#CelebratingSocialCare: shining a light on outstanding care
18 Apr 2025
6 min read
Throughout April we’re #CelebratingSocialCare and all the great work happening across the sector. We asked you to send in your good news stories and we’ll be sharing these throughout the month. Today we hear about more award winners and award events from adult social care.
Philippa judges National Great British Care Awards
Philippa Young, Group Operations Manager at local care home group Spellman Care, recently contributed her expertise to the judging panel for the prestigious Great British Care Awards 2025. Philippa participated in the rigorous selection process for the palliative care category, helping to identify and celebrate the exceptional individuals and teams dedicated to providing compassionate end-of-life care.
The Great British Care Awards are a national celebration of excellence across the care sector, recognising the hard work and dedication of care professionals throughout the UK. This year’s awards saw an incredible number of nominations due to some real innovation within the industry.
Philippa shared her experience of being on the judging panel:
It was a privilege to be part of the judging panel for the Great British Care Awards. Hearing the stories of dedication and compassion from those working in palliative care was truly inspiring. The finalists demonstrated an unwavering commitment to providing the highest quality of care, often in the most challenging circumstances. I was deeply touched by the many examples of care professionals going above and beyond to make a positive difference in people’s lives during their most vulnerable moments.
Steven Spellman, Director of Spellman Care, added:
We are incredibly proud of Philippa’s involvement in the Great British Care Awards. Her expertise and passion for the care sector made her a valuable asset to the judging panel. At Spellman Care, we share the same commitment to providing exceptional, person-centred care, and we congratulate all the finalists and eagerly await the announcement of the winners.
The winners of the Great British Care Awards 2025 will be announced at a gala ceremony later this year.
Leeds celebrates quality care
The annual Leeds Quality in Care awards, run by Leeds City Council, celebrates excellence throughout the Leeds adult social care sector and shines a light on the individuals and organisations that have made a real difference over the past year.
This event is part of the council’s Age Friendly Leeds project and their goal to be the best city to grow old in.
The awards showcase and celebrate best practice in adult social care, pay tribute to those who have demonstrated excellence in what they do and recognise the hard work people have undertaken to improve care.
The 2024 awards ceremony was held at the Leeds Civic Hall on Friday 31 January. The awards received a great number of nominations, and all the finalists demonstrated a huge commitment through their dedication and teamwork. There were many fantastic examples of truly innovative and person-centred approaches to care delivery. The 10 award categories represent the scope of the work taking place, all of which support positive outcomes for the citizens of Leeds.
The winners and finalists were presented with their certificates and trophies by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Abigail Marshall Katung, and the Chair of the Leeds Care Association Peter Hodkinson.
The award titles and winners were:
- Social Care Nurse of the Year - Meenu Francis
- New Paid Care or Support Worker of the Year - Thandolwenkosi Dube
- Established Paid Care or Support Worker of the Year - Tracy Smith
- Volunteer of the Year- Lisa Jones
- Registered Manager of the Year - Lucie Cerna
- Best Recruitment and Retention Initiative - Unique Support Solutions
- Most Innovative Approach to Supporting Independence, Choice and Control - Health and Homeless Intervention Beds Service
- Most Inclusive Service Provision - Park Avenue Care Home
- Digital Innovation to Support Independence - Park Avenue Care Home
- Outstanding Contribution to Social Care - Julie Brown.
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