Andrea Lowton
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Childrens Services
Reason for nomination:
This individual has made sure that Derbyshire County Council is well embedded within community life in Cotmanhay through her work reopening Cotmanhay Children's Centre to the community working with residents, police, councillors and housing colleagues to ensure that the needs of the community can be best served by a collaborative approach.
Sally Scott
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
When I first started in the role I shadowed Sally and saw first hand how dedicated she is to her role and the positive impact that she has in her client's lives. She prioritises their wellbeing and the positive outcomes for them.
Tobacco Dependency Treatment Team (LLBD)
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
I am nominating the Tobacco Dependency Treatment teams (part of Live Life Better Derbyshire, Public Health) working out of Royal Derby and Chesterfield Royal Hospitals for the tireless and exceptional work they do to support individuals and families coming through the hospitals with quitting smoking for good and improving their health and overall quality of life.
I recently experienced a walk around the ward with some of the team at Royal Derby Hospital and was genuinely moved by the compassion, patience and care the Tobacco Dependency Advisors show indiscriminately to all patients. It is not always easy to try to engage these patients with the Stop Smoking Service when they are going through such emotional times, but they handle every rejection, acceptance and difficult conversation with grace and kindness.
Since 2022, the team have seen and overcome many trials both large and small, and yet still continued to deliver an exceptional level of service, interacting with countless patients and their families and helping them to achieve 4, 12 and 52 week quits, changing the lives of so many people throughout Derbyshire.
Keely Howson
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Childrens Services
Reason for nomination:
Keeley works for the Central Placements Team, striving tirelessly to find appropriate, affordable, urgent and necessary placements for children coming into our care. This is often an impossible task with rising costs, limited placements and complex challenges both from a system perspective and from the needs of the child. Keekey uses all her experience of work with children, young people & families to obtain the best possible results.
Kerry Bullen
Nominated by: Lucy Billington
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
Kerry has been a Health and Wellbeing Officer for just under 2 years now and came from a background of working with adults with learning disabilities. Kerry brought incredible skills of empathy, person centred thinking and a dynamic approach to working alongside people. Kerry has worked alongside a person to enable them to get to a position where they are now presenting about their own mental health to the Erewash community. This is testament to the incredible hard work that Kerry puts in to working alongside people in the community and sticks to the principles of the health and wellbeing team, which is exploring people's talents, passions and skills and looking to the community and its resources.
Furthermore, Kerry has just completed a year long diploma with Cumbria University in Health and Wellbeing Motivational Coaching (Jan 23 until Dec 23) The lecturer on the course commended Kerry and commented that her progress throughout the course was outstanding.
Kerry has had personal loss and illness and Kerry has carried on with a fantastic work ethic and has driven her to only do her best for the people in Derbyshire that she works alongside. Kerry is enthusiastic, kind, empathetic and hardworking. She is a credit to the health and wellbeing team and an asset to Public Health and the wider council.
I believe she is deserving of this award as she continually looks and works with the community she is in. She continually networks with the community and professionals and her true aim it to provide the best possible outcome she can for the people she is working alongside. Her confidence in the role is continually growing and she really helps to produce great outcomes for people which ultimately give them a better life.
Andrew Dutton
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
I nominate Andrew Dutton because of his passion and determination to campaign for protection for the most vulnerable people in Derbyshire that are due to be transferred onto Universal Credit.
Throughout the year he has:
- met with DWP managers to highlight specific deficits in their safeguards for vulnerable people. Andrew has raised cases where Derbyshire residents have been financially exploited and the victims of fraud
- encouraged meetings between DWP and Adult Care so they can understand the nuanced vulnerabilities of different groups
- delivered 16 training sessions on Migration to Universal Credit to Derbyshire Citizens Advice, reaching over 200 staff and volunteers, to raise wider awareness throughout community settings
- produced a monthly newsletter, which is cascaded across DCC Financial Inclusion Groups and partnership networks, reaching hundreds of professionals working directly with vulnerable people
- managed a caseload of complaints made against DWP, fighting for our residents' issues to be resolved and even securing financial compensation, making a huge impact on the quality of residents' lives, both financially and for their mental wellbeing.
Andrew continues to find new ways of raising awareness of vulnerability issues and drive for positive change.
Dronfield Library Team
Nominated by: Wendy Kurcewicz
Department: Place
Reason for nomination:
I am nominating the team of staff at Dronfield Library.
Since the summer of 2023 (up to approximately end of March 2024) they have continued to provide an excellent library service to the whole of the Dronfield community, despite a period of disruption in the building.
The customer service they have provided has gone above and beyond, ensuring that library users continue to feel welcome, valued and supported - by our library services and partner organisations delivering their services in the library - despite the difficulties they have been dealing with.
Their hard work and dedication to providing a wonderful library space which makes such a positive contribution to the lives of local people, whilst experiencing trying circumstances, is much appreciated.
Dronfield Library Team
Nominated by: Marie Mann
Department: Place
Reason for nomination:
I am nominating Dronfield Library staff Team for the Serving our Communities Award.
From September this year my team have worked in very difficult circumstances to maintain a service to their community in very trying circumstances, we have had no working boiler or heating system and the temperatures in the Library have been below 5 degrees on some days, we decided as a team to try to keep the library open for our customers even battling through the cold and wearing gloves hats and scarves whilst performing our duties, our customers have been very appreciative of the staff taking these measures but it has been very tough on the staff and they have gone over and above to perform their regular duties. Many customers have praised the team and are grateful they put the community first. This is an on-going situation as it is still not resolved but they still turn up each day with happy smiling faces for the front-line duties they perform whilst always appreciating the constraints our Council is working under and projecting a positive attitude to the customers and communities they serve.
