Finalists announced for Social Worker of the Year Awards 2025

The wait is over for social workers across the country as the final shortlist for this year’s Social Worker of the Year Awards has been revealed.

The shortlist, which features 100 outstanding practitioners, teams and organisations in 18 categories, was chosen by an independent judging panel made up of social workers, industry leaders and people with lived experience of social work and care.

The winners for each of the 18 categories will be revealed during a special awards ceremony at The Midland Hotel in Manchester on Friday 17th October. One individual category winner on the night will also be crowned as ‘Overall Social Worker of the Year’, an accolade chosen exclusively by the Social Work Awards Board of Trustees.

Peter Hay CBE, Chair of the Social Work Awards, said: “As a charity, we are delighted to host the awards this year to shine a light on the inspirational achievements of an often overlooked profession.

Thank you to the hundreds of people who took the time out of their day to nominate a friend, colleague, or team for an award this year. And, to everybody nominated for an award, congratulations. Being nominated for a national award, whilst supporting others through exceptional practice in your day-to-day, is a remarkable achievement of which you should be very proud.”

The full Social Worker of the Year Awards 2025 shortlist is as follows:

Adult Social Worker of the Year

• Andrea Bennett, Kent County Council
• Alex Giasemidis, Cambridgeshire County Council
• Jayne Lee, Essex County Council
• Sophia Hussain, Redbridge Local Authority
• Rebecca Grover, Stockton on Tees Borough Council
• Rachael Glave, Sunderland City Council

Children’s Social Worker of the Year

• Tim Bangora, LB of Hammersmith and Fulham
• Cait Hogan, Essex County Council
• Jeanette Brean, LB of Hammersmith and Fulham
• Andrea Bassi, Birmingham Children’s Trust
• Samantha O’Rourke, LB of Hammersmith and Fulham
• Nicola Tinker, Cumberland Council

Lifetime Achievement Award

• John Lovatt, Hartlepool Borough Council
• Stephen Day, Team Fostering
• Sally Smith, Independent Social Worker
• Maria Moore, Liverpool City Council
• Susan McNulty, Team Fostering”
• Mark Waterhouse, Sefton Council

Team of the Year, Adult Services

• Guild Parkrun, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
• South Shropshire Community Social Work Team, Shropshire Council
• Homeless Move On Team, Bristol City Council
• Front Door Team, Sunderland City Council
• Octopus Energy Social Work Team, Octopus Energy
• Mental Health Accommodation Model, Essex County Council

Team of the Year, Children’s Services

• Young Carers Team – Central Bedfordshire, Central Bedfordshire Council
• MyPlace, Lisa Chamberlain and Abbie Melia
• Out of Hours Team, Hampshire County Council
• Mental Health Co-ordinators, Essex County Council
• Stepping Stones, Shropshire, Shropshire Council

Mental Health Social Worker of the Year 

• Simona Calzavara, ELFT
• Debbie Dobson, North Lincolnshire Council
• Khurram Ghafoor, Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
• Alison Louise James, Swindon Borough Council
• Molly Butler, Calderdale Council
• Joanne Sarah McMahon, Sefton MBC

Social Work Student of the Year     

• Nerea Lopez Melgarejo, University of Cumbria
• Susuana Gyampoh Senghor, London Metropolitan University
• Lisa Andrews, University of Huddersfield
• Dominika Wojciechowska, Manchester Metropolitan University
• Terrance Coates, Kingston University London
• Christine Walsh, Hull University

Newly Qualified Adult Social Worker of the Year  

• Rhiannon Williams, Brighton and Hove City Council
• Victoria Southward, Gateshead Council
• Anthony Achebe, Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
• Paul Caston, Livewell Southwest
• Gemma Harmer, Rochdale Adult Care

Newly Qualified Children’s Social Worker of the Year    

• Danielle Hall, Cumberland Council
• Toby Spaxman, City of York Council
• Lashonte Royal, Hillingdon Council
• Michela Cambareri, Lancashire South Cumbria Foundation Trust
• Joe Peppiatt, Essex County Council
• Deborah Etim, Coventry City Council (Children’s Services)

Practice Leadership and Management, Adult Services       

• Helen Rose, North Lincolnshire Council
• Clare Bailey, Wokingham Council/Berkshire NHS
• Fran Marshall, Cambridgeshire County Council
• Eirini Zochiou, Sunderland City Council
• Helen Macisaac, Essex County Council
• Nora Hanna, Cambridgeshire County Council

Practice Leadership and Management, Children’s Services    

• Antonia Ogundayisi, Essex County Council
• Sarah Malivoire, Central Bedfordshire Council
• Anne Stoker, London Borough of Enfield
• Paula Purcell, London Borough of Redbridge
• Nana Yabbey-Hagan, Merton Children Social Care
• Daniel Kelly, Cafcass

Technology Enabled Lives and Innovation in Practice Award         

• Safeguarding and Professional Practice Service, Durham County Council
• Kent County Council Technology Enhanced Lives Service, Kent County Council
• The Scribe Project Team, Cafcass
• Georgina Kent, Hull City Council
• Integrated Front Door, North East Lincolnshire Council
• The Relational Social Work Podcast, Coventry City Council

Practitioner-Led Research Award           

• Lisa Richey, East Sussex County Council
• Jane King
• Claire Yates, Bath Spa University
• The Experts in Practice Project, Darlington People Group Directorate
• Victoria Bunting, Norfolk County Council
• Karen Nixon, Dawn Statham, Stacey Wilde, and Paul Campbell, Social Work Learning Academy, Midlands Partnership University Foundation NHS Trust

University Social Work Lecturer of the Year           

• Aga M. Buckley, Kingston University London
• Sian Thomas, University of Birmingham
• John Paul Anastasiadis, University of Hertfordshire

International Social Work Award           

• Theresa Kambani, Bedford Borough Council
• Sharon ndoro, Cambridgeshire County Council
• Omar Mohamed, Oxford Brookes University

Social Justice Champion Award       

• Shropshire Council Anti-Racism Forum (SCARF), Shropshire Council
• Danielle Hetherington-Parker, BCP Council
• Thabang Thacker, Cambridgeshire County Council
• David Redpath-Smith, Cheshire West and Chester Council
• Dr Jen Cooper, Change Grow Live – Inspire Lancashire
• Leesah Edwards, Social Work Coaching Hub

Practice Educator of the Year             

• Anne Marie Lambert, University of Salford
• Karen Rodgers, Cambridgeshire County Council
• Emma Ball, Octopus Energy
• Natalie Robertson, Lambeth Council
• Charlotte Roberts, Hartlepool Borough Council
• Alice Horler, Rochdale Borough Council

Supportive Social Work Employer Award   

• Essex County Council
• Barnsley Council
• Birmingham Children’s Trust
• WSCC Children, Young People & Learning Service, West Sussex County Council
• Children and Families Directorate, Westmorland and Furness Council
• West Sussex County Council Adult Services, West Sussex County Council