Profiles
4 March
Social workers
- Bernice Perry
- Jane Beamish-Patey
- Jennifer Dear
- Jenny Edwards
- Laura Bradshaw
- Lauren Regan
- Louise Fox
- Matthew McSweeney
- Nana Yabbey-Hagan
- Rachel Houghton
- Rose Lewis
- Ruth Leon
5 March
Social workers
- Abi Moreton
- Alex Hamling
- Alex Wellington
- Alexis Bloom
- Amanda Taylor
- Annabel Matchan
- Barbara Cassidy
- Brittany Bauch
- Chantal Uwamahoro
- Charlotte Wyles
- Chido Ndadzungira
- Claire Connop
- Emma Cozzi
- Estelle Parker
6 March
Social workers
- Emma Doran
- Francesca Denham
- Janessa Andrews
- Jasmine Cunningham
- Sam Fox-Keating
- Samantha Davy
- Samantha French
- Sarah Cornwall
- Stephanie Harris
- Sue Cordiner
- Tatiana Lucena
- Timi Farinmade
7 March
Independents
8 March
Social workers
Bernice Perry
Bernice is a social worker at Wolverhampton City Council and was nominated by Sarah Jane Thomson
Bernice is truly a social worker that goes above and beyond for children and families. Parents experiencing barriers and challenges in establishing effective and collaborative relationships with the local authority have thrived from Bernice's relationship-based practice, contributing to positive progress and outcomes. Bernice also works tenaciously with some of the most complex children and families, there with them every step of the way, advocating to ensure that their voices are heard, treating them with respect and dignity at all times. Her knowledge, skills and values are invaluable to those she works with and supports.
Jane Beamish-Patey
Jane is a social worker at East London NHS Foundation Trust and was nominated by Kascha Visagie
Jane always goes above and beyond in all aspects of her role as Social Worker. She cares deeply for those she supports and always shows compassion and kindness. She works tirelessly to advocate for people, by navigating the bureaucratic systems to secure funding and placements, and challenging oppression wherever she faces it. She always makes time for others and thinks innovatively when facing problems. She has excellent interpersonal skills and is able to build strong professional relationships with partner services, which she draws on to support her in her role. She is highly knowledgeable (with a PhD in Psychology) which she uses to educate colleagues and stakeholders but maintains humility in her practice. Jane is the most caring, empathic, non-judgemental and hard-working social worker that I know. She is a fun and loving person and wonderful colleague. I would describe her as a ray of sunshine who lights up people's lives.
Jennifer Dear
Jennifer is a social worker at City of Wolverhampton Council and was nominated by Charmayne Dean
I would like to nominate Jen for an 'amazing social worker award'. Jen like many others within her team consistently demonstrates exceptional social work skills, what makes Jen amazing, is her drive and creativity along with her sense of humour that helps to make a real difference to those she works with. Since Jen joined the Disabled Children and Young People's team in September 2023 I have seen a real difference in how her work has improved the service area. She is committed to progressing plans and identifying support quickly. Her ability to engage her young people is a real strength and feedback from them supports this amazing award. Her young people describe her as 'kind, funny, playful and a fantastic listener'. Other examples of kindness within her work is her want to help her colleagues, she is the first to volunteer for duty and joint visits and her commitment goes beyond what is expected.
Jen is actively involved in the improvement of services, she attends task and finish groups to help develop policies and processes and she regularly attends local community activities and promotes our team and her work. I believe that Jen is deserving of recognition for her achievements and commitment to excellence, her bar is set high and the impact of this on her work is always positive!
Jenny Edwards
Jenny is a social worker at Staffordshire County Council and was nominated by Becci Foster
Jenny has worked hard over the last year supporting ASYE social workers across the local authority. She has shown empathy, compassion and patience in supporting these newly qualified social workers ensuring they feel confident, supported and skilled at the start of their career. Jenny is at court with them, visits, meetings and has sat and gone through assessments and processes. Starting a career in social worker can often be daunting and overwhelming and thanks to Jenny’s support many new social workers have felt reassured and supported to during their first year employment.
Laura Bradshaw
Laura is a social worker at East Riding of Yorkshire Council and was nominated by Suzanne Futter
I am nominating Laura because she has really come into her own this year as a social worker. She takes the time to understand her families well and this really shows in her work and the outcomes she gets for them. Laura's confidence has grown across the last year in her decision making, and being able to make a stand for her children when she needs to. Laura has challenged other professionals in the court arena and stood her ground because she knows it is the right thing for her children, and when they are adults, they will see what a passionate and dedicated advocate she was for them. Laura has, I think, surprised herself at the strength of her views. Laura has received thanks and praise from some of her families to recognise and acknowledge that she listened to them, helped them feel valued, and helped them achieve the right outcomes - praise is scarce in this field, so it really does help us identify good practice. Laura will say she finds praise uncomfortable so I am going to say she is an amazing, amazing, amazing social worker, who deserves this recognition!
Lauren Regan
Lauren is a social worker at North Somerset Council and was nominated by Paul James
Lauren started with the team in the summer of 2022 as a Senior Social Worker having previously worked as an advanced Practitioner in her last role. Lauren hit the ground running with her role with an unflappable presence.
Lauren is an inspiration in the way that she is able to support the families she works with to a very high standard making sure that plans are meaningful and families feel listened to at all times. She is supportive to every team member and always takes time out of her own work to support all other team members whilst ensuring that people don't feel this is a burden. She provides sound advice on practice issues and how to support families better as well as more practical support around organisational skills and writing concisely.
Lauren is very aware of working in a non-oppressive manner and is able to get alongside families even when difficult decisions are being made for them. Lauren tackles each day with enthusiasm and has contributed to a positive work environment and the much improved stability within the team where she is an integral and valued member not only of the team but of the whole organisation.
