Council’s Young Carer service wins at national awards
Monday, 31 October 2022
Our Young Carer service was announced as a winner at the National Children and Young People Awards held in Birmingham in October.
The service won the Children’s Champion Award, which recognised their significant impact in championing the needs and rights of vulnerable children. The judges said:
The passion of this team really shone through. They go above and beyond to provide care and support to not only the young carers the service is supporting but also their families and friends.
The Young Carers service supports young carers across Central Bedfordshire to take time away from their caring role and meet other young carers who understand what they are going through. This summer, they took young carers to a variety of activities including on a three-day sailing trip, on a trip to the Aqua Parc at Willen Lake and on a trip the Forest Centre in Marston Vale for a day doing of arts, crafts and outdoor wellbeing activities.
Our Early Help Service were highly commended in the Safeguarding of Children Award, which recognises the importance of keeping children and young people within their families where possible, but also putting the child’s needs first and making the right decisions in challenging situations.
The judges remarked:
The team demonstrates an innovative approach to working with children and families to support them to maintain safety and thrive. The strength and passion of the team working shone through and their commitment to the children and young people they support was so incredibly clear for all to see. Their early interventions make a real impact and help prevent escalations in need.
Further demonstrating our dedication to the children in Central Bedfordshire, four others were shortlisted for awards:
- Elaine Carr was shortlisted for the Leaving Care Award
- Wellington Gubwe, Desiree Galeshewa and Karen Sutton were all shortlisted for the Children and Families Social Worker Award
Councillor Sue Clark, Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said:
I’m so pleased that the dedication of our staff has been recognised by our peers in the wider children’s care community. Everyone across Children’s Services makes sure the children and young people they support are at the heart of their work. The awards and nominations are well deserved and highlight the hard work of our teams.
To find out more and see a list of all winners, visit the Children and Young People’s Awards website.