Wendy Kirkman
Nominated by: Shannon Trodden
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination: Wendy has worked for Derbyshire County Council for 41 years; First beginning as a Domiciliary Service Organiser before progressing to a care manager where she completed her Social Work Degree in 2014 whilst also raising 2 young children. Wendy has worked in the Generic Adult Social Work Team from completing her ASYE, to becoming service manager in 2020. Wendy is the epitome of what a manager should be. Wendy is honest, reliable and transparent in her management approach which is highly effective in managing the team and the workload. She instils passion for social work in the team and has deservedly won Team Manager of the Year at the 2023 National Social Work Awards. Wendy is an advocate for person-centred, strengths-based assessments with Human Rights principles at the heart of everything we do. Wendy is a hands on managers and will regularly complete tasks outside of her own remit to support the needs of the Social Workers within the team. Wendy ensures that wellbeing is at the heart of the team by providing weekly Time to talk sessions, CPD sessions, and creates an environment where team members are able to openly discuss any issues which they may be experiencing. Wendy will even knit the team little gifts throughout the year and although it may seem something small, it makes the team feel valued which in turns creates high performance. Wendy has a devotion to providing excellent experiences for new workers and student Social Workers in the team, so much so that a large proportion of students have applied for jobs within the team. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award than Wendy. Wendy has dedicated herself to Derbyshire and continues to activity seek to improve services for the people we serve, and to ensure her team thrives.
Mohammad Lal
Nominated by: Mike Bourne
Department: Corporate Services and Transformation
Reason for nomination: Mo is an integral part of the DCC experience, he provides expert counsel and information, maintaining the systems that keep us all safe. Too often unsung heroes, its people like Mo who, while doing what is often a thankless task, do it with well informed humour and brighten the day of every facility they visit.
Rob McKeown
Nominated by: Ellen Oxbury
Department: Children’s Services
Reason for nomination: Rob McKeown is a member of our team who has served for Derbyshire county council for 25 years – yet never fails to give everything he has got to the role. He inspires others whilst still learning from them – I think for someone to be humble enough to continue to show the dedication, grace, enthusiasm, kindness and yet remain curious throughout is incredible. Rob supports young people with disabilities – every day is a challenge – this isn’t a role that is for everyone – but STILL he displays outstanding love empathy and understanding- supporting them to be the best versions of themself- and never giving up on believing in them. I truly think there should be more Robs in the world- and will forever be thankful to have this gentleman on our team.
Julia Cantrill
Nominated by: Kathy Whiteley
Department: Corporate Services and Transformation
Reason for nomination: Julia has worked for Derbyshire County Council for almost 34 years and been in her current role in Adult Education for 25 years. Julia is the kind of person you want on your team, she is practical, reliable and resilient with a great sense of humour. A large part of her role is working on reception, she is very well suited to this with her excellent customer service and her softer people skills. Here at Adult Education, we have some particularly challenging customers and learners, Julia is absolutely brilliant with them all, especially with our younger learners with whom she has built up great relationships with over the years. She is totally unflappable and stays calm in any situation and is very adept at handling Ofsted inspectors. There have been numerous occasions when Julia has dealt with irate visitors and learners which needed their confidence boosted, she has always shown care and compassion. She is utterly dedicated to our learners and the service. She is accountable and takes control of situations, she will learn new things for work in her own time, she will work above and beyond her hours. In the past couple of years, she has had some health issues, but she has never let these stop her from carrying out her role. She is an extremely valuable member of the team, and we are very lucky to have her, which is why this nomination has been created to show how much she is appreciated and valued by her colleagues.
Helena Whiting
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination: Helena began her career for DCC in business services and has progressed to becoming a social worker over her career. She is a caring, kind and highly knowledgeable worker, who presents our strength based, person-centred ethos whole heartedly and is an extremely valuable team member to others, sharing a wealth of experience, commitment and skills. Helena is due to retire soon (sadly for us), however, it would be fantastic to recognise her as part of these nominations. She has made a considerable positive difference to the lives of clients, families and colleagues during her career.
