Profiles
25 March
Practice educators
26 March
Team managers
27 March
Other roles
28 March
Newly qualified social workers
Amanda Rae
Amanda is a practice educator at Somerset Council Adult Social Care and was nominated by Suzy Dudley
Amanda was a line manager (advanced practitioner) for our hospital team until a few weeks ago when she then got offered secondment to learning and development to oversee all new ASYE SWs and apprentice SW and this is a testament to her innovative passion to be a superb role model in SW practice. She provided team building and morale (which is paramount skill) and self-care directed supervisions. She champions support for amazing outcomes for the most complex casework of her supervisees and taught us some unique learning styles and focused work ethics not just to help us within our social care roles but to also ensure we had the same unique passion for outcomes for those we support. She is a credit to SW and will continue to motivate new starters with the same passion to retain SWs in her new role. I am honoured to have witnessed such a unique style of SW practice.
Jade Hibberd
Jade is a practice educator at East London NHS Foundation Trust and was nominated by Shanice Francis
‘Homerton Psychological Medicine (HPM)’ at Homerton Hospital A&E’ - I am a student social worker in my first year of placement and Jade has been instrumental in my learning. Her level of professionalism, passion for social work and pastoral skills have been what has kept me on this journey to be a social worker, helping me to overcome challenges. She continually shows how she meets PCF's and the knowledge she has provided for me, and fellow students has been amazing. As a practitioner she is curious, critical, supportive, person centred, flexible and adaptive. Watching her in action in her role in A&E is inspiring and I genuinely hope to be a social worker like her one day.
Jade Painter
Jade is a practice educator at Wiltshire Council - Children's Safeguarding Team and was nominated by Chelsea Marie Turpin
Jade, my placement supervisor, is an exemplary representative of Social Work England, consistently embodying the highest standards of social work practice. Her unwavering dedication and exceptional support for the families and young people under her care make her an invaluable team member. In a recent challenging case, Jade exhibited extraordinary compassion and professionalism. Taking on the responsibility of conducting section 47 enquiries, she provided the family with unparalleled support during this heart-breaking time. Jade's outstanding contributions and exceptional commitment make her truly deserving of this nomination.
Jean Watson
Jean is a practice educator at De Montfort university and was nominated by Souad Haddouch
I am honoured to nominate Jean for her exceptional contributions as a social worker. As my practice educator during my challenging master’s in social work placement, Jean provided unwavering guidance, advocacy and support. Her belief in my ability to practice empowered me to overcome obstacles. Jean exemplified empathy and consistently modelled the true ethos of being a social worker. I am profoundly grateful for her impact on my journey, and I will never forget the invaluable lessons she shared.
In addition to her unwavering support, Jean’s ability to advocate on my behalf was truly remarkable. Jean’s commitment to empowering and advocating for her students sets her apart as an exceptional social worker and mentor. Her exceptional support extended beyond practical guidance; she played a crucial role in helping me make sense of the intricate theories involved in my social work studies. Her adept ability to clarify complex concepts made a significant impact on my understanding and application of theoretical frameworks.
Jean’s dedication to ensuring a profound comprehension of social work theories underscores her excellence as a mentor and educator.
Lisa Smales
Lisa is a practice educator at Hull City Councl and was nominated by Claire Rutherford
Lisa has been a Social Worker for over 10 years, she had a desire to help and support children and families across the city she has grown up in. Lisa spent the majority of her time on the frontline, meaning that she has a wealth of experience and practice wisdom to share with other social workers. Lisa has been a Practice Educator alongside her frontline work, she has always offered to take on students and provided a rich and nurturing learning environment for them. Seeing them thrive, lead to her wanting to be a Practice Educator full time and she has since joined the Hull Social Work Academy. In the last 2 years she has supported a number of cohorts of Students and NQSWs, ensuring that she has considered their interests, experiences and learning styles to match them to the most suitable teams.