Louise Fox
Louise is a social worker at Wiltshire Council Advice & Contact team and was nominated by Lorraine Janes
Louise Fox is an exceptional Social worker and an aspiring leader. Louise has always been passionate about social work. She manages Social workers within a highly demanding team. She works for the Advice & Contact team. They process 7000 referrals a month. Louise is proactive at managing the demand and the workflow. She is extremely skilled at managing complex situations and dealing with extremely high-risk cases. Louise is very supportive to the team, approaching, caring and always happy to advise. Louise has just completed her Leadership Diploma. This has taken great dedication and am so proud of how she has grown and developed. She is a real asset to the team and has people at the heart of everything she does. She will make a great manager without a doubt.
Matthew McSweeney
Matthew is a social worker at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust and was nominated by Megan Holroyd
Matthew is an amazing social worker on our secure unit who always gives above and beyond for our patients.
He is always advocating for our patients and makes sure their voices are at the forefront of their care. He supports them both on the unit and when they are transitioning into the community/supported living.
He is a great team player and always provides a positive atmosphere for the patients and staff.
Nana Yabbey-Hagan
Nana is a social worker at Team Manager for a Looked After Children's Team and was nominated by Susuana Gyampoh Senghor
Nana has been a driving force in my social work journey. Before applying for a degree in social work I watched the social worker and the mentor podcast on YouTube and Tik Tok videos relentlessly. It was filled with honest information about the nature of social work and its difficulties and all the great things that could also be achieved with the degree with plenty if real life anecdotes.
Nana has used his platform to speak up on current affairs and social issues and campaigns for social workers to have more safety and better working conditions. He also invites students to talk about their experiences and hope for the future of social work. As a guest lecturer he was brilliant, his lessons were interactive and loaded with examples of cases and court preparation and assessment templates to showcase the realities of social work. He encouraged us to be bold and not to shy away from tricky problems or frontline roles. He also encouraged us to go to social work networking events.
Nana demonstrates compassion and integrity in his leadership at work. He is an excellent mentor to me personally teaching me how to become a great worker in placement and internships, by planning strategies ahead of time, and explains things to me carefully until I understand. He also runs a support group for NQSW and ASYE's who support one another as he leads them online and on a regular basis. Many of my classmates have stated Nana has given them support and advice before our exams or placement interviews even at the last minute.
Nana also allowed me to interview him on my student platform where he was humble and transparent about his experiences. He is a positive representation of a black male leader in social work online, openly discussing issues on racism and solutions moving forward. Nana also spoke up in parliament on social issues imploring children social care services and adults social care services to stand together as one, and for government to increase funding for social workers, safety and changes resource management.
I appreciate Nana because he is approachable and very helpful and continually inspires student to be their best. As a mentor he is kind and understanding and aims to do what is morally right and just. Very grateful for his support and mentorship.
Rachel Houghton
Rachel is a social worker at BCP and was nominated by Tamsin Miles
I have always admired Rachel's practice, I worked with her and we shared a student together. She was a fantastic influential role model for when I take on more students and in my practice as a social worker myself. She is always approachable, makes time and is very supportive. Her knowledge and promotion of social work theory was inspiring. I feel she is an amazing social worker in every aspect and it was a privilege to have worked with her.
Rose Lewis
Rose is a social worker at Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust and was nominated by Adrienne Jacques
Rose was my original CSW / Practice Educator when I started on the Think Ahead programme, and even though I've now completed my ASYE, moved teams and managers twice, she still remains an amazing support and a beacon of psychological safety, radical candour, and amazing social work practice.
She models excellent practice with the people we work with (adult mental health), is a kind and generous colleague - with knowledge and with time. She is patient, and is an asset to the team.
I'm so lucky to know her and hope she gets recognised for being a good egg! (a vegan one, anyway!)
Ruth Leon
Ruth is a social worker at Wolverhampton City Council and was nominated by Dimpal Dabb
Ruth has worked extremely well with achieving good outcomes for her children, she is a great advocate for her children and always child centred in her approach. Ruth is a social worker that goes the extra mile to ensure her children get the best- she is solution focussed and is able to embed new learning into her practice. Ruth's values have been tested and challenged however she always remains professional and non-judgemental and treats her young people and families with respect.
Having reflected back on her journey she should be proud of herself as she has successfully supported young people with moving on plans. Ruth - you are an amazing social worker and if my children ever needed a social worker I would want them to have someone like you :)
Abi Moreton
Abi is a social worker at Compass Fostering and was nominated by Jessica Jackson
Abi works tirelessly for the children and young people she supports and is incredibly child centred, regularly challenging those who attempt to criminalise or vilify children's behaviour. She educates others around her on the impacts of exploitation and trauma and encourages others to see emotions behind behaviour.
Recently she has worked incredibly hard with a young person. She has never given up on him, even when others sought to criminalise him. She celebrates every little win or achievement in his life with immense pride and shows a real care and empathy that is reflected in the relationships she builds.
A fierce advocate for children and young people and a credit to the profession.
Alex Hamling
Alex is a social worker at Children's Social Care - Strengthening and Supporting Families and was nominated by Sophie Robson
Alex is very organised and child-focused Advanced Social Work Practitioner. She has made positive changes to a number of children and families lives, working alongside them and supporting them, and with some children has helped prevent an escalation into the court arena.
Alex has very good working relationships with colleagues and multiagency professionals and is regularly praised for her approach to working with the children and young people allocated to her. Alex goes above and beyond and deserves to be recognised for her dedication and commitment to our most vulnerable children, young people and families.