Annie Deakin
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Place
Reason for nomination: Annie Deakin is a wonderful member of the team at Dronfield Library. She has worked at Dronfield for nearly 28 years and there isn't anything Annie doesn't know about the Library or how she can help someone who needs assistance. She really makes a point of welcoming new younger members of staff to the library team and helps us all with her in-depth knowledge and positive attitude to the role. As a new starter myself, Annie's calm and cheery manner made starting a new role a very positive one and I know many new members of relief staff feel the same. Many of our customers know Annie by name and she makes them feel welcome, nothing is too much trouble, and I feel many customers return to the library each week just to see her and to discuss book recommendations together. Annie works tirelessly and supports many local groups such as our book groups and they all report what an asset she is to the team here at Dronfield. We would be really lost without her!
Nikki Upton
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination: I wish to nominate Nikki Upton (dept manager) currently working at Parkwood Day Service for a lifetime achievement award, as it would be very fitting to her total commitment to her amazing work carried out at both Whitemoor and Parkwood Day Services for over 30 years . Nikki has been my line manager for almost twenty years now and has impressed me and many others by her honest open and direct approach to her work not only from staff but also to her client group of Adults with learning disability and or Autism. Nikki has treated all with a great deal of dignity and respect. With Nikki’s straight down the line approach you can always rely on her to do her to have your best interest at heart and try her upmost to maintain the wellbeing of her team and indeed the service and service users throughout the 30 years. She often would often and still does help out on the shop floor so to speak when staffing levels are low or in times of difficulty. On countless occasions Nikki has stepped up to be acting manager of a day service provision which she has carried out without re numeration, but consistently did her additional role with passion and professionalism. During my time as a Day Service Worker Nikki has supported me to develop my skills and I often have took on additional responsibilities knowing I have her full support. As DCC Day centres come to a close this year I and many, many others feel it would be a fitting way to say a big Thank You to Nikki for her being a kind caring and compassionate worker for Derbyshire County Council. Hope you give this nomination your upmost consideration. She really does deserve it.
Joy Bartle
Nominated by: Jayne Mason
Department: Corporate Services and Transformation
Reason for nomination: Joy has worked for the council for 40 years in September and will be retiring in December, so I wish to nominate her for the lifetime achievement award. Joy has spent most of her career in HR and has worked in the HR Advice and Support team since March 2020. Joy is without doubt a team player, always collaborating with HR colleagues, Legal Services colleagues, Audit Services colleagues and leaders alike, including the most senior leaders in the Council. Joy takes pride in her work and is always accountable for her own actions and she hold the managers whom she advises on attendance and employee relations cases to account to assist them to progress cases aligned to her consistent, robust and reliable advice. Joy is one of the most trusted and supportive colleagues I have ever had the pleasure of working with or leading. It has been a difficult and emotional couple of years for the HR Advice and Support team and Joy was there for all of her colleagues both practically and emotionally, she has been an absolute rock. Joy is a mentor to all her colleagues, always willing to share her knowledge and the learning from her many years experience. Since reducing her contracted hours to work part-time in March 2020, Joy has always been willing to be flexible with her working pattern to meet service need. Whenever I have asked Joy to shift her focus to a new work area to meet service need she has always agreed willingly and strived positively to increase her knowledge and expertise. Joy is a positive role model from whom we can all learn.
Jennifer Harding
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Children’s services
Reason for nomination: Jennifer Harding Whitehall would not function without Jen, she knows the answer to every question, knows where to find everything and is an amazing personality to have in and around the centre. She is incredibly supportive, often being to go-to person when there is an issue. She has embraced much change - being here for so long and constantly finding ways to improve and work on ourselves and how we do things. Honestly I do not know how any of us would do our jobs if she wasn’t here! She knows Whitehall inside and out and the office wouldn’t be the same without her.
Shelley Cooper
Nominated by: Tanya Brown
Department: Children’s Services
Reason for nomination: Shelley is a team manager in Amber Valley and has worked for the council for 25 years!! Shelley has dedicated much of her working career to social work and also Amber Valley and her commitment should be recognised and celebrated! I have been lucky enough to be managed by Shelley and now alongside her as a manager. Shelley is very supportive and has really encouraged my professional development. Shelley is a well thought of manager and has worked in various teams across the county, particularly in times of crisis and has been part of the ongoing development of social work practices. We all love Shelley in Amber Valley and she is a great asset to our locality!
