Social Worker of the Year Awards 2024 winners unveiled

The Social Worker of the Year Awards 2024 winners were unveiled at a ceremony in London last week.

The judges selected 18 gold award winners and 19 silver award winners from the over 90 practitioners, students, teams and organisations shortlisted for this year's prizes.

The overall winner's prize, along with the children's team gold award, went to Norfolk council's people from abroad team, a specialist social work service that supports citizens of other countries, including those with no recourse to public funds, and British nationals returning from abroad.

Organising charity the Social Work Awards said the team's work in recent years had included supporting families from Afghanistan and Ukraine to settle in the area. Practitioners had also developed their learning, with three social workers qualifying as registered immigration advisers, a role that involves providing people with advice and support on issues such as asylum claims, residence and deportation.

'They practice with compassion and without judgment'

Sherry Malik, vice-chair of the awards' board of trustees, said: “The people from abroad team provide a vital service for families and individuals fleeing their own countries and arriving here in circumstances none of us could ever imagine ourselves in.

“They support them to rebuild their lives, step by step - from accommodation to language needs, from schools for the children to getting to know the area and to settle in the community. They do it with compassion, kindness and without judgment and in creative ways with diminishing resources. Their work truly deserves this accolade.”

The team said: "We love what we do because the people we work with are amazing, they've overcome adversity, and it makes us go that extra mile for them.

“We see people at their most vulnerable and we work to get them to a point where they no longer need us and can fly the nest. What is most important to us is empowering people to gain their independence and we know that we’ve done our best and we’ve made enough change that they won’t come back into the service.”

The lifetime achievement gold award went to Susan Banyard, who retired recently from her role as a social worker in children's services at West Sussex council after a career in the sector lasting more than 30 years.

Posthumous award for lecturer-practitioner

The approved mental health professional of the year gold award was given, posthumously, to Dr Matt Simpson, who was senior lecturer at Bournemouth University and an AMHP for Wiltshire, who died in January this year.

He was described as "a much-loved colleague, manager and teacher" and "truly an exemplary AMHP", said the Social Work Awards.

Other winners included the Anti-Racist Movement (ARM), a collective that provides a dedicated space for black female practitioners to discuss their experiences of social work, including in relation to racism. The group won the gold award in the social justice advocate category.

A safe space for black female social workers

In an article published on Community Care earlier this year, its founder, Shantel Thomas, said: “Women, especially black women, tend to hold on to their trauma internally and there wasn’t a safe space to express that without having to explain and apologise or try to compensate.”

New this year was an award for practitioner-led research, open to those who had carried out research or helped build a research culture within their organisations.

The gold award for this went to Anna Bouch, professional education consultant in Brighton & Hove Council's adult social care team, who, according to the judges, "truly embodies the qualities of an outstanding social work researcher

Also new was the technology-enabled lives and innovation in practice award, for which the gold winner was TACT Connect, an online community for care experienced young people and adults currently or previously fostered through the agency TACT.

'Highlighting social workers' achievements in difficult times'

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) England was the headline sponsor for this year's awards.

National director Maris Stratulis said: “We know that the social work profession faces many challenges with increasing pressures felt by the diverse and unique communities we support. During these difficult times, the role of social work is ever more critical, from upholding rights and challenging injustices, to advocating for fairness and promoting wellbeing.

“That’s why it’s important that, through these awards, we highlight your individual and collective achievements, recognise the exceptional services you deliver for children, families and adults, celebrate the diversity and intersectionality of our profession, and shine a well-deserved spotlight on exceptional social work practice happening across the country.”

"It’s a real honour to highlight the inspiring accomplishments of both individuals and organisations in this often-underappreciated field," said Peter Hay, chair of trustees at the Social Work Awards. "Congratulations to all of our finalists and winners, and a heartfelt thank you to our sponsors for making these awards possible.”