Alex Wellington
Alex is a social worker at Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council and was nominated by Amanda De Leon Capdesuner
Alex has been the social worker for a child with additional needs. He worked with the team around the child which included their foster carers and after over a year the child has successfully been placed with their adoptive parents.
Alex went above and beyond to ensure the adoption transitions have been supported, always diligent and person-centred in his approach. He was determined to achieve the best possible outcome for everyone involved and this shone through in all of his work and the incredible efforts he went to on their behalf.
Alexis Bloom
Alexis is a social worker at Jewish Care and was nominated by The Befriending Team
We are pleased to nominate Alexis Bloom for recognition as an outstanding social worker within the Jewish Care SWs team. Alexis possesses qualities that have undoubtedly made a positive impact on both colleagues and people she supports.
Alexis consistently demonstrates a commitment to being present for everyone, engaging in active listening and working through challenges with patience and dedication. Alexis also leads the Befriending team’s Reflective Practice, offering support and advice to the team, with her unique attributes and listening skills. Colleagues and people she works with frequently commend her for being adept at listening, creating a space where individuals feel heard and understood without judgment.
Her willingness to work seamlessly with others has been a contributing factor to the success of various projects within our team. Alexis actively participates in initiatives such as podcasts and forums, demonstrating her commitment to extending her impact beyond the immediate scope of her work.
In summary, Alexis is a skilled social worker whose qualities contribute to a positive and effective work environment. Her impact is evident not only in the lives of those she directly serves but also in the collaborative and supportive atmosphere she fosters within our professional community.
This nomination is a testament to Alexis' dedication to her role and her capacity to make a meaningful difference.
Amanda Taylor
Amanda is a social worker at East Riding of Yorkshire Childrens Emergency Duty Team and was nominated by Sarah Heald
Amanda is a highly skilled and respected Advanced Social Work practitioner in the Childrens Emergency Duty Team in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Amanda goes above and beyond and takes a lead within the team to ensure that they have the knowledge and tools needed to offer the best service to the children of East Riding when families and children are in crisis and need help out of hours.
Amanda really cares about the service and team, but her priority is always focussed children and families; their safety and welfare and ensuring that there is an appropriate response to safeguard and offer of support.
Annabel Matchan
Annabel is a social worker at East Riding of Yorkshire Council and was nominated by Natalie Jackson
Annabel is an experienced and knowledgeable child focused social worker in the Children's Disability Team.
She consistently goes above and beyond to ensure the most positive outcomes are achieved for some of our most vulnerable children in society. She is an advocate for the children she works with. Her experience spans 10 years and although her heart is in the work around Children With Disabilities she holds safeguarding at the forefront of her practice so that this is not lost in the service she provides.
She is tenacious and tireless in her approach when applying high enquiry to decision making across agencies and the compliments from her children and families are outstanding. She makes a difference every day. Her team functions at a high standard as a result of the support she gives her colleagues as she is wonderful mentor.
Barbara Cassidy
Barbara is a social worker at City of Wolverhampton and was nominated by Jade Lawton
Barbara is an exceptional practitioner and colleague. She has great knowledge and expertise in fostering assessment and demonstrates excellent professional curiosity, analytical skills, and balance. Barbara regularly receives compliments from Fostering Panel on her assessments and presentation. Barbara is passionate about kinship care and consistently provides thorough support to families. Additionally, Barbara provides robust support to the team, always taking a very proactive approach to welcoming new team members, helping them settle into their role, and supports other colleagues wherever she can.
Brittany Bauch
Brittany is a social worker at Southend City Council Looked after Team and was nominated by a foster parent
Brittany is the Social Worker to the two Looked after Children I care for (I am the Foster Carer). Brittany is an incredible Social Worker, she is always listening to the children, supporting them and, most importantly, protects their best interests.
For many years Brittany has worked alongside the children, holding their hands through their journey in care. The children welcome her into our home with a warm hug and stories of their little successes. They trust Brittany with their worries and questions.
Despite difficulties or challenges Brittany advocates for the children's best interest, whilst discussing possible options with me (the foster carer).
This is so precious, and we are so grateful for her open and honest approach. It is with Brittany's support, compassion and professionalism that these children have a secure long term placement in foster care.
We wanted to nominate Brittany for not just one or two things that have been amazing, but for years of dedication to these children. Brittany has set the level of excellent practice very high, with the simple acts of kindness & compassion, coupled with some serious professionalism.
Brittany, this is our way of saying thank you.
Chantal Uwamahoro
Chantal is a social worker at Hertfordshire County Council and was nominated by Leah Wilson
Chantal is a highly knowledgeable social worker, who has time for absolutely everyone in her team who needs support - whether that is around practice, or just a listening ear.
She is kind, compassionate and always checks in on people's wellbeing, as the role can be highly stressful.
She is the best supervisor I've had. I have never felt criticised or judged and she has actively made me reflect on my practice and with her support I feel I am constantly improving.
Charlotte Wyles
Charlotte is a social worker at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and was nominated by Daniel Thompson
Charlotte is a very experienced social worker in children's and adult's services. Last year she started a job in the Community Forensic Team within the Trust. She is the first social worker that the team has had and has been promoting and advocating for the profession with the team. Charlotte treats everyone with dignity, respect and compassion, and truly promotes their rights and entitlements when needed.
Charlotte has been my Practice Supervisor and Practice Educator at different times during my Social Work apprenticeship and has passed on an immense amount of knowledge and experience. The help she has provided to me has been invaluable, and my journey through my degree would have been very different without her.
Charlotte stands by the principles that make up what it is to be a social worker and ensures that those she works alongside meet her level of dedication and professionalism.
Susie McMahon, CFT Team Manager, has said “After Joining the Team, Charlotte quickly demonstrated her passion for helping others. Charlotte has a wealth of knowledge, a patient focussed approach and is persistent in her quest to ensure the right and fair outcome for the people she advocates for.
