Smithybrook View Extra Care CWCs
Nominated by: Stephanie Watson
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
The staff team at Smithybrook View Extra Care have improved their work massively since I started in post almost 4 years ago.
Staff have been following instructions from their managers and implementing good changes. Staff have taken well to the changes that have been happening in SBV and continue to improve their work. I don't think the staff get the recognition they deserve for all their hard work.
Childrens Residential Business Services
Nominated by: Clare Barnett
Department: Children’s Services
Reason for nomination:
The residential business support team were significantly reduced through the business services review and they went from a team of 13 to 4. They have adapted to these changes whilst still providing an outstanding support service to our children’s homes whilst supporting and helping each other.
They are like a little community and are willing to embrace whatever is thrown at them, they are working towards and striving to gain consistent approach across these homes and are teaching and mentoring each other to maintain continuity and stability for the service.
They are an absolute pleasure to manage and have done this whilst not having a consistent direct line manager, they are a credit to Derbyshire County Council and should be recognised for all that they do by going above and beyond for the children’s residential homes service.
Amber Valley South Social Work Team
Nominated by: Wendy Kirkman
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
I am nominating Amber Valley South Team because they are fabulous. A group of unique individuals with differing skill sets working in partnership to deliver high quality service provision to the residents, in conjunction with the council plan and practice framework.
Life is tough in frontline fieldwork - the crisis in care, endless changes in practice, continuous stress yet this wonderful group ensure we have no waiting lists for assessments/reviews, safeguardings are thoroughly completed within timescales to a high standard to ensure the welfare of vulnerable adults, person-centred and strengths based support plans are up to date and although appear to play hard, we work extremely hard too as ambassadors for the authority.
There is a commitment to shared goals. We focus on learning through weekly CPD sessions, each worker taking turns to present a topic for research and discussion. Social Workers can use this as part of their learning record for the professional body.
We have a high ratio of Apprentice Social Workers and students with responsibility for inductions, mentoring and supervisions a joint effort.
There is a strong team ethos and wellbeing is high on our agenda. We are proud to have a low sickness record and retain workers. Students are eager to remain in the team long after placement ends.
Weekly time to talk sessions are run by our team mental health champions. Daily checks in on each other ensure no one gets stressed without it being noticed/addressed. The weekly quiz is a must with a competitive edge. Laughter, banter and camaraderie is constantly present.
Small gestures go a long way... a bunch of flowers here, random tat there, team development days, craft sessions. You name it, we do it. Success is celebrated and we see results of their labours. In 2024, I was overwhelmed to be nominated as Team Leader of the Year and win the National Award. It wouldn’t have been possible without the support and commitment of the South Team They are not only colleagues and workmates but friends too.
South Derbyshire North Social Work Team
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
Nominating South Derbyshire North Social Work Team for their hard work and dedication to each other and the community.
They hold themselves and others accountable and will step up/in when needed to support others. As a team the level of support they provide each other, is undeniably fantastic, no one is shy to stand in when someone is going through a rough patch (grievance, sickness). The team is a high performing team, ensuring work is completed in a timely manner and supporting other teams as and when required.
The Outback
Nominated by: Vicky Wilson
Department: Children’s Services
Reason for nomination:
Over the last 18 months, The Outback have navigated through some very difficult times. Faced with the possibility of the service closure, uncertainty, possible redundancy or re-deployment when Derbyshire County Council were reviewing the service as part of the potential cuts/budget constraints.
Despite the challenges, the Team have consistently demonstrated exceptional dedication to the young people and their families they support, along with close collaboration with other professionals, to ensure the delivery of tailored services, to meet the ever-changing needs of children with disabilities and their families, across the county. Their holistic approach has not only improved outcomes for young people and their families, the team, have also set a high standard, for service delivery and success within the sector.
Following the service review, the team have been concentrating more on supporting young people at the Edge of Care. This puts the team at the forefront of working together with families, to effect positive change and in turn prevent children and young people coming into the care of the Local Authority. This approach also avoids traumatic experiences for the families and saves the Council money through the cost avoidance involved in placing children and young people in expensive residential provisions. Children and young people are also able to remain at home, where they can be cared for and their needs met safely by their family.