Marie Mann
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Place
Reason for nomination: I would like to nominate Marie Mann for this award. I am relatively new in working for Derbyshire county council but over the last 4 years have worked under Marie and can see what a fantastic asset she is to the council and Library service on the whole. She is very dedicated, efficient in all that she does. Her excellent communication skills ensures that all library staff are aware of all new procedures, important dates and any changes to the service which are being implemented are communicated in a timely manner ensuring the service is prepared in advance. she is approachable and due to her efficiency any issues are sorted ASAP. Due to her length of service her knowledge is a great asset as she can always be called upon if any of her team have questions and queries they are of unsure of.
Chris Lavelle
Nominated by: Stacy Downes - on behalf of the IRO Service
Department: Children’s Services
Reason for nomination: The whole Independent Reviewing Officer Service would like to nominate Chris Lavelle for the Lifetime Achievement award. Chris continues to dedicate her career to Derbyshire County Council Children's Services, she has done so for over 33 years. She commenced her career with DCC in January 1992 and within this time she has touched thousands of children’s lives. She has worked within various localities and numerous roles, including as a Social Worker and Team Manager for Children in Care and as Head of Service before re-igniting her passion for working directly with children again and moving to be an IRO in 2017 before eventually managing the team. Chris continues to have a focus on advocating for children as well as empowering peers to constantly strive to improve and deliver a high-quality service to our children and their families/carers. I have included some comments from IROs within the team: - You have helped empower me by being such a great role model in advocating for the children we support. Your main focus through experience is always on the best interests of children and young people and seeking the best outcomes for them; recognising and celebrating good social work practice and offering appropriate and sensitive challenge where children’s plans need strengthening. ‘You spark a passion in me to continue to strive to improve services and support to the children in our care. Your support, experience and knowledge, as well as your calm, sensible and measured approach to situations has made me a better practitioner – you have brought out the best in me – thank you’. Some other words to describe Chris have been provided by colleagues including ‘inspirational, supportive, dedicated, encouraging, collaborative’. Thank you, Chris, for all that you do for us and for the support that you provide to our children.
Philippa Reddish
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Children’s Services
Reason for nomination: With 27 years of dedicated service, Philippa Reddish exemplifies commitment, innovation, and community spirit in school catering. Starting as a relief Catering Assistant at Speedwell Infant and Staveley Junior Schools, her passion for food and service quickly shone through. Recognising her potential, her team encouraged her professional growth. In 2004, Philippa became Catering Supervisor at Inkersall Primary School, a role she held for 14 years. There, she transformed school meals into engaging, educational experiences. She organised themed events in the school’s 3D immersive room—like Spanish Day, where pupils explored cuisine and culture—and introduced interactive science experiments, such as making cinder toffee. Her efforts boosted daily meal numbers by 100 in just six months. In 2016, the Headteacher nominated her team for the LACA Primary School Catering Team of the Year, reaching the final three. In 2017, Philippa became a Caterer for the Chesterfield area. Always eager to grow, she earned a Foundation Degree in Business Management and Leadership in 2023. That same year, she stepped into the role of Operational Manager on secondment. Phillippa maintains a strong connection to the communities she serves—many in areas of high deprivation—consistently increasing meal uptake and ensuring children receive the nourishment they need. Her involvement extends beyond the kitchen: organising school competitions, supporting fairs, coffee mornings, parent presentations, and creatively engaging children in food education. Philippa’s nearly three-decade impact is felt by pupils, families, and colleagues alike. Her dedication, creativity, and leadership make her a truly deserving recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Kay McIntyre
Nominated by: Deborah Oddy
Department: Place
Reason for nomination: Kay has worked for the Council for 40 years later this year. She has worked in many services during this time including Innovation, Property, Performance and IT. Since 2023 Kay has been the Programme Lead on the Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP). The BSIP is a high-profile £52m improvement programme to enhance public transport and associated functions, including bus shelters, ticketing and intelligent traffic signalling. Kay had little sector knowledge coming into this role, but given the funding timescales, Kay got up to speed quickly with delivering both an ambitious programme and steeping out of her comfort zone into highly technical areas. Such is her commitment that Kay has been known to put on high viz and join the traffic signalling engineers during late night inspections of major works! The programme has been a tremendous success, with government declaring our BSIP Plan exemplary. Without doubt, the BSIP has enhanced the Council’s reputation with government and Kay has worked collaboratively with the Department for Transport in many areas: by co-developing processes, to hosting delegations of senior DfT officials, by showcasing our successes and welcoming the Secretary of State for Transport to Derbyshire on a cold winter’s day last autumn. Kay is a great example of a dedicated public servant. She has devoted her entire working life to Derbyshire and always goes over and above to perform at the highest level. Although Kay has been at the Council many decades, she embraces change and is motivated to make a difference to the lives of Derbyshire residents. She is a well-respected leader both in her team and throughout the Council and has a friendly, approachable style – not to mention a wicked sense of humour. I would highly commend Kay in recognition of what she has devoted to the Council over her working life.