As well as Successfully balancing 2 clinical posts, Charlotte is also keen to share and knowledge and experience with others, whether that be supervising students, supporting new team members or presenting to other teams showcasing the specialist work undertaken by CFT. Always offering to help and support her colleagues, has made Charlotte an integral part of the MDT whose input to the team in invaluable.
Chido Ndadzungira
Chido is a social worker at London Borough of Hackney and was nominated by Priya Patel
Chido is a social worker within the on-going support and reviews pathway of the Hackney Integrated Learning Disabilities Service. Though Chido has only been with us a short time, she has very quickly flexed to the demands of the role, and taken on supporting a number of individuals with complex needs from a diverse range of backgrounds, quite often at the brink of crisis.
Chido is as holistic and as patient as social workers come. Bringing her whole self to each and every task, and approaching case work with a high level of competence and integrity. Chido considers the individual within their wider ecological system through a cultural lens, and keeps their rights, wishes and feelings at the forefront of care planning, especially when they lack the mental capacity to make key decisions about their health & welfare or finances.
Chido reflects critically and honestly on her own practice, and is a supportive role model to other newly qualified social workers in the team.
Chido is always humble, and always smiling and is a valued member of the team.
In short, Chido embodies the values of an amazing social worker and deserves this recognition!
Claire Connop
Claire is a social worker at City of Wolverhampton Council and was nominated by Charmayne Dean
I would like to nominate Claire for an amazing social worker award for her faultless leadership skills and the enormous yet quiet impact she shows to not only the children and families she works with but also her student and her colleagues. She is a tireless advocate as part of the Disabled Children and Young People's Team and always goes above and beyond to organise and collaborate through her work. She is part of internal groups within the wider Local Authority and supports and promotes diversity, equality and awareness that truly exemplifies the core values of social work practice.
Claire shows a real eagerness to learn and shares her passion of learning with her student and her colleagues providing toolkits to support social work assessments and offering a thoughtful and considerable approach within peer-to-peer reflective groups. She shows a great amount of initiative, integrity, and appetite for social work education and is a strong role model for others within the team. It is without hesitation that I nominate Claire for this award.
Emma Cozzi
Emma is a social worker at Southampton City Council and was nominated by Kate Concannon
Emma is relatively new to Southampton but has made a significant impact her working in the Learning Disability Specialist Housing Project. Recent feedback form one of our providers reads - I am trying to find the right words to express how amazing Emma's work has been and the difference her input has made and continues to make for the people in Milestone that she is working with.
Emma's extremely person centred, and strengths based, she is consistently kind, compassionate and caring. She is clearly highly skilled and has brought these skills to the benefit of the people we collaboratively support. Since being the allocated worker Emma has addressed multiple areas of need that have been outstanding for quite some time, this has brought a significant increase of quality of life to the individuals. Emma's behaviour and interaction with our team is always collaborative and respectful which again maximises the opportunity to benefit the people we collaboratively support. I could go on more, Emma has been wonderful, and we greatly appreciate and thank her.
Estelle Parker
Estelle is a social worker at Hull City Councl and was nominated by Claire Rutherford
Estelle has undertaken all the training and evidenced her progression well and has recently become a registered Social Worker with Hull Children’s service. Estelle has shown great passion for the role and the children and families she works with.
Estelle has embraced all the learning opportunities available to her and has shown great determination to evidence and present her evidence to Social Work England. Estelle is child centred in her practice and captures the voice of the child within her work. She understands that supporting children is capturing their voice, speaking to their family and other significant people who help and support and she records her visits to them ensuring the language used is something a young person could read and understand in adulthood.
Estelle has also worked with other services to support and advocate for families. She has advocated for children and their families to access appropriate support and also enabled them to access things through resource services to support their needs.
Estelle has become an integral part of her team, who report they have benefited considerably from her support. Estelle is passionate about her work and she continues to work hard for the children ensuring she can do the best she can by them. The families she works with have really benefited from Estelle’s approach.
Emma Doran
Emma is a social worker at Cumberland Council and was nominated by Heather Bracken
Emma has worked for Cumbria/Cumberland Council since around 2006. For the larger part of this time span Emma has worked in teams supporting our cared for children. Emma is an experienced and valued social worker who has made a positive impact for many children over the years. Emma is consistently ambitious for the children she helps and gets a lot of energy from seeing her children thrive and feel settled and loved.
Emma’s skills can be seen in her ability to build meaningful connections with her children and young people. For several children Emma has been a consistency in their lives for over five years now. Emma helps children settle well into their foster families and thrive. She has helped lots of children live long term with loving foster families.
Emma has clear assessment skills that enable her to work with networks, listen to children, and return children back to their birth family. Another of Emma's strengths is never losing sight of the importance of relationships for our cared for children and working hard to support these.
Emma is regularly receiving positive feedback from counterparts within the Independent Reviewing Service who review the plans Emma is developing and facilitating to progress. One strong theme of positive feedback is that Emma knows her children so well. Emma is a strong advocate for her children which shines through in all arenas and has a true passion for improving outcomes for all children.
Emma is a kind and valued member of the team. She is a clear go to person for when others need support (both emotionally and practically).
Francesca Denham
Francesca is a social worker at East Riding of Yorkshire Council and was nominated by Sarah O'Sullivan
Francesca (Frankie) is an amazing social worker who is currently a social worker in our front door. This is often felt as one of the more relaxed (if that’s a thing) roles in social work by those who have never sat in that role before. For those that have you will agree it is anything but relaxed. Frankie is a huge part of ensuring that the families that have contact with us at the very start have the best possible experience. She listens without judgement, with empathy and care and always with the child at the heart of the conversation seeking the very best outcome for them.
