Social Worker of the Year Awards 2017 open for entries
Individual social workers and social work teams from across England are being encouraged to enter the 2017 Social Worker of the Year Awards which are now open for entries.
Entries for the awards, which have become one of the social care sector’s most anticipated events, will be open until 5.00pm on Friday 21st July. There are sixteen categories in which practitioners can nominate a colleague or team member across the specialisms of both children’s and adult services.
Awards include Social Worker of the Year, Team of the Year, Team Leader of the Year and Newly Qualified Social Worker of the Year. There are also categories to recognise social work students, practice educators and practitioners working in the field of mental health.
This year there are also two new categories – ‘Raising the Profile of Social Work’, for those who have made a difference in promoting a recognition of the importance and value of social work and ‘Championing Social Work Values’ for individuals or teams who have been champions for the value base of social work through their work or other activities.
The winners of two additional awards – Outstanding Contribution to Social Work and Overall Social Worker of the Year – will be chosen by the Board of Trustees of the Social Work Awards Ltd., the charity behind the annual celebration.
Professor Ray Jones, Chair of the Charity, said: “We are thrilled to be launching this year’s Social Worker of the Year Awards, especially with the introduction of two new exciting categories. 2017 is already promising to be a fantastic year, with more organisations supporting the event than ever before. The awards are continuing to get bigger and better every year and provide a rare opportunity for the most dedicated social workers in England to get the recognition they deserve.”
James Rook, Managing Director of the awards’ headline sponsors, Sanctuary Social Care, added: “We are delighted to be supporting the Social Work Awards again in 2017. So often the dedication of social workers goes unrecognised but we want to help change that with these awards, so if you have an inspiring colleague – be it team member or manager – who deserves to be praised for their hard work, make sure you nominate them this year.”
Earlier this month the achievements of winners from the 2016 Social Worker of the Year Awards were officially recognised by government Ministers at an exclusive Parliamentary Reception which took place in the House of Commons. The practitioners 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.
As well as launching this year’s awards, organisers have also announced which organisations have signed up to support the event this year. Sanctuary Social Care is returning as the event’s headline sponsors, while the British Association of Social Workers is once again the awards’ Corporate Partner and Community Care remains as the Media Partner.
Meanwhile UNISON, Barnardo’s, Kent County Council, Devon County Council, Hampshire County Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Essex County Council, The Open University and Calderdale Council are all returning as individual category supporters. Bradford Council, OLM Systems, iMPOWER and Tees Valley Local Authority Children’s Services have also signed up as new sponsors for 2017.
The Social Worker of the Year Awards 2017 will take place on Friday 24th November in London. Entries will be accepted until 5.00pm on Friday 21st July – visit www.socialworkawards.com for more information and to download an entry form.