Paul Edwards
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Place
Reason for nomination: I am nominating Paul Edwards for the Lifetime Achievement Award. Paul has spent 33 tireless years keeping Derbyshire on track, first with Amber Valley in 1991 and since 2001 with Derbyshire County Council. Every day he works through a handwritten list and quietly clears it, whether it is section 38 and 278 agreements, bond calculations, commuted sums, site visits or resident queries, until the bulk of the team’s output bears his initials. As the longest serving member of the team, he is the colleague everyone turns to; new technicians seeking mentorship, a clerk of works stuck on site, he is the name that is always given to anyone with a query relating to Highways Development Control. Paul never makes a fuss; he listens, explains, solves the problem and moves on to the next item on the pad. Developers appreciate his fairness, councillors value his clarity, and the public trust him because he speaks plain English and does exactly what he says he will do. Over three decades he has shepherded hundreds of kilometres of estate roads to adoption, safeguarding millions of pounds in public assets. He has absorbed every new design guide and finance system (Roads in Housing, Manual for Streets, the 6Cs, Delivering Streets and Places, SAP reporting) without drama, just diligent learning and application. Ask around and the verdict is unanimous; Paul is down to earth, reliable and endlessly hard working, an unsung hero who quietly delivers while making everyone else’s job easier. He personifies the council’s values of integrity, accountability and service, and he does it with a smile and a ‘can do’ attitude for anyone who comes to his desk. Recognising him with the Lifetime Achievement Award would honour not only his own extraordinary commitment but the countless safer streets, stronger teams and better served communities that have benefited from his quiet excellence.
Alison Jones
Nominated by: Luke Impey- Head of Service- DCC Children's Homes
Department: Children’s Services
Reason for nomination: I am honoured to nominate Alison Jones for the Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of over 25 years of extraordinary service and unwavering dedication to children’s disability services. More than 13 years ago, Alison played a pivotal role in the opening of The Willows in 2012—a service that has since become a lifeline for countless local families. From its inception, Alison has led with compassion, resilience, and a clear vision, ensuring that children and families receive the highest standard of care through short break services. Her leadership has been a constant source of strength, particularly during the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, when she ensured continuity of care for some of our most vulnerable children. In January 2025, Alison once again demonstrated her commitment by expanding The Willows’ capacity and inducting a new team—ushering in a new era of support for families in our community. Her ability to adapt, lead, and inspire through change is a testament to her enduring impact. Alison’s influence extends far beyond service delivery. She has been a source of unwavering support to colleagues, guiding them through personal hardships—bereavements, illnesses, and family crises—often while quietly managing her own. She lives our values daily, keeping children at the heart of every decision and action. Her mantra, I don’t believe in barriers, is not just a phrase—it’s a philosophy she instils in her team, resulting in the removal of obstacles for over 30 children and their families. This legacy is immeasurable. At Peak Lodge, Alison is not just a leader—she is the foundation. Her deputies describe her as a constant presence through every life event—births, deaths, marriages, and everything in between—offering steady guidance and compassionate care. The gratitude expressed by families speaks volumes: I can’t ever thank you enough for supporting my child to become the man he is. You will never know the positive impact you have had on all our lives. And from a young man on his 18th birthday: Thank you for everything. I wouldn’t be here without you. Alison’s lifetime of service is unparalleled. Her impact on staff, families, and children is profound and ongoing. For her enduring dedication, extraordinary compassion, and the legacy she continues to build, Alison Jones is truly deserving of this Lifetime Achievement Award.
Brenda Rarity
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Corporate Services & Transformation
Reason for nomination: I cannot think of anyone more deserving of the "Lifetime Achievement Award" than Brenda Rarity in Exchequer Services. She’s always willing to help anyone in need, works all the hours under the sun, and is just an all round great person! 95% of the council will know or have spoken to this person at some point :)
Jackie Swepstone
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Place
Reason for nomination: Jackie Swepstone has been a part of Derbyshire library service for over 40 years now. She remains consistently cheerful and is constantly looking at ways to improve and develop our service.