Andrea Walker
Nominated by: Karen Day
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
I am thrilled to nominate Andrea for services to the community. Everyone in the east Derbyshire area who attend fitness/falls prevention or chair-based classes know and love her. Her disarming manner belies a wealth of skill and professional knowledge and she has a way of persuading people they love exercise and want to eat healthily. She often meets people on their lowest days, awaiting hospital results or suffering with mental health issues and they leave her classes laughing. She is very special and an asset to the community in which she serves tirelessly, often putting learners and clients needs before her own.
Becky Wrath
Nominated by: Lantern Care Homes
Department: Childrens Services
Reason for nomination:
I have known and worked with Becky for just under 1 year and have always found her dependable, efficient, and unfailingly punctual. In fact, I have never worked with a person who gives as much attention to detail as she does. Also, her willingness to take on additional work alongside her own role to ensure the young person in our care is supported, safeguarded and cared for to an excellent standard.
Becky is always there for advice and support for not only myself but support for our young person, her presence has made a remarkable difference to not only The Elms but to the young person.
Her skills do not end with her social care role, she also projects a warm, cheerful attitude to our young person.
I have seen her resolve conflicts and handle other difficult situations with remarkable patience and admirable tact.
It is evident when seeing her in practice she loves her job and the young people she works with, she works hard, and always tries to support those around her. I believe these characteristics represent all that is good in any company, and I am pleased to nominate her.
Dronfield and Whitwell Library Teams
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Place
Reason for nomination:
Nominating the staff at Dronfield library who have worked throughout the winter. They have worked in freezing conditions without much heating to deliver excellent customer service and to keep the library open. Also Whitwell, also no heating and a water leak, truly dedicated staff who need appreciation.
Ilkeston Library
Nominated by: Sarah Ball
Department: Place
Reason for nomination:
When the Cotmanhay and Ilkeston Adult Education closed at short notice the YES Derbyshire team moved to work out of the library for 3 days per week. All the team have been so supportive of the YES Derbyshire team and the young people we work with. They have brought the young people into our room, enrolling them in to the library and supporting them to access the IT systems. For many of the young people this is the first time they have accessed the library and they found it a bit overwhelming at times. Many of the young people have extreme anxiety and diagnoses of learning difficulties but the library staff have been very patient and gone out of their way to support them. These young people are mostly confident with digital skills and social media but are not confident with accessing information in printed form.
Thank you to everyone.
Jo Marples
Nominated by: Nicky Mount
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
Jo has worked for Derbyshire County Council for 21 years. She is a 50+ Forums Support Officer. She recently revealed that for the last 21 years she has been taking her holidays around the schedules of the 50+ Forums she supports, so dedicated is she to meeting the needs of the community members. The committee members of the forums supported by Jo are clear that they value and appreciate her support. She is organised and methodical and you know that if Jo has been asked to do something it will have been done to an excellent standard. There are many examples of where Jo goes above and beyond to ensure that members of the 50+ forum communities are able to get to meetings, have accurate and timely information, enjoy outings and social events.
Maggie Banks
Nominated by: Kevin Gardom
Department: Childrens Services
Reason for nomination:
Maggie has lived all her adult life Kirk Hallam - it is her community. She has worked in the care sector for many years, she is an amazing charity fundraiser, and she helps care for her own grandson who himself has additional needs. When The Getaway was built in Maggie's hometown, she says it was a sign. She was drawn to The Getaway to do good things. Above and beyond the role for which she is paid Maggie goes the extra mile in respect of community engagement. She ensures the children we care for not only know about their local community, but they are known in their local community and are an active part of it. In this Maggie shares The Getaway's Better Never Stops ethos and continually drives the agenda locally to ensure the young people we support are valued members of our local community. Maggie has created links with local organisations including the local pub / restaurant, who not only welcome our young people with open arms during the normal working day but also have established private functions for our children's families so they can meet recreationally in a safe and non-discriminatory environment. Maggie has made links with the Time Swap team that provide us with volunteers who help provide the extra things for young people, that we might not otherwise consider, they help establish gardening projects, the next one being a sensory garden for our young people, but Maggie ensures this net spreads further, with the hope of engagement of other organisations who will help with the provision of plants etc. Maggie is working with the neighbouring primary school, Kirk Hallam's next generation, to help them understand what we do and to learn about the needs of children with disabilities. Maggie can clearly see that engagement at this age helps break down barriers and prevents stigmas. Maggie is driven by a sense of community and belonging, herself and her family are a clear part of this community and Maggie's aim is to ensure her Getaway family are also clearly recognised and valued as part of their local community. Whilst Maggie is serving the young people in our care, she is also serving the wider community by providing opportunities and education in respect of supporting some of Derbyshire's most vulnerable children and young people.
Nick Hodgson
Nominated by: Karen Day
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
It is my pleasure to nominate Nick as he consistently goes the extra mile to ensure many residents of Derbyshire become the very best they can be. He is highly skilled in the fitness and health spheres and professional at all times, using his skills to benefit people who would otherwise not exercise and thus suffer deteriorating strength and mobility. He is always ambitious for his learners and recently undertook a gruelling exam course to be able to offer more specialist classes and pass on his knowledge. Many of the people he works with have lifelong health issues but he gives them individual goals and weekly encouragement and celebrates their achievements with them. He gives people hope and that is a very powerful thing indeed in our current times.