25 Years of Belief, Dedication and Freedom

This year marks a very special milestone for Freedom: 25 years of trading, growing, learning and continuing to believe in the difference that good people can make in the lives of others.

Recently, I was presented with an Employee of the Month award in recognition of my service to the business. It was a lovely and unexpected moment, but it also made me pause and reflect on what the last 25 years have really meant.

When Freedom first began, it was built on belief. Belief that care, support, childcare and education should be personal. Belief that people deserve to feel seen, valued and understood. Belief that if we created the right culture, with the right people, we could make a genuine difference.

Over the years, the business has grown. We now support more families, more children, more young people, more service users and more professionals than ever before. But with that growth comes one of the biggest responsibilities of leadership: protecting our cultural identity.

As Freedom has become bigger, I have realised more than ever that retaining our core values is one of the most important parts of my role. Growth is important, but growth without culture is not success. We must never lose the heart of who we are.

Our teams do incredibly meaningful work. They step into people’s lives at important, difficult and sometimes life-changing moments. They build relationships, create trust, offer stability, and help people take steps towards better futures.

The length of service within our team tells its own story. People stay with Freedom because they believe in the work, they feel part of something, and they know their contribution matters. That loyalty is something I am deeply proud of.

Our clients and service users also show us what this journey has been about. When a child grows in confidence, when a family feels supported, when a young person starts to believe in themselves, when someone moves closer to living their best life — that is the reward.

For me, 25 years of hard work has never just been about building a business. It has been about building something with purpose. Something with values. Something that gives people meaningful work and gives the people we support the chance to thrive.

The Employee of the Month award was a kind recognition, but the real recognition comes from seeing the difference Freedom continues to make every day.

After 25 years, I remain as committed as ever to protecting what makes Freedom special: our culture, our relationships, our values and our belief in people.

This has been 25 years of dedication, 25 years of learning, 25 years of care — and above all, 25 years of belief.

And I am incredibly proud of the journey.

Fran Graves | Managing Director