Why the Social Worker of the Year Awards matter Peter Hay, CBE. Chair of the Board of Trustees
The Social Worker of the Year Awards is the only major national awards event for social work in England.
Every year, the Awards attracts hundreds of entries and reaches millions of people with positive stories of outstanding social work, creative and compassionate practitioners and outstanding practice. We have become more focussed upon the experience of people who draw on social work and use their wisdom in settling on our outstanding winners.
Now more than ever, it’s important we recognise the efforts of social workers across the country who are delivering excellence under challenging circumstances with ever-increasing workloads, high turnover of staff and budget cuts to essential services.
The Awards provides that one night in the calendar year where social workers are given the recognition they rightfully deserve, and we can shine a spotlight on the superb work they are doing, often supporting the most vulnerable in society.
Founder Beverley Williams started the charity in 2006 after identifying a need to recognise the hard work and positive impact that social workers have on children, families and adults.
In the last eighteen years, the charity has grown and grown and last year recorded the greatest number of entries for the Awards. Our aims today are as important as they ever have been – to give recognition to the challenging work of qualified social workers, to promote best practice in the profession and celebrate success, to improve understanding of the range of work which social workers undertake and to celebrate and promote diversity and equal opportunities in social care.
We couldn’t exist without the loyal support of the Board of Trustees who all give their time voluntarily and the support of our sponsors.
The Awards encourages a culture of reward and recognition and we’re fortunate our sponsors endorse this through their support. For example, West Sussex County Council is our Public Sector Partner this year. The team recognised the positive impact of the Awards and wanted to be part of it; putting their emphasis on retention rather than recruitment.
By supporting the Awards, your organisation can reach thousands of social workers and industry decision makers, you can show how you value, and champion social workers and it allows you to demonstrate your appreciation for the ongoing dedication of your social work practitioners and teams.
Social work practice always evolves, and this is reflected in our Award categories – culturally sensitive practice, multiagency approaches, creative practice and digital technologies.
Every year brings new champions of good practice into view and that’s why we are here, to celebrate, to be inspired, to learn and to share.
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can support the Social Worker of the Year Awards, please email the team at awards@socialworkawards.com.