Matthew Hogg
My journey in health and social care began at the age of two, growing up in a home shared with adults with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and mental health conditions.
Back in the late 80's and early 90's my mum, Lucy Hogg, was a learning disability nurse in training and a foster carer. She was involved in a pioneering remand placement pilot with Leicestershire Police, providing residential care for people in crisis — often individuals with complex needs, repeat offences, or substance misuse.
Alongside that, she championed sex education for people with learning disabilities, long before it was widely discussed or supported. She believed that education, autonomy, and honest conversations were essential to dignity and safety — principles that remain at the heart of good support today.
In the early 2000s, she went on to establish day services and supported living provision, laying the foundations for what would later become my own journey in this field and the platform I build upon today.
Our family home in Barwell became a seven-bedroom whirlwind of care, chaos, and compassion. It was a place where no two days were ever the same — where resilience, humour, and empathy weren’t optional, they were essential.
Growing up in that environment taught me what real care looks like — not just the kind delivered through policy, but the kind built on patience, boundaries, and respect. It shaped how I see people, behaviour, and stress to this day.
At 16, I volunteered with SNIPS, supporting adults with learning disabilities on trips that included Leicester City football matches, Drayton Manor Park and the Millennium Dome. After turning 18, I became a support worker and later a senior support worker before pursuing a successful career in entertainment and performance — a chapter that taught me the art of communication, connection, and crowd psychology.
Even while I was performing full-time, I stayed connected to the people and families who first shaped my understanding of care — DJing at events, fundraisers, and celebrations for services linked to the local community.
When I returned to health and social care in 2018, I retrained as a professional trainer across multiple disciplines, including First Aid, Moving & Handling, Safeguarding (Adults and Children), and Positive Behaviour Support (PBS), achieving the Award in Education and Training (AET).
Today, I work extensively across the sector as a consultant for Heroic Care, partnering with Leicestershire NHS, Leicestershire County Council, and Leicestershire Adult Social Care to deliver PBS plans, risk assessments, support plans, and cultural transformation projects.
My approach is shaped by both personal and professional experience. Having grown up living alongside both service users and staff, I understand the realities of burnout, the importance of capable environments, and the need for teams to feel seen, supported, and skilled.
I view staff and families as experts in the lives they support. My role is to be an extension of their insight — another set of eyes to help make sense of what’s happening, restore perspective, and co-create effective, sustainable solutions.
I believe in communication-led support: using connection, calm, and curiosity instead of control. My goal is always to help people maintain internal control, rather than be subjected to external control — allowing space for dignity, self-expression, and growth.