Frankie is also a signs of safety ambassador and never sits on this role. She is always considering how it works in the front door, trialling things and working with her team to also develop their learning - all in the best interests of the children we work for. Frankie has also been a keen advocate for increasing the feedback results by 600% in their team, ensuring we are learning and growing from the feedback of the children and families we work with - Huge well done.
I recently listened to a call with an elder teenager and Frankie. The young person was having the toughest of days and his mood was incredibly low. Frankie signposted to mental services and showed exemplary practice by being relentless in getting the best outcome at the right time for this young person. Frankie ensured that this young person felt listened to, supported and part of the next step planning. He said he had felt heard by Frankie and he was made safe by Frankie's quick thinking and endless support to him.
Janessa Andrews
Janessa is a social worker at Early Intervention Team / Social Work Development Team. Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust and was nominated by Charlotte Hall
Janessa is a member of the social work development team and has been my consultant social worker for a year and a half. Janessa is most supportive, kind and helpful supervisor I have ever had. I have never felt as if she didn’t care, she has supported me so much throughout my ASYE. She still works with service users and she is always person centred. I would not have gotten through my masters or the first few months of my ASYE without her. Anyone who knows Janessa in Bradford District Care always state how lovely she is and how much she cares about her job, the people she works with and her service users.
Jasmine Cunningham
Jasmine is a social worker at East Riding of Yorkshire Council and was nominated by Cara Grainger
Jasmine works so hard for the children, young people and their families to advocate for them, support them and protect them. Jasmine goes above and beyond for her families and is not a 'surface level' Social Worker which means all of her children have a plan that is right for them to keep them safe. Jasmine is able to share her knowledge in the team to promote their learning and development and is a role model for her peers.
Sam Fox-Keating
Sam is a social worker at Bristol City Council and was nominated by Robert Byles
Sam personifies what it is to be a resilient, reflective, person-centred Social Worker. With a passion for promoting equality and diversity, Sam has developed an articulate yet relatable way to create a reflective culture in the team through her candid use of self, whilst still being boundaried and professional. Her passion for Safeguarding, particularly when supporting care providers and other organisations, comes through in the quality of risk assessment skills. Risk enablement is a part of her everyday practice, but she also won't hesitate to take protective steps when required.
Sam's capacity to care is an example to all us, particularly in the saddest of cases. She will appropriately share grief or moments or triumph with the team, allowing them to learn from her experiences whilst also being receptive to the views of others. The team chat is always a quieter place when she is not in but with that said... her jokes are terrible.
Sam will outwardly be furious at this nomination. Inwardly, however, she will be bursting with pride, as being a Social Worker has become such an integral part of who she is.
Samantha Davy
Samantha is a social worker at Islington Council and was nominated by Rodney Gray
I am nominating Samantha as she has completed some exceptional social work practice across the Disabled Childrens Service supporting children with disabilities and their families. Samantha has supported a number of disabled children through very difficult traumatic lived experiences through the delivery relationship-based practice and trauma informed direct work. Samantha has also supported some siblings through a bereavement and worked very hard to ensure that these siblings were placed with suitable carers. Samantha has so much compassion and empathy for others and always goes the extra mile for the families she supports. Samantha has such tenacity and drive to be the best social worker she can be to ensure that she achieves the best outcomes for children with disabilities. Samantha's ability to complete direct work with Children with Disabilities who struggle to communicate is outstanding. Samantha has ensured that Disabled Young People have had a voice and have been engaged in care planning and when making long term permanency decision during court proceedings. It’s so important we have Social Workers like Samantha in the professional who can empower our Young People and can be a voice for them.
Samantha French
Samantha is a social worker at Hull CC and was nominated by Claire Rutherford
We are one of 3 Local Authorities awarded the opportunity to work closely with Coram Voice on ‘staying connected’ project, building on feedback from our children looked after and care leavers from the Bright Spots survey, funded by the Hadley Trust. The Staying Connected project has explore ways of improving children’s experience of ‘family time’ / staying in touch with the people who are important to them. In Hull we have been collaborating with children and their families and practitioners to understand how we do things, to replicate what we do well and change some of the things that our young people find distressing or unhelpful.
We have five key priority areas that have been established during our initial evaluation process and from the Bright Spots Survey for Hull, we have focused on children who reside in residential provisions both in and outside of Hull. One of the SW Samantha French who works in the homes has been supporting the children in terms of their sense of belonging and views about the people that are important to them and how their connections with their brothers and sister is promoted in a natural way. This has been inclusive of direct sessions and observations to ensure that this is at the forefront of all planning and interventions during the period they may live apart from the people who are important to them. Sam has demonstrated commitment to the project to ensure that in her role as a Social Worker and Senior Residential Care worker, that children have their rights promoted and emotional wellbeing needs met. Sam is also someone who absolutely embraces the use of technology such as the Mind of My Own App and is Hull City Council regular top user of the application, demonstrating the added benefit this has for children living in our children’s homes.
Continue to be a great child centred Social Worker and Senior Residential Care Officer Sam.
Sarah Cornwall
Sarah is a social worker at City of Wolverhampton and was nominated by Kulwinder Bhogal
Sarah has grown in her role as a Supervising Social Worker, not only does she offer high level of support to her families and children but also the wider service.
Sarah has taken lead in ensuring all Supervising Social Workers and foster parents are aware of training offers within the Local Authority, she took it upon herself to update our Record Keeping training for foster parents after being inspired at the latest Conference to ensure it included therapeutic language. Sarah has used her knowledge and experience from previous roles to support and develop our foster parents for example, she recognised the need for foster parents to understand our children’s journey through the court process, hence, developed training and delivers this to all foster parents. In addition, she took lead to support run the Foster Parents Forums/support groups and ensures further development.