As a result of her support, she has received excellent feedback from NQSWs about the quality of support, the nurturing approach and her one-to-one supervisions and reflections.
The CPD workshops that she has created in terms of professional curiosity and voice of the children have been well received. As a result, we have seen real improvements in practice and positive feedback about the NQSWs from the children and young people. This is evidenced via moderation process’.
Lisa is also the lead in the Academy around Mind of My Own App. She drives this with passion and grit, ensuring that children and young people have an opportunity to access technology to share their views and social workers are kept up to date with the latest gadgets available to increase creativity around direct work.
I am nominating Lisa, because she is someone who has a great balance of high support, she draws on the positives and strengths of the workforce and does this with such a nurturing and empathic approach. Looking at what is strong rather than what is wrong, an approach that she transferred to her work with children and families.
Naomi Fraser
Naomi is a practice educator and was nominated by Shelley Cross
I am nominating this person, as they were my Practice Educator during my last year, and Naomi picked me up halfway through my placement which was a very stressful time.
Naomi supported me extremely well during this time. So much so that I even had a light bulb moment using a theory ensuring my values did not impact on a person I was supporting.
Having a supportive and knowledgeable Practice Educator is so important and I am thankful I had Naomi as her knowledge, encouragement and help to identify who I am is what supported me to get through my Social Work Apprenticeship.
Naomi is calm and able to put you at ease when you feel you're not going to make it. Her passion for sharing her knowledge is outstanding and whoever has her as their practice educator they will feel fully supported, even when the going gets tough.
Alexandra Wilsdon
Alexandra is a deputy team manager at North Herts Adult Disability Team and was nominated by Dee Jaggs
I would like to nominate the Deputy Team Manager of the North Herts Adult Disability Team, Adult Care Services at Hertfordshire County Council.
I have found that over the past year she has been instrumental and invaluable in supporting the whole team when she too has had additional stresses.
Ali is very approachable and proactive in ensuring that staff feel supported both in work hrs and out.
A colleague and I had a difficult case and Ali made sure we were well supported and ensured that a debrief was in place and was personally there if we needed just to chat, which was above and beyond what we expected.
We all have family lives but Ali will ensure that she can be reached if or when needed.
Alexandra line manages social workers as part of her Deputy Team Manager role.
Jackie Kramer
Jackie is a team manager at Jewish Care and was nominated by Paula Plaskow
Jackie Kramer is a dedicated social worker, consistently exploring the values and ethics of social work to all people she works with. Her compassion and empathy are innate within her professionalism. Additionally, she is a true social work leader, inspiring the teams she supports, enabling colleagues to develop personally and professionally in their role and work to their strengths. I value her comradery and will always seek her counsel knowing she will respond holistically and reflectively.
Janine
Janine is a team manager at a local authority and was nominated by Donna
Janine is new to being a team manager, however she is fantastic. She is very supportive of her team. She nurtures us to really think about our practice and reflect on our strengths and weaknesses. She also recognises these in each individual and uses each person’s strengths to enhance our team.
Janine has a wonderful restorative approach to her work and has worked hard to promote this within her team and use her knowledge to help us grow.
As a newly qualified social worker I could not ask for a better manager, who gives me just the right amount of support, encouragement, and advice. She is a wonderful role model and I hope to continue to learn from her and follow in her footsteps.
Mandy Pritchard
Mandy is a team manager at North Herts Adult Disability Team and was nominated by Dee Jaggs
Mandy is a fantastic Manager she has faced her own battles with health this past year and like a Phoenix risen from the Ashes to be stronger and focused on her role to ensure that her Team are well supported and feel secure in all they do. The NH Adult Disability Team has evolved from one big team to 2 smaller teams with the support and direction of the most dedicated, responsive, and supportive Manager I have ever had the pleasure to work with.
Mandy will give as much help as each individual needs whilst still juggling her own heavy workload. She deserves to be recognised for this along with Alexandra Wilson her Deputy as without them the team would be just another Team instead of the awesome group of professionals that they are.
