For the second year running, our My Brilliant Colleague series has created a space for social workers to celebrate the work and achievements of colleagues and mentors.
The series was born out of a need to remind practitioners that your impact extends far beyond the people you support. Your actions can shape team culture, strengthen practice and sustain colleagues through challenging times.
Throughout 2025, we shared stories of mentors and managers who supported their staff to remain in the profession, practitioners who’ve gone above and beyond for children and families, and colleagues who stood up for others, even when it meant challenging senior leadership.
Here are some highlights from our 2025 cohort:
Isabelle Trowler's tribute to Sue Williams
Some of you will have known and admired Sue very much; some of you will have heard of Sue by reputation.
More of you will have heard of the family safeguarding model - the practice framework for children’s social care that Sue tirelessly developed and helped scale up across England over the past 10 years.
Sue cared – a lot – about children and their families, but she also cared a lot about social work. She knew how highly skilled, intense and emotional the work can be.
She knew that social work can be frequently frightening, frustrating, worrying and deeply rewarding. It requires depth of thought and a generosity of spirit, resilience, enormous creativity and an ability to hold extensive power.
It is why she set out to create a practice framework that helped anchor the practitioner within a set of values and skills and which offers clarity of purpose.
Read the full letter here.
'You've inspired so many social workers and made children's lives palpably better'
Dear Angela,
You inspired so many during your time as team leader at Midlothian Council.
During the pandemic, you led and supported your team through a difficult and scary time. You encouraged us to look after ourselves so we could do our best for the children and families we worked with.
Your creativity also shone throughout. You arranged that we get t-shirts printed with rainbows and the hashtag 'kindness Midlothian' so that children were less frightened when they met us for the first time while wearing masks. Under your guidance, we even began delivering art supplies to families who were isolating.
You inspired so many social workers during your career and made the lives of children and families palpably better.
The social worker empowering women and supporting vulnerable adults
Dear Linda,
We met over ten years ago, when you started the assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE) programme and I was your manager. I am so impressed with how you've utilised your knowledge and skills since.
You've gained experience from working in local authorities and have even set up your own care company, whereby you employ staff to support people with learning disabilities. It is a huge responsibility to be running a business and have successfully gained registration with the Care Quality Commission!
In addition to this, you still practise as an independent best interest assessor. You recently initiated a safeguarding concern due to gaining information about some potential financial abuse towards a vulnerable adult.
Read the full letter here.
'As a Black early-career social worker, her belief in my potential was a beacon of hope'
I am honoured to nominate Dr Tanya Moore for her unwavering encouragement and exemplary allyship, particularly in supporting Black social workers.
I first met Tanya as a social work student, where her warmth, authenticity, and passion for the profession left a lasting impression. Her teaching went beyond theory - it embodied the heart of social work.
Later, when Tanya joined my local authority, her leadership as social work lead and then principal social worker was transformative. She advocated for social workers at strategic levels, fostering a culture of care and visibility. Her nurturing leadership made us feel seen and valued.
As a Black early-career social worker, Tanya's belief in my potential was a beacon of hope. Her encouragement was pivotal when I applied for a funded doctoral programme.
Read the full letter here.
'She's the kind of leader who leaves a lasting impact'
Ella Defreitas is the kind of leader who leaves a lasting impact - not just on the families she supports, but on the people who work with her.
As service manager for parenting and family support in Wandsworth, she brings warmth, vision and deep care to every part of her role.
Although I no longer have the privilege of working with Ella, having her as my manager was truly powerful. She always saw my strengths, believed in my potential, and helped me grow in both knowledge and confidence. That's just who she is - someone who lifts others up and makes them feel valued.
As a manager, she's one of a kind. She creates a team culture where people feel safe, supported, and inspired. She encourages professional development, values everyone's voice, and knows how to bring the best out of people. Her knowledge of local resources is second to none, and she works hard to make sure every family is connected to the right support at the right time.
Read the full letter here.
'She has revolutionised the way we approach life story work'
Vicky is the most creative person I know and highly passionate about children and supporting staff.
I recently involved her in a project to improve our life story work and she went over and above in what she did.
She listened and collaborated with staff, who told us that they needed help with templates and asked that the work started earlier in the journey of the child. Vicky responded to the need.
She did not just create one template for life story work, she created three for under-10s and three for over-10s, to support children at different stages of their journey. The templates are beautifully presented.
Read the full letter here.
'She manages the Step Up to Social Work programme with grace and integrity'
Charlene is the Step Up to Social Work manager for the West Midlands region. The fast-track programme, which she manages with grace and integrity, is intense - it challenges students and tests their resilience. Throughout, Charlene has remained kind and humble, with a hands-on approach.
She is an excellent advocate for students and will always go above and beyond to support them to achieve the best and most equitable outcome. She liaises with academic leads, students, regional partners, experts by experience and the Department for Education to ensure the programme is co-ordinated and achieves good outcomes for all involved.
Read the full letter here.
The social worker supporting international practitioners
As a children's social worker, Ady demonstrated exceptional skill and compassion, and her dedication to her work was truly inspiring. Her warm smile and infectious laughter could light up even the toughest of days, while her calm and collected demeanor made her an excellent listener.
As a colleague, I had the privilege of learning from Ady's expertise and witnessing her ability to navigate complex cases with ease. She played a significant role in shaping me into a competent social worker, and I'm grateful for the guidance and support she provided.
How to nominate a colleague
You can nominate anyone who has inspired you in your career – whether current or former colleagues, managers, students, lecturers, mentors or prominent past or present sector figures whom you have admired from afar.
Nominate your colleague or social work inspiration by filling in our nominations form. This could be with a letter or a few paragraphs (100-250 words) explaining how and why the person has inspired you.
*Despite the need to provide your name and role, you or the nominee can be anonymous in the published entry.* If you have any questions, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com
