Social Worker of the Year Finalists Announced
Maris Stratulis, BASW England National DirectorBASW England extend our congratulations to everyone nominated and to all social workers for your incredible hard work and dedication.
The Social Worker of the Year Awards is the only major national awards event for social work in England, attracting hundreds of entries every year.
All those who have been shortlisted are being recognised for their extraordinary practice and will find out if they have won the award in their category at a special event this November in London.
The finalists were chosen by panels of independent judges including previous award winners, social workers, industry leaders and people with lived experience of social work.
For 2024, there will be 18 Awards as well as the ‘Overall Social Worker of the Year’ which is chosen by the Board of Trustees from all the gold-winning entries.
Categories include returning favourites like Team Leader of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award and two new additions, Technology-Enabled Lives and Innovation in Practice Award and Practitioner-led Research Award.
One judge said: “Reading this year's entries made me feel humbled. I felt full of hope, inspired and uplifted.”
Peter Hay CBE, Chair of the Social Work Awards, said: “This year we received hundreds of entries which goes to show how passionate organisations and individuals are to shine a light on the inspirational achievements of an often-overlooked profession.
“We would like to thank all those who took the time to nominate a friend, colleague, or team for an award this year. To our finalists, we’d like to say congratulations! Being nominated for a national award, whilst supporting others during very challenging times in a year of big changes, is a remarkable achievement of which you should be very proud.”
Maris Stratulis, National Director of the Awards Headline Sponsor BASW England commented: “BASW England extend our congratulations to everyone nominated and to all social workers for your incredible hard work and dedication.
“Social workers face many challenges with increasing pressures felt by the diverse and unique communities we support. In these times it is more important than ever that we celebrate and pay tribute to the amazing work you do.
“We look forward to having the opportunity to recognise the many invaluable collective and individual contributions and achievements of the social work profession at this year’s awards and wish all the nominees across the 18 categories the best of luck.”
Sponsors of this Awards include BASW (Headline Sponsor), Sanctuary (Corporate Partner), and West Sussex County Council (Public Sector Sponsor).
Cafcass, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Wandsworth Borough Council, West Midlands ADASS, Unison and Essex County Council are Category Sponsors and Gloucestershire County Council are a ‘Thank You’ Sponsor.
The full list of finalists are:
Social Work Student of the Year 2024
| Name | Place of study |
| Hannah Louise Barnes | University of Sussex |
| Katie Teeling | Edge Hill University |
| Scott Richardson | Open University |
| Tienga Ngale | Brunel University |
| Vishal Udaya Kumar | Brunel University |
University Social Work Lecturer of the Year 2024
| Name | Employer |
| David Marsland | University of Hull |
| Emma Ainsley | Canterbury Christ Church University |
| Nigel Kelleher | Edge Hill University |
| Rebecca Stephens | University of Sussex |
| Stephanie Jones | Staffordshire University |
Newly Qualified Adult Social Worker of the Year 2024
| Name | Employer |
| Aaron Evans | London Borough of Hounslow |
| David Heaton | Northumberland County Council |
| Elizabeth Badu | Central Bedfordshire Council |
| Ellie Vincent | Norfolk County Council |
| Jodie Gooday | Essex County Council |
| Tafadzwa Nathaniel Gonditii | Humber NHS Teaching Foundation Trust & Hull City Council |
Newly Qualified Children’s Social Worker of the Year 2024
Sponsored by West Sussex County Council
| Name | Employer |
| Chloe Ann Turner | Central Bedfordshire Council |
| Emma Cove | Portsmouth City Council |
| Helen Podesta | Milton Keynes Council |
| Holly Shreeves | Central Bedfordshire Council |
| Klaudia Skubera | Cambridgeshire County Council |
| Louise Allonby | Essex County Council |
Practice Educator of the Year 2024
Sponsored by London Borough of Wandsworth
| Name | Employer |
| Clare Alexander | North Lincolnshire Council |
| Maxine Burt | Essex County Council |
| Tamsin Suttenwood | Essex County Council |
| Wendy Jill Hardman | Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust |
| Zainab Sulaiman | Cambridgeshire County Council |
Team of the Year, Adult Services 2024 (including MDTs)
Sponsored by UNISON
| Name | Employer |
| Adult Learning Disabilities Team | Sunderland City Council |
