Newly Qualified Adult Social Worker of the Year

Ella Waughman stood out as a social worker who is already achieving results for the people she supports that go far beyond the expectations of a newly-qualified practitioner.

After graduating from Anglia Ruskin University in 2018 with a first class master’s degree, Ella was recruited to the Huntingdon Older People’s Team – where she had completed her final student placement. In this role, she has navigated a variety of complex cases, many requiring her to consider mental capacity and best interest decision-making.

One quality that came up repeatedly in Ella’s nomination was her calm and measured approach to her work, which has clearly been instrumental in how she builds relationships with service users and their families, and the good outcomes she achieves for them.

Alongside the day job, she actively promotes the wellbeing of her colleagues, by providing a 4pm tea round and arranging regular pub quiz and team walks. She also volunteers as a mentor for a rehabilitation charity and as a cricket coach for a local adult and youth team.

Ella was credited by her colleagues as making them feel “confident in the future of social work” – and she obviously has a very bright future ahead of her too.