Nana Yabbey-Hagan
Nana is a team manager and was nominated by Bianca McKay
Nana Yabbey-Hagan, Team Manager for a Looked After Children's Team - Nana is a positive force in the world of Social Work. He is a passionate, knowledgeable advocate for others and is helping the next generation of Social Workers prepare for best practice and build their confidence and competence. Nana challenges injustice and is a huge support system for all.
Sharon Conibear
Sharon is a team manager at Social Care Staff in Cornwall and was nominated by Tina Sanford
Sharon has a long background in supporting people with Learning Disabilities. Having worked as a support worker and managed care settings she then moved to work for Cornwall Council as a Community Care assistant, before attaining her social work qualification.
After a few years working as a team Social Worker she has progressed into her current role where she leads a small team of Social workers who work with people with learning Disabilities.
Sharon shows a strong Social work value base and an ethical drive to get things right for both people she supports, and that her team supports. She is passionate about her work and supports the improvement of practice. She goes above and beyond to support NQSWs and Social Work students.
As a Team Leader she elegantly challenges practice and assumptions and demonstrates a high level of professional curiosity. She makes sure that everything she and her team does enables people to achieve their outcomes.
She is a fantastic role model and this is recognised across the organisation. Families and people often feedback how fantastic she is. She is a great advocate for inclusive practice and is always maintaining a rights-based approach in her work. Her legal literacy is exemplary and her ability to organise herself and manager others ensures productive team outputs.
Julie Phillips
Julie is an assistant director at West Sussex County Council and was nominated by Abbie Murr
Julie is an amazing social worker and senior manager who lives by social work values and ethics and inspires all around her to do the same
Julie’s main focus is ensuring the voice of people who draw on services and their carers are heard. As such, Julie has promoted true coproduction across adult social care and the sharing of power can be seen.
Julie has over 25 years experience as a social worker and is as passionate and dedicated today as she was when she first qualified.
Laura Rogers
Laura is an assistant team manager at Wokingham Borough Council and was nominated by Omar Mohamed
Laura Rogers is an exceptional line manager who continually takes an approach to supporting her social workers through a strong relationship, compassionate understanding, and creative, critical and constructive challenges to support them to make better decisions for children and families. Laura is a human first and a social worker second, and her personality shines through her ability to help social workers reflect on their practice as well as providing a space of safety and trust to explore key issues in social work practice. Laura is particularly skilled at making her team feel comfortable, whether this is through humour or showcasing her understanding of her experiences in practice, Laura is always able to help her team feel related to, which in turn, helps us become the best social workers we can be.
Lisa Mullin
Lisa is a head of service at Hertfordshire County Council and was nominated by Lisa Norton
Lisa is Head of Service for Adult Disability Service East. She is an incredible leader and motivator. I have had the privilege of working with Lisa whilst I was on a secondment in her team.
Lisa is exceptionally approachable and she has time for every one she works with and the Service she runs is a reflection of this.
Lisa encourages growth amongst all colleagues and nurtures everyone to strive to be the best they can be and does not allow the hierarchy of Management to stop this.
Lisa strongly advocates for the citizens of Hertfordshire and has a strong passion for putting people first.
Lisa has helped to pioneer the first Learning Disability Risk Assessment Frailty tool which has recently been validated by the University of Hertfordshire and will become business as usual within the service later this year.
Her tireless commitment to innovative ideas through to her ability be an inspirational leader makes her someone to look up to and admire.
Rebecca Pearson
Rebecca is an advanced practitioner at Devon County Council and was nominated by Donna Weeks
Rebecca is simply the oracle of social work practice. She is inspiring, because of her trauma informed practice, that is so restorative and child centred.
We are so lucky to work with her as we can learn so much from her and nothing is ever too much trouble. Her wealth of experience along with her outstanding practice is truly amazing.