| Adult Social Care – Lincoln Hospital | Lincolnshire County Council |
| Hull Community Mental Health Team | Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust |
| People From Abroad Team | Norfolk County Council |
| Reconnect – Care After Custody | |
| St Richard's Hospice Specialist Palliative Care Social Work Team | St Richard's Hospice |
Team of the Year, Children’s Services 2024 (including MDTs)
Sponsored by West Sussex County Council
| Name | Employer |
| Asylum Through Care Team | Redcar and Cleveland Local Authority |
| Mosaic Foster Care Social Work | Mosaic Foster Care |
| People From Abroad Team | Norfolk County Council |
| Staying Together Team | London Borough of Bexley |
| The Children’s Mental and Emotional Health Team | West Sussex County Council |
Supportive Social Work Employer Award 2024
Sponsored by Sanctuary Personnel
| Employer |
| Cambridgeshire County Council |
| Hartlepool Borough Council |
| London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham |
| Together For Children, Sunderland |
| Wandsworth Council |
| West Sussex County Council |
Team Leader of the Year, Adult Services 2024
| Name | Employer |
| Carol Monahan | Wiltshire Council |
| Charlotte Gordon | Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council |
| Gina Grimes | City of Stoke-on-Trent Council |
| Hazel Welburn | North Lincolnshire Council |
| Joe Hockaday | Essex County Council |
| Sue Bunker | Shropshire Council |
| Yvo Heidemans | Essex County Council |
Team Leader of the Year, Children’s Services 2024
| Name | Employer |
| Andrew O’Sullivan | London Borough of Hounslow |
| Carolyn Ellis | Essex County Council |
| Clare Luxton | Bath and North East Somerset Council |
| Danielle Jeenah | London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham |
| Hayley Driver | Lancashire and South Cumbria Foundation Trust |
| Michael Radley | London Borough of Sutton |
Technology-Enabled Lives and Innovation in Practice Award 2024
| Name | Employer |
| Rebecca Alton | Lincolnshire County Council |
| Stockton Borough Council Adult Social Care | Stockton Borough Council |
| Tact Connect | TACT- The Adolescent and Children’s Trust |
| Technology Enhanced Lives Service | Kent County Council |
Practitioner-led Research Award 2024
Sponsored by West Midlands ADASS
| Name | Employer |
| Anna Bouch | Brighton and Hove City Council |
| Dr Julie Feather and Nicola Whiteside | Edge Hill University |
| Hannah Kingsford | University of Kent |
| Katy Cleece | Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust |
| Nick Perry | East Sussex County Council |
| Revelstoke Road Children's Home | Together for Children |
Social Justice Advocate Award 2024
Sponsored by Essex County Council
| Name | Employer |
| Anti-Racist Movement | N/A |
| Dawn Henderson | Dorset Council |
| Helen Hewitt | Hull City Council |
| Natasha Winters | Derby City Council |
| Ola Tony-Obot and Edward Garwe | Together for Children Sunderland |
Mental Health Social Worker of the Year 2024
Sponsored by Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
| Name | Employer |
| Anthony Walton | Sunderland City Council |
| Emma Crowe | Stockton Borough Council |
| Frances Ashton | Humber NHS Teaching Foundation Trust & Hull City Council |
| Georgie Dredge | Essex County Council |
| Hannah Rogerson | City of Doncaster Council |
| Nicole Jones | Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust |
AMHP (Approved mental health professional) Social Worker of the Year 2024
| Name | Employer |
| Andrew Jamieson | Stockton Borough Council |
| Dr Matt Simpson | Wiltshire Council / Bournemouth University |
| Kenton Fairweather | Sunderland City Council |
| Lorna Cornett | Brighton and Hove City Council |
| Richard Nunn | Warrington Borough Council |
| Stewart Telford | Devon County Council |
Adult Social Worker of the Year 2024
Sponsored by Sanctuary Personnel
| Name | Employer |
| Charlotte Chastney | Suffolk County Council |
| Chloe Lambert | Shropshire Council |
| Jane Hawthorn | Nottinghamshire County Council |
| Lauren Warner | Gloucestershire County Council |
| Parminder Sangha | Worcestershire County Council |
Children’s Social Worker of the Year 2024
Sponsored by Cafcass
| Name | Employer |
| Debbie Barnes | Essex County Council |
| Florence Ricketts | London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham |
| Hema Johal | Cafcass |
| Jonas Kurkalang | London Borough of Hounslow |
| Peter Byrne | Sefton Borough Council |
Lifetime Achievement Award 2024
Sponsored by BASW England
| Name | Employer |
| Helen Taylor | Warrington Borough Council |
| Hilary Barrett | Cafcass |
| Jennifer Gander | Brighton and Hove City Council |
| Michael Crozier | Sunderland City Council |
| Rachel Humphries | Cafcass |
| Rebekah Button | Kent County Council |
| Susan Banyard | West Sussex County Council |