16th May saw a gala evening of celebration in Birmingham as awards were handed out to people who are making a difference every day to the lives of people with learning disability.
Whats it all about then?
The National Learning Disabilities Awards celebrate excellence in the support for people with learning disabilities and aim to pay tribute to those individuals or organisations who excel in providing quality care. The awards are supported by BILD and ADASS among others, with strong support also from CQC, Mencap, Skills for Health and SCIE.
A showcase for good practice
The awards allow the movers and shakers in the world of learning disability social care to honour and celebrate the individuals and organisations that set the tone for quality and innovation. There are fourteen award categories that range from individual employee to organisation-level nominations, with special categories that recognize exceptional contributions to the field of learning disability practice. Nominations come from peers and service users, bosses and employees and are made through a downloadable form.
So who was a winner?
This year saw some really worthy nominations and the field was very strong. The Award for Employer of People with a disability went to: Changing our Lives, a company based in the West Midlands who provide training, advice and advocacy in a variety of areas and for people of all ages.
Winner of the Support Worker Award went to Lewis Wallis of Certitude, a London based non-profit agency for his dedicated work with the clients he supports to live independent lives. Maureen Prescott from Brighton and Sussex Care won Manager Award for her work in supported housing.
Winner of the Jim Mansell Outstanding Contribution Award, sponsored by BILD, was John Williams OBE of Fitzroy Support. John set up the charity over fifty years ago to challenge the social exclusion of children with severe learning disabilities, and to give them a life. Despite huge opposition from local authorities, who said the proposed model of a family-sized home care setting would not work, FitzRoy’s first home thrived and the charity now supports over 600 adults across 60 locations.
Get nominating
Next year’s awards will be seeking nominations early in 2015, so keep an eye out for the notifications. The awards are open to anyone working in the field of learning disability social care, so you might be in the running for some high profile recognition. http://www.nationalldawards.co.uk