Sarah is always looking at ways to support her peers and most recently has offered to deliver peer to peer support around working SMARTLY to support work life balance. Sarah will volunteer to join any workstream groups. No job is too much for Sarah, she is always available to support with duty tasks. Sarah is passionate, motivated and very committed to offering the best of herself! Well done Sarah!
Stephanie Harris
Stephanie is a social worker at Wolverhampton City Council and was nominated by Amrita Shergill
Throughout my time of working with Steph she has continuously demonstrated her devotion to the families that she works with and the young people under her care. Steph will try every option in order to fulfil the needs of the family and to ensure that she can support them to the best of her abilities.
Steph is dependable and always offers support to the team and shares her knowledge. Whenever I have any questions, I can always rely on Steph! When working with difficult families she has a lot of resilience and will aim to build a positive rapport with the families to help overcome any barriers. Steph aims to advocate for young people and ensure that they understand their rights. She has the ability to identify with young people and to understand things from their point of view. Overall, I am nominating Steph as an amazing Social Worker because she goes above and beyond for the families that she works with. Steph is an amazing role model and is the kind of Social Worker that I aspire to be. Steph is a wonderful asset to our team and is overall a brilliant Social Worker.
Sue Cordiner
Sue is a social worker at Wigan Council and was nominated by Catherine Riley
Sue is an extraordinary Social Worker in the work that she does. She is an Adults Social Worker, and has done this for many years. She is a people-person and always finds a way to engage with our people, even if they are reluctant to do so initially. She thinks outside the box and will try many different ways to build a relationship. By doing this, Sue has managed to work with people, in a person-centred way, which has brought about change in a person's life, to achieve a positive outcome.
She has an incredible knowledge base which she applies to her work on a daily basis, and shares with the team whenever necessary.
I feel that Sue deserves to be nominated in recognition for all the hard work she does for the people she supports.
Tatiana Lucena
Tatiana is a social worker at Oxfordshire County Council and was nominated by Imogen Parker
Tatiana is a passionate social worker who always strives her hardest to support and champion the children and families she works with. She cares deeply about ensuring her work is meeting need and always gives 100% to every family. Her commitment to self-development is evident in her approach to self-directed learning and she is always keen to learn and develop. Equally, she is always happy to share knowledge and take the time to support her colleagues. She is a true pleasure to work alongside.
Timi Farinmade
Timi is a social worker at London Borough of Bromley and was nominated by Amy Norris
I would like to nominate Timi for being the most joyous and uplifting social worker to have the pleasure of working with. Timi has the all round skills of being a brilliant communicator, with people with varying needs, from babies up to older people. She shows so much encouragement to families that they begin to believe in themselves and show change in their parenting skills. She is able to communicate with adolescents who have experienced contextual harm with both humour and warmth, as well as firm boundaries. Her written work is brilliant and I think she is a future leader in Social Work.
Adele Boyd
Adele is an independent social worker at Independent social worker and was nominated by Deirdre Shakespeare
I nominate Adele Boyd for this award for her dedication to social injustices of children subjected to the misuse of inappropriate restraint and seclusion in schools across NI. Adele with her colleagues has undertaken policy work, namely 3 steps to positive practices which has influenced health and social cares position on the use of restrictive practices.
Adele also co-wrote and lobbied Harry’s Law which is a 10point mandate on the use of restrictive practices in schools. This was quite a significant undertaking which led to evidence given to the education committee and a number of months later the 10 points outlined in the lobby were debated in Stormont chambers.
The Department of Education also carried out a review as well as the children commissioner. The DE have since released a consultation and will publish new guidance which ensures all incidents of restrictive practices are recorded and reported. Guidance will be on a statutory footing. Adele is a very humble person and a worthy winner whom I nominate for an award to give recognition for her determination to put her head above the parapet and start a revolution of change for children, particularly those with disabilities.
Claire Moore
Claire is an independent social worker at CMoore Solutions & Services and was nominated by Adam Faver
Claire leaves no stone unturned, works incredibly hard for the people she supports and will never say "I can't". She gives fair, unbiased opinions and will always seek to do the right thing and put others first. She is a dedicated and amazing human being and there is nobody who more deserves this award in my opinion.
Kerry Malone
Kerry is an independent social worker at Kerry Malone - Independent Social Worker and was nominated by Sarah Watson
Kerry Malone has 26 years of social work experience within the fields of child and adult safeguarding and criminal justice. Kerry’s commitment to social work and expertise in the field of intimate partner violence is a shining example of good practice and dedication.
She has been involved in authoring, implementing and evaluating a range of risk assessment tools and perpetrator interventions for the Probation Board of Northern Ireland and the Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. In addition to co-authoring individual and group work programmes for victims/survivors of intimate partner violence
In 2016, Kerry became an independent Social Worker and continues to share her extensive knowledge by providing training and consultancy to police, social workers, public prosecution services, prison officers and probation officers, both nationally and internationally. In addition to providing expert witness evidence in respect of private and public law proceedings in a range of risk management and safeguarding issues.
She has provided specialist lectures and tutorials to Queens University, Belfast, Social Work Faculty. Kerry is a current Domestic Homicide Review Chair for the Department of Justice Northern Ireland.
Kerry also uses her expertise in a voluntary capacity; She is a former Vice Chair of the British Association for Social Workers Northern Ireland and a current Board Director for Women’s Aid Federation Northern Ireland.