An example of their commitment would be captured earlier this year, when The Outback team stepped in to support a young person, to provide emergency support over the Easter weekend and the following weeks. Due to multiple placement breakdowns, and there being no availability of foster carers, the team offered to continue the support the young person, providing consistency and stability for them at a time when there was so many changing faces and uncertainty in his life. After multiple failed searches for a new placement, one of the team members and their partner, stepped in and provided the young person with safe place to stay. This provided the Social Work Team with a longer period to conduct searches, ensuring the right placement was identified for this young person. The team have provided support based at The Outback for this little boy every day, including weekends to ensure he maintains some routine and consistency in his life at this difficult time. This structure and stability has supported him to become a more regulated, happy boy who seeks affection/interaction from the adults around him.
Week in, week out, the team step up with any spare time they have, to provide care and consistency for the young people they support. They are all truly dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the young people they support and with a wide range of experience, expertise and skills, they continue to provide the highest level of support to young people and their families.
The Outback, Children with Disabilities Team exemplifies the values of dedication, hard work, passion and collaboration. Their unwavering commitment to enhancing the lives of children with disabilities and their families makes them a deserving candidate for the High-Performing Team Award.
HR Business Support
Nominated by: James Hodges
Department: Corporate Services & Transformation
Reason for nomination:
I'm nominating the HR Business Support team for the High Performing Team award for the fantastic work they have done over the last 4 years since coming together as one team, and continue to undertake for the HR function. With a team of just over 14 FTE, the team carries out a wide range of activities without which teams in HR would not be able to operate.
This includes a significant amount of work that goes into the preparation for Shaping the Future and Leadership Forum events, as well as the employee roadshows last year and the Our Derbyshire Awards. The team prints, organises, arranges equipment, and carries out the purchasing tasks that help these events to go ahead.
The team are at the frontline of the Occupational Health department, helping to keep our employees safe and well, managing all the bookings, filings and phone calls. From an operational perspective they support employee relation hearings and appeals and Resourcing Approvals, keeping these important and sensitive activities happening. This is alongside the venue booking, purchase requisitions, certificate ordering, first aid bookings, work experience and a whole host of other tasks they support with.
The team take ownership of the jobs they do, and are always on hand to answer questions. They are adaptable and really go the extra mile to meet customer expectations whether internally or with our external customers. This leads to really positive outcomes and experiences and helps the rest of the HR function to carry out their work effectively.
Derbyshire Discretionary Fund
Nominated by: Lois Race
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
The Derbyshire Discretionary Fund team are a high performing team who have delivered significant change with enthusiasm, effectiveness, and exceptional peer support. Following public consultation and Cabinet approval for an updated policy in July 2024, the team have embraced the work needed to deliver the change of policy framework in the autumn of 2024, whilst maintaining excellent service delivery, both in terms of efficient working and also empathetic and respectful contact with residents. This is a busy team dealing with often complex situations and vulnerable applicants. They assessed over 32,000 applications during 2024-25 – making over 19,000 crisis payment awards and 912 essential item / re-settlement grants awards.
Delivering the change to the new policy framework required undertaking training on the “new” whilst continuing to deliver excellent service to applicants, and the team did not miss a beat – taking it all in their stride with good humour, excellent peer support, a collaborative approach, and many lunch fuddles.
The team’s service delivery metrics continued to be met throughout. Feedback from the team about the ‘change process’ demonstrated excellent empowered leadership by the Team Manager and Team Leaders, and the value of effective, clear, and timely communication. The team felt ‘safe’, supported, and involved in the change. The team have since embraced further change with the addition of an online portal for residents which, since launching in April 2025, has seen 40% channel shift from telephony to online in a matter of weeks. They have remained engaged in working together to iron out any glitches and ensure that residents continue to receive an excellent and timely response.