staff and managers. 

Find out a little more about our Founders and Senior team below. 

Dawn Darby

Dawn Darby

Co-Founder and Registered Manager

Dawn is the Co-Founder and Registered Manager of Heydays Care & Support Services.

Dawn oversees the Barrow and Furness areas of the business and has over twenty years experience within the care sector. Dawn holds a N.V.Q Level 4 in Management and an N.V.Q in Business Administration in addition to full and accredited training in many care modules including Moving & Handling, First Aid, Dementia Awareness, Safe-Guarding Vulnerable Adults, Health & Safety, Safe handling of Medication and Positive Care Practices. 

Dawn oversees much of the business governance on a day to day basis, whilst still remaining hands-on with the care side.

Kelly Shaw

Kelly Shaw

Co-Founder and Manager

Kelly is the Co-Founder and Manager of Heydays Care & Support Services.

Kelly oversees the Grange and South Lakes areas of the business and has over twenty years experience working within the care sector. Kelly holds a BA Honours Degree in Care Community & Citizenship, an N.V.Q Level 4 in Management, an N.V.Q in Business Administration and numerous accredited care training qualifications. Prior to founding Heydays, Kelly spent 12 years working in the care profession within the community and in hospitals. Kelly runs a popular, annual calendar of Heydays Day Centre's for clients and still enjoys making regular care visits to clients.

Di | Heydays Care and Support Services

Di

Office Manager

Diane Creegan (who likes to be known as ‘Di’) is Heydays Receptionist and Office Manager at our Barrow

Head Office. 

Di is the friendly face and voice that greets everyone on arrival and at the end of the phone. Di is super organised and keeps our lovely team in check.

Mags | Heydays Care and Support Services

Mags

Senior Carer, Safeguarder and Care Coordinator

Barrow & Furness

Mags Beddoes is our Senior Carer and Care Coordinator for the Barrow and Furness area. Mags is highly experienced within the care sector, having started caring when she was just 21 and has worked for Heydays for nine years. Mags manages the safeguarding and coordinates the weekly rota's for the Barrow care team. She also loves to care for people within her local community.

Gillian | Heydays Care and Support Services

Gillian

Senior Carer &

Trainer

Barrow & Furness

Gillian Lawrence is one of our Senior Carers for the Barrow and Furness area as well as one of our staff trainers. A highly dedicated carer, Gillian has worked for Heydays for over six years and is passionate about improving the lives of others. Gillian is currently studying for her NVQ Level 5 in Health & Social Care and she holds a Team Leader & Management qualification.

Hayley | Heydays Care and Support Services

Hayley

Care Coordinator, Safeguarder & Trainer

Grange & South Lakes

Hayley Hill is our Care Coordinator and Manual Handling Trainer for the Grange and South Lakes area and has worked for Heydays for nine years. As well as being a dedicated and much-loved carer, Hayley looks after the safeguarding and coordinates the weekly rota's for the Grange care team. She also holds a NVQ Level 5 in Health & Social Care.

Jade | Heydays Care and Support Services

Jade

Senior Carer & Events Coordinator

Grange & South Lakes

Jade Brizio is one of our Senior Carers in the Grange and South Lakes team. Jade is full of enthusiasm when it comes to caring for clients and runs our monthly Activity Clubs at the Grange Office. Jade is currently studying for her N.V.Q Level 4 in Health and Social Care. 

Emma headshot | Heydays Care and Support Services

Emma

Senior Carer & Online Training Coordinator

Grange & South Lakes

Emma Dickinson is one of our Carers in the Grange and South Lakes team. Emma coordinates our online staff development training programme.

Emma has recently achieved her N.V.Q Level 4 in Health and Social Care. 

deborah2 | Heydays Care and Support Services

Deborah

Office Administrator

Grange & South Lakes

Deborah joined Heydays when the new Grange Office opened in January 2022. Deborah will be based at the Grange office as our friendly and super-organised receptionist and administrator, bringing with her many years of experience in this area.

Our Carers

It takes someone special to care for others, which is why we carefully select our care staff to ensure that they are perfect for the role, possessing the right qualities and requirements.

Once they join us, staff are enrolled onto our training programme to ensure that they have the best, up-to-date knowledge of care practice.

We believe that providing continuity of care and building trusted, valued relationships between our staff and clients is of utmost importance, therefore we aim to match a small number of our staff to each of our clients. 

All of our carers are full employed by us and have been DBS checked by the Criminal Record Bureau. We believe that by supporting our staff well, they are then best equipped to support our clients.