Michelle Duffy
Michelle is an independent social worker at Creative Healing NI and was nominated by Jonny Roberts
I am nominating Michelle as I think she is an incredible social worker and children’s therapist. Michelle goes above and beyond for every young person she works with. Michelle has shared her own journey of healing and advocates for those affected by sexual abuse and trauma. I think she is incredibly brave and inspirational as both a professional and individual.
Michelle worked for a charity who closed all services for vulnerable children and she took a stand to set up her own charity to continue to provide this service. She has supported children and young people voluntarily and showed incredible commitment to helping them.
Michelle continues to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children in society through her work in the community and her independent social work providing therapeutic support to children, young people and their families. I believe she gives families hope and has created trust within the profession that there are good social workers out there who care and who are willing to fight for those without their voice. She is amazing!
Sara Dawson
Sara is an independent social worker at Advanced assessments and solutions and was nominated by Claire Moore
Sara took the plunge to go independent and has worked for herself for two and a half years. Sara produces exceptional, child-friendly reports, and goes above and beyond for families. Sara cares about the people she works with and strives to make a difference. She is such a caring, knowledgeable social worker with a vast skillset.
Sarah Lowe
Sarah is an independent social worker at ParentAssess and was nominated by Sarah Meekin & Joanne James
Sarah said:
Sarah Lowe has been a social worker for over 40 years and she retains a passion and dedication that inspires others. Her extensive experience of working with people with learning disabilities has resulted in her being a champion for social justice and advocating for their right to be understood and supported. Sarah has led the way in raising awareness of their needs and how we as a profession can support them.
Sarah listened to parents with LD and she created ParentAssess in 2016. It is an entire assessment framework which helps parents understand the process and outcomes of the DOH assessment framework. She developed a training programme based on an approach which empowers parents, while keeping the child at the centre of the assessment. This is highly regarded and includes a range of social work tools Sarah developed.
Sarah has worked tirelessly over the 7 years delivering the training and bringing this new framework to the attention of the family courts and the social work community. In 2021 ParentAssess was included and named in the Good Practice Guidance which is huge achievement.
Sarah also offers her time to talk to any social worker who needs additional help and so many have found this level of support from such an experienced assessor invaluable. Sarah was keen that all assessors should have access to ongoing training and so each month there is a free workshop open to all those who have completed the ParentAssess training.
Sarah has written several articles and continues to raise awareness of important issues in social work. She has created such positive change and inspired others in the profession.
Joanne said:
Sarah’s motivation comes from a place of wanting to make a difference to social work practice and vulnerable parents. Sarah is committed and passionate about the development of social work practice and improving the outcomes for children and families.
Sarah has developed the training so social workers better understand parents with learning disability and how the challenges they experience may impact on their parenting. In addition it has enabled social workers to use their learning in practice and assist them in being able to not only assess parents but also to support the parent to learn and change during the assessment process, which is having more positive outcomes for parents and their children.
Personally as now a trainer I love that Sarah actively encourages creativity and making the assessment bespoke to each individual parent. She is amazing to work for generous kind and passionate she is definitely changes lives for the better.
Annette Caston
Annette is a social worker at Cornwall Council and was nominated by Maddie Field
Annette has been working for Cornwall Council for over 30 years. During this time Annette has helped and supported so many people, ranging from supporting people in the community, through to her work in hospital and supporting complex discharges.
Annette has been part of many colleagues’ journeys through their careers. She has appointed many of the social workers and social care practitioners that currently work across the county. She offers reflective support and advice to all Cornwall Adult Social care colleagues, no matter what their role or experience is. She has supported colleagues with career progression and has been an amazing role model.
Annette has shown versatility as a social worker and has many stand out cases. She builds positive and supportive relationships, always available to listen with an empathetic approach.
Annette has taken on the challenging role in leading on the consideration of organisational safeguarding. Annette has recognised and supported workers who have come to her raising concerns about their welfare around Modern Day Slavery. She has been working with partner agencies across the sector including the police and housing in identifying the risks and supporting the workers to find alternative employment, as well as having consideration for those who are cared for by the workers in need.
Annette is an amazing social worker. She is selfless in her approach and is dedicated to her role and supporting the practice of others. All colleagues hold her in such high regard. We think Annette is a truly beautiful, kind and compassionate person who is always willing to help anyone in need in a professional way.
Nichola Scott
Nichola is a social worker at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust and was nominated by Ellie Brennan
I am nominating Nikki as she consistently goes above and beyond for every single person that she works with. She is a shining example of person-centred care and is not afraid to be outspoken in the best interests of her patients. She is also a highly valued member of the team and provides support and words of encouragement to not only the social work team, but to the nursing team and wider MDT. Her knowledge of social care and the mental health system is second to none, and she is more than willing to share her wisdom.
Nikki is a beautiful soul in and out and deserves to be nominated for this award for so many reasons, more than I could fit on this page!
Nicole Jones
Nicole is a social worker at Kent and Medway NHS and social care partnership trust and was nominated by Nigel Ashurst & Lucy Pope
Nigel said:
Nic has joined the recently formed mental health homelessness team in West Kent. She is using her mental health expertise along with her social work background to deliver exceptional care to rough sleepers. She has truly gone the extra mile with people - using humour, logic and sheer determination to advocate for a population of people who are still struggling to access the right care. She is often working on the streets to make sure she finds people she is working with. Nic is a glorious example of everything that is great about social work - and she is having a humbling impact in her role.
Lucy said:
Social Workers are so valuable in mental health services. Nic is prime example of how her social worker skills and mindset can provide a holistic care approach. Nic is caring, proactive and can see past the diagnosis. Nic works with vulnerable adults with mental health needs as well as a variety and complex social needs. Nic's patients are encouraged, educated and empowered to make their own life choices while accessing mental health and social care services. There is a high level of holistic care given which would not be possible without being a social worker.