Catherine Awogbami
Catherine is a newly qualified social worker at Wolverhampton City Council and was nominated by Kellie Hines
Catherine is the ASYE in the team.
Catherine has demonstrated extremely hardworking tendencies. As an ASYE she always goes above and beyond for the families she supports in a restorative manner. Catherine is a very quick learner and puts in place a person centred approach. Catherine evokes positive changes for the families to make them feel empowered and valued.
She is a fab team player, always on hand to offer support to team members should they need it. There is not a person Catherine has worked with who does not agree she works well - even under pressure and working to tight timescales.
Siobhan Goodfellow
Siobhan is a newly qualified social worker at Hull City Councl and was nominated by Claire Rutherford
Siobhan undertook her student social work placements before her appointment as a newly qualified social worker with Hull Children’s service. Siobhan has recently finished her ASYE programme with great success. Her passion and motivation for working with children and families at difficult times in their lives has shone throughout her learning journey. Siobhan is such an advocate for children and their families, with a strong focus on fairness and balance. This further comes through in working with children who have additional needs where she will go above and beyond in ensuring the children and their families' voices are heard. With her knowledge and passion she has been able to develop effective family support packages for children with additional needs.
She supports her work and knowledge through research which enhances her interventions with children through a solid evidence and knowledge based position. This has been empowering when Siobhan has needed to advocate and challenge others to ensure that children and their families are treated equitably and with compassion. When working with separated parents, Siobhan has worked hard to ensure that all the parents are included in plans for their children, adjusting her work schedules to ensure that non-resident parent views and wishes are taken into consideration and are included in planning; her team manager reflected this as a strength. A significant strength in all her work is Siobhan’s child centred practice.
Her manager commented on how the voice and views of the child, come through in all Siobhan’s work, including written. Siobhan talks with such passion about the children and their families that it is very evident to see how she is successful in developing relationships and engaging families, even those who may be resistant to social work intervention. In such situations Siobhan has worked hard to break down barriers and develop positive relationships, some of whom have developed trust from a place of mistrust. This is strongly supported by feedback from families who have described Siobhan as “ fantastic” “helpful, “ “lovely,” “ listens to me, and “ don’t think she could do anything differently, she’s brilliant.” Such words epitomise the social worker Siobhan is.
Her Practice Educator Suzanne Smith, feels her ASYE journey has been very positive and she is an asset to the organisation.
The PSW Claire Rutherford, says 'Social Workers, need kind to demonstrate a strong culture of going above and beyond to keep families together, Siobhan does this with ease, because it is a core value that she has embraced'
Tammy Hodgson
Tammy is a newly qualified social worker at Suffolk County Council and was nominated by Laura Lawrenson
Tammy has been amazing since she started as a newly qualified social worker. The work that she has undertaken during her ASYE has been to advocate and support individuals that are currently detained in ensuring that their voice is heard whilst they are experiencing a situation that can be very oppressive. An example of this, she has actively supported an individual who has been on a section for a long time to transition to the community at a pace that suits the individual to manage their anxiety. The individual had previously had a placement fall through because of an old report which had incorrect information. She has advocated and managed to get health professionals to rewrite their report, provided evidence why the old one was incorrect and engaged with individuals that regularly would not like to talk to social workers.
She has built up good relationships with other professionals and has received several requests for professional feedback sheets when other professionals realised that she is a newly qualified social worker. Many have even commented that they did not realise she was one, because of the way she presents herself and the knowledge she brings to meetings. Because of Tammy’s endless work to build those relationships, she has helped her team in creating more of a positive multi-agency approach for the individuals the team is working with.
Tammy is an active participant in support other colleagues and other students, when she will bring interesting topics to supervision, she has created a presentation around the importance of social workers understanding cultural diversity and the impact this can have on mental health. I am very proud to have gotten the chance to spend time with Tammy on her ASYE, she will be an amazing social worker who is actively changing experiences for individuals in this area.