Spotlight on - Emma Holt

Emma Holt used to sell trainers - now she helps coach them how to nurture better carers.

And it was a Good Samaritan moment while working in a sports shop which put her on track to switch from retail to the care sector.

Emma is a senior trainer at NAPPI uk, who also specialises in coaching. Her career crossroads came after helping a shop customer, whose five-year-old autistic son refused to leave the car during a mission to buy him new trainers.

"I have a cousin with Down Syndrome so I have been around people with learning disabilities most of my life. This young man liked ladies with long hair, which I had at the time, so we were able to coax him into the shop with him holding my hand... and my hair.

"His mum said 'you should do this for a living', and two weeks later there was an advert in the local paper for a job with Autism North, which I applied for, got and loved it straight away because it was making a difference to people's lives," said Emma from East Durham.

She was initially a support worker helping adults with learning disabilities deal with meals, medicines and daily activities, promoting independence and generally spending time getting to know the person behind the diagnosis.

Over 15 years Emma rose through the ranks to become training manager and spent four years managing a day centre in Sunderland. She also implemented and oversaw a team of NAPPI trainers and PBS coaches, with support from the team at NAPPI uk.

Emma's first taste of NAPPI uk was on a training course in 2006, followed by a Train the Trainer course in 2008 - and she joined the company in 2015.

"I love training as it is a chance to pass on my experience of care to the next generation. And I really believe in the NAPPI approach which puts the focus on a psychological approach to prevent challenging behaviour - with any physical techniques as a last resort."

Coaches play a vital role in drawing out the knowledge delivered during training, she adds. "They encourage carers to think about the best solutions for the situations they face - by looking at things from the perspective of the service-user."

"Staff gain confidence and realise they often know much of the information they ask for and are mentors. The coaching approach also helps service users find new coping mechanisms and alternative behaviours."

"My cousin with learning disabilities gives me a benchmark - and means I can ask 'would I be happy for her to be supported in that way'," Emma explained.

Emma enjoys her training role, particularly when she delivers it within care services, where she gets a chance to meet service users and reinforce the very reason she does the job - to achieve better outcomes for individuals receiving support.

Away from work Emma is an "armchair" Sunderland football supporter, now savouring more success than in recent seasons. She is also a Freddie Mercury fan - and has his signature tattooed on her wrist - and loves shoes (she has around 200 pairs).

Her life is shared with her pet dog, Bob the 12-year-old Shih Tzu, who she admits is pampered, with a diet that includes bacon sandwiches, sirloin steak and Sunday cake treats.

Emma has a milestone 40th birthday this October and will "celebrate it" doing a sponsored parachute jump in aid of a local charity close to her heart - the Shaw Trust Enterprise garden centre at Seaham which provides vocational training and work experience for people with learning disabilities.