Congratulations to those working in social care on the Isle of Wight for these nominations. This in from the council. Ed
The Isle of Wight Council has been short listed for two national awards recognising excellence in social work.
The awards are organised by the Department for Health and Skills for Care and winners will be announced at the Accolades awards ceremony in London on 25 November 2010.
The council has been nominated from Best Quality Provision of Social Work Practice Placements and Best Partnership with People who use Services and/or Carers.
Work placement praised
The first nomination reflects the innovative work being carried out on the Island to develop social work staff, enabling them to progress onto the social work degree programme. The council runs a monthly forum for placement social work students and also for practice educators to provide support, continued professional development and learning through the sharing of skills, knowledge and theories. The forum also provides an opportunity to receive updates on the latest research and share best practice.
As a result of this work the number of applicants for social work placements on the Island has risen.
The second nomination recognises a council initiative to involve service users in the selection of current social work staff for the Open University degree in Social Work. Service users make significant contributions utilising their personal knowledge and experience to enrich the recruitment process. They are able to assist the council in ensuring future social workers have the right qualities, values and insight to promote the best interests of vulnerable people.
Recognising success
The Accolade Awards recognise the success of an individual or organisation in improving the lives of people who use social care services through workforce development and demonstrates a commitment to innovation. Since the first Accolades ceremony was held in 2003, the popularity of the competition has grown to become one of the most prestigious events in the social work profession.
Achieving an Accolade proves you are improving the lives of people using social care services through workforce development.
Cllr Roger Mazillius, Isle of Wight Council Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Housing, said: “Attracting and retaining good quality social care staff is extremely important to the Isle of Wight Council. Our work to develop staff and trainees and innovative ways of involving service users is having a really positive impact and we have already seen an increase in the number of social workers recruited here on the Island.
“Across the country social care staff are facing increased work and budgetary pressures which makes the fact that our council has been nominated for two awards all the more a reflection of the dedication and skills of the staff concerned. I congratulate them and wish them the best of luck at the awards ceremony in November and hope they get the recognition they deserve.”
