#CelebratingSocialCare: social care award winners
09 Apr 2025
7 min read
Throughout April we鈥檙e #CelebratingSocialCare and all the great work happening across the sector. We asked you to send in your good news stories and we鈥檒l be sharing these throughout the month. Today we hear about some high performing award winners!
A well-deserved winner!
Janet Duffy, Quality Lead and Infection Prevention Champion at Castle Supported Living, has been a leader in her field for the past decade. Her commitment to co-production activities has transformed the way infection prevention is approached within the organisation. In recognition of her hard work and dedication, Janet was nominated for and won the Infection Prevention Control Campaign Award, organised by Lancashire County Council in 2024.
Janet’s approach has brought infection prevention to life in a way that is engaging, accessible, and inclusive. She organised interactive activities, bringing together the people they support and staff to gather vital information that helped shape policies. Janet also introduced bite-sized chunks of information into the monthly bulletin, making important guidance easier to digest and more relevant to everyday work practices.
Her work extended beyond just policies. Janet led quality events, where key infection prevention themes were shared with supported individuals, families, staff, and other professionals. These events included practical training and workshops on important topics like Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSSHH), ensuring that everyone’s voice was heard, from staff to the people they support.
Her efforts didn’t stop there—Janet implemented easy-read positive risk assessments and systems, helping to empower individuals and promote their independence. Her work has ensured that staff are actively involved in policy development, and their challenges and concerns are addressed.
Staff now have clear, joined-up guidance on infection prevention, and the bite-sized information approach has made it easier for everyone to understand and follow the latest legislation and guidance. Infection prevention has become a core learning topic, presented in a way that is not only more interesting but also deeply relevant to daily practices. By involving staff and the people they support in joint training and risk assessments, Janet has fostered strong working relationships and created clear, achievable goals for the team.
One person supported by the organisation said:
I really enjoyed it 鈥� I learnt all about germs!
Apprenticeship champion
During National Apprenticeship Week 2025, South Gloucestershire Council had the honour of recognising a remarkable person whose dedication to apprenticeship programmes has made a lasting impact. On Thursday, 13 February, South Gloucestershire held their apprenticeship celebration event at their Badminton Road offices in Yate, where the senior leadership team gathered to celebrate the achievements of apprentices and apprenticeship champions.
This year’s event marked the introduction of a new Manager’s Award, a special opportunity to recognise those managers who have gone above and beyond in their support of apprenticeships. One of the standout moments of the day was the presentation of the Apprenticeship Champion Award, given to Hannah Scaife, Principal Social Worker for Adults.
Hannah’s contributions have been pivotal in the success of the social work degree apprenticeship programme, which began in 2020. This apprenticeship route has offered South Gloucestershire Council an incredible opportunity to upskill existing employees working in social care, enabling the Council to build and grow its own pipeline of talent within the social work field.
Her efforts have had a huge impact on the workforce. The Social Work Degree Apprenticeship programme has proven to be a successful pathway for developing new talent, with seven apprentices already completing their apprenticeship, and another seven set to finish by this summer. By championing this programme, Hannah has helped strengthen the Council’s ability to provide high-quality social care services, while also ensuring the professional growth of employees.
Nicola Plant, Service Director for Human Resources and Organisational Development, said:
Hannah has worked incredibly hard to promote and support the Social Work Degree Apprenticeship programme since we started delivery in 2020. Hannah鈥檚 significant contribution has been invaluable to the success of this apprenticeship programme within South Gloucestershire Council. We are very proud of Hannah and of our apprentices鈥� achievements. We recognise the huge contribution Hannah has made to support this programme and all our Social Work apprentices. Her efforts, willingness to offer assistance and valuable guidance along every step of the way has had a significant positive impact on the apprenticeship and is very much appreciated.
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