Team Leader of the Year, Children’s Services 2022

Starting out as a community worker at the age of 20, Cheryl Grazette put herself through social work training while raising a small child, and has gone on to establish a strong track record of managing stable child protection teams, even in times of great challenge.

In her current role as service manager for practice development, Cheryl is responsible for the practice development of four services across the county, including child protection, child looked after and specialist young people services.

She also works as a practice educator and her passion for educating the future child protection workforce is reflected in the amount of students who have gone on to apply to Hertfordshire for their ASYE year, with a specific request to join Cheryl’s team.

What really made Cheryl’s nomination stand out though is the importance she places on the morale of her team members and the service as a whole. Her colleagues described a manager who always supports them to see the positives and feel valued and appreciated, even when they are burned out and low. She also further boosts their confidence by finding the time to collate positive feedback from service users and compliments on practitioners from across the service, sending these out in a monthly newsletter.

Cheryl is widely regarded as a nurturing and creative social worker and manager, who has dedicated her life to safeguarding children.

Supported by Suffolk County Council