Award winning social workers celebrated at the House of Commons
The achievements of winners from the 2016 Social Worker of the Year Awards have been officially recognised by government Ministers at an exclusive Parliamentary Reception which took place in the House of Commons.
The practitioners, who all won prizes at the Social Worker of the Year Awards back in November, were congratulated by the Shadow Minister for Children and Families, Emma Lewell-Buck MP, awards patron Tim Loughton MP, and the two Chief Social Workers, Lyn Romeo and Isabelle Trowler.
Speaking at the event, Emma Lewell-Buck MP, who is also a patron of the Social Work Awards charity, said: “A lot of the winners here today have impacted their wider area, other teams and organisations that they work with and that is really important because it gets the message out there every single day about the important work that they do. Our profession rarely gets recognised so I hope these awards continue to go from strength to strength.”
Meanwhile, Tim Loughton MP, added: “I’m delighted that the winners are here at the Houses of Parliament today to be recognised for their important and essential work. They should be very proud of their achievements.”
This year’s awards will open for entries on Tuesday 28th March and the closing date for nominations is Friday 21st July. In total there are 17 different categories across both children’s and adult services.
James Rook is the Managing Director of Sanctuary Social Care and also a trustee of the Social Work Awards Ltd., the registered charity which runs the awards. He said: “The awards get bigger and better every year and provide a vital opportunity to celebrate the exceptional work that goes on and to really put the social work profession on the map. I would encourage all social work teams up and down the country to make a nomination when entries open.”
The supporters of the 2017 Social Worker of the Year Awards were also announced at the event. They include headline sponsors, Sanctuary Social Care; Corporate Partners, The British Association of Social Workers; and category supporters, Barnardo’s, Hampshire County Council, UNISON, iMPOWER, Gloucestershire County Council, Kent County Council, Devon County Council, Essex County Council, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Calderdale Council, Tees Valley Local Authority Children’s Services and OLM Systems.
The awards were founded in 2006 by independent practitioner, Beverley Williams MBE, with the aim of improving the understanding and reputation of the profession.
Entry forms will be available to download from Tuesday 28th March.