She has provided a high quality service to customers in Ilkeston library since the 1980's and has been particularly active in developing and maintaining the local history archives in the library. She has recently set on a number of local history volunteers to ensure this is continued even today. She has been a stalwart member of staff at Ilkeston library and has been Assistant in Charge at this library since approximately 2007.
In the early 1980's she passed the Library Assistant’s Certificate and successfully completed a portfolio giving her accreditation to CILIP (the library professional body) in the 2000's.
Here are some customer comments received last year as we celebrated the 120th year of Ilkeston Library which Jackie was involved in organising along with myself, Ruth Sharpe (her manager) and her colleague Anna Fearn, also Assistant in Charge at the library:
- ‘Ilkeston Library is an asset to the town. Always helpful and welcoming.Thank you’
- ‘Amazing library, so peaceful and calm, staff are amazing too’.
- ‘Our favourite place in Ilkeston – thank you for what you do.’
- ‘We are so lucky to have this beautiful heritage library in our town – with such lovely staff too.’
Helena Whiting
Nominated by: Rebecca Leveridge
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination: Helena has worked in adult care for many years starting out in I believe was Admin and then became a CCW and onwards to do her social work degree and becoming a very valued social worker. I’m nominating her for a lifetime achievement.
Helena is due to retire this year and I have known her for about 15 years, she was my magnificent mentor when I first started as a CCW and her patience and guidance has given me the building blocks to be the SCP I am today.
She has also mentored others officially and unofficially. She is a huge part of our team and our go to person for advice and guidance, she is always supportive and willing to help you work though a case. She is a valued member of the team and I’m not sure what we are going to do without her when she retires.
She has worked with other SW and SCP on complex cases giving guidance and support but also helping you to learn and develop at the same time. I am eternally grateful to have worked with her. I’m not sure how long Helena has worked for DCC but I’m sure it is over 25 years. I know from other colleagues that she has always been the most helpful person, even when her own personal life has been difficult with caring for her parents.
I feel she has helped support and develop other SW/SCP in their roles and I’m sure she has also supported student social workers develop into established workers. She is a very valued member of not only the Amber Valley east team but Amber Valley in general.
Mary Halliwell
Nominated by: Jon Farmer
Department: Children's Services
Reason for nomination: I wish to nominate my wife, Mary Farmer, in recognition of over 40 years service for the authority. She began her career as a children's social worker, and, during her time with the authority has worked across the service; adoption, fostering, birth family support, private fostering and quality assurance.
I appreciate I might sound biassed but I can truthfully say, there is no one I have met in Derbyshire County Council with such breadth of knowledge as Mary - her nickname, 'the Oracle', was not bestowed lightly and, regardless of what task she is working on, she will routinely field calls from all and sundry, to check legislation...chances are she will know before Google does. She has seen the authority at it's best and, sadly, due to the nature of the job, at times when things have not been at their best - every time, she has stepped up to the challenge and, more often than not, gone above and beyond. I don't think there are many people who can legitimately say that they have been chased by an iguana, thanks to a disgruntled service user.
I did think, when she celebrated her 25th anniversary with the authority, in 2010, that she might consider winding down. Quite the opposite - she launched herself into her new post as panel chair, for the fostering service and, from there, in a task that many would consider fraught, supporting the adoption team in birth family support and now bringing order to the world of private fostering.
During her time at Derbyshire, an authority she has always remained loyal to, she has placed countless children into long term, safe, stable and secure fostering placements - she has overseen just as many adoptions, working the clock round to ensure appropriate matches - she routinely tests and checks herself, navigating a constantly changing landscape of legislation - she has remained clear headed, empathetic but always critical and curious, whether working with birth family, carers, step parents and adopters; even handed, professional, polite and courteous throughout - she has won, and retained, the respect of the many teams she has been a part of and managers she has collaborated with or for.
The one constant that has stayed with her, and it is a quality that has been passed on to anyone who has worked with her (or, in my case, lived with her), is being 'child focussed'. Even now, as Mary approaches the end of her career, emails, reports, Teams chats and conversations will start, and finish, with a reminder that child is at the heart of any decision, and those decisions should be working solely towards a positive outcome.