Tom Chandler
Tom is a social worker at Gloucestershire County Council and was nominated by Joanne Walker
Tom is a passionate, committed member of our team, who is always striving for the best outcomes for the individuals he works with, and has a keen interest in educating and supporting the learning of others. Tom works with a variety of individuals, at various points in their lives. He can take on complex and challenging work, and always upholds the professional standards. Tom's work is creative, person centred, and strengths based. He recognises where individuals can develop and is keen to support them achieve their goals/ wishes. Tom takes on safeguarding work with confidence and can take immediate action, with a focus on multi-agency working. Always developing and seeking out opportunities to develop his practice, Tom has a focus on ‘relationship-based practice’ and uses this approach to build trusting relationships with individuals, families, and other professionals.
Tom is able to quickly build relationships and trust with those he works with through his person-centred approach. He demonstrates creative and sensitive practice to empower those he supports and achieve the best possible outcome for them.
Tom is extremely passionate about supporting the learning of others, he takes every opportunity to learn and share this learning with all colleagues. He represented Gloucestershire at CC inform Live last year in London. He has created comprehensive presentation slides and delivered these to our entire team. He has created toolkits for ASYE’s to support them with their development post registration.
Not only is Tom our Autism Champion, but Tom is ‘Our champion to all the people he works with and the people he supports!’
Tracey Stericker
Tracey is a social worker at Care 2 Independence (C2i) and was nominated by Stephen Stericker
Tracey qualified in 1990 and for over 30 years, her resilience and passion for safeguarding young people and families is incredible.
Comments from a foster care experienced young person:
" She has been like a mum to me, always helped me. She is kind, I mean proper nice and genuine, never shouted at me when I misbehaved".
Tracey has always identified primarily as a social worker, wanting to empower young people to stay safe and to achieve their dreams. The former Local Authority Head of Safeguarding for Children & Families stated the following:
" Tracey is social work at its best. She embodies social work values of compassion, warmth, respect, curiosity, reflectiveness, and self-awareness - simply because that is who she is. In the difficult space that social work occupies between family autonomy and the need to protect the vulnerable, Tracey manages to square the circle because her openness, honesty, and integrity always shines through."
In 2019, she took the courageous decision to establish a social enterprise offering accommodation, care and guidance for up to three young people leaving care. Her ethos of trauma informed care is inspirational, ensuring the importance of relationships and young people's psychological health and emotional wellbeing. After the young people have moved on, Tracey continues to offer informal support. Only this week, two young people brought food to the house which they cooked and ate with Tracey before she took them home.
The demand for placements has been for young people seeking asylum. Tracey has embraced an anti-oppressive approach, respecting the inherent worth and dignity of all young people, advocating for them in the challenging and sometimes oppressive world of age assessments and the asylum seeker processes.
One young person seeking asylum commented:
“Tracey means everything to me, making a big difference to my life in England. I come here and she helps me like a son. She is always listening”.
Tracey consulted with young people about what to do with any surplus monies from the social enterprise. This resulted in the purchase of hold-all's and filling them with personal grooming items and essential clothing for young people seeking asylum who live in Hull or the East Riding of Yorkshire. She also provided the University of Hull with £1000 to support care experienced young people in higher education.
Tracy Ward
Tracy is a social worker at Jewish Care and was nominated by Nel Kothalawala
Tracy is an exceptional individual who has gone above and beyond in supporting our vulnerable elderly residents. Tracy's dedication is reflected in the countless hours spent addressing their unique needs and ensuring they feel valued and cared for. Tracy's compassionate approach and tireless efforts make her a deserving nominee for this award.
Westley Jones
Westley is a social worker at City of Wolverhampton Council and was nominated by Jenny Rogers
Westley is known amongst his colleagues in the Fostering Support Team as ‘infectious, full of energy, enthusiasm and full of motivation’. Westley is always there, makes himself available to managers and his team! If a job needs doing we know we can rely on Westley not only to offer support regardless of how busy he is but will also complete the job to a high standard.
Westley is very keen to promote and advocate for the Fostering Service. His work is completed to a high standard, this is evident when he nearly always achieves ‘outstanding’ in all practice week audits! Westley is now working with his colleagues to support them during Practice week Audits!
Westley is a strong advocate for all out children in care. He has a great focus on achieving permanency and good outcomes for all our children and young people and keeps the care plan of all children high on the agenda! Westley will always go over and beyond to meet the needs of our children and young people, he will take lead not only to support his foster parents but will also take lead and support the children’s social workers to progress care plans! Most recently Westley was one of the very few social workers across the service who nominated all his children he supports for an I Award! This is evidence of how he recognises achievements made by all children no matter how small!
Westley does not stop there, he supports his colleagues with emotional resilience by using mind mapping which looks at planning not only their work but considering their personal life to promote wellbeing!
Westley is an absolute asset to the Fostering Support Team and I am proud to have him in our team! Well done Westley!
Yvonne Levy
Yvonne is a social worker at Jewish Care and was nominated by Timea Kasza
Yvonne has supported those attending our Redbridge day centre since we re-opened after Covid. Yvonne comes to the centre on a regular basis and has built amazing relationships with all of our members. Her kindness, open mindedness and generosity of spirit has generated a natural trust from those with whom she works with.
Whenever I request support or help for a member, Yvonne never fails to find a way to expedite any issues and is successful in resolving problems smoothly and professionally no matter how big or small the issue is.
Yvonne is always up to date with our members’ concerns and needs and I believe that she always goes above and beyond her role. No matter how busy she is, she gives each member that she works with her time (especially on home visits which she never rushes), her care and her unwavering support. Always a cheery and warm presence, Yvonne helps our members with a plethora of issues and they appreciate her knowledge and help immensely.