Best inclusive recruitment and retention initiative
This award recognises employers who have dealt with recruitment and retention issues in the sector by establishing initiatives to encourage new and returning talent into their workforce. They will have an effective method for targeting and attracting new talent, as well as an effective recruitment process which enables them to recruit the most talented individuals. They will also have good methods of retention and will demonstrate this through reduced turnover rates. The nomination should include the impact of the initiatives, including the benefits for the people they support.
Most innovative approach to supporting independence, choice and control
This award recognises employers who have shown constant commitment to the independence, choice and control for the people that they support. We’re looking for employers who support people with decision making and have enabled them to make choices about the way they live and the care they receive. The employer has ensured that people always remain in control of what happens to them. They may also have identified areas where people’s independence is being undermined in the service and sought ways to redress the balance.
Most inclusive service provision
This award recognises a service provision which has taken steps to ensure that the service promotes equality, diversity and inclusion. The employer will have encouraged the use of fair, ethical and inclusive practices to improve the accessibility of the service to the people who use it. The service will ensure that all staff are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and have access to the training and resources needed to ensure holistic service provision. The service will provide opportunities for people, staff and service users, to participate as fully as they can at all levels of the service, including the day-to-day running of the service.
Digital innovation
This award will recognise an individual or a group of people who have shown exceptional entrepreneurial skills in identifying, developing, implementing, using or establishing a new digital system or products. This new innovation must demonstrate benefits for people who use services, staff, and partner organisations. A digital system may be used to support the workforce challenges of the organisation. The system, or product, could have been designed to increase the independence of people who use the service, and must be able to demonstrate the impact it has had. It may also allow the service to run more efficiently, bringing a time or cost saving to the service.
Excellence in End of Life Care
This award recognises individuals or organisations who demonstrate outstanding compassion, specialist skills and emotional resilience when supporting individuals living towards the end of their life. It celebrates excellence in delivering personalised, culturally sensitive palliative and end of life care, with a strong focus on dignity, comfort and choice. Those recognised in this category champion best practice, communicate sensitively with individuals and their loved ones, demonstrate creativity and initiative to deliver person-centred care, and collaborate effectively with other professionals. They also show a clear commitment to continuous learning and development, ensuring high-quality end of life care that makes a meaningful difference during an incredibly important and challenging time.
Volunteer of the year
This award recognises an individual who volunteers in the care sector. It recognises a volunteer for their valuable and selfless commitment to innovation, dedication and contribution to the sector, and enhancement of the efficiency of services. They have shown commitment and dedication to the service and have demonstrated the Leeds values in all that they do. They have built up strong relationships with both staff and the people they support. They have constantly embedded a person-centred approach through their work.
Registered Manager of the year
This award recognises a Registered Manager who has demonstrated a high level of expertise together with exceptional skills in managing the complex business of running and delivery of strengths based, person centred social care services. The manager must show leadership and vision in developing person-centred care and supporting staff to meet the ever-changing needs of people who use their services. They must constantly seek positive change and look for improvements in the service through ongoing review and reflection.
Social care nurse of the year
This award recognises a registered nurse who has made an outstanding contribution to the care of people who use their service. They must have contributed positively to nursing in their workplace and/or across the care sector. They must have made a positive difference to the lives of those they care for, and constantly implement a person-centred approach in the work they do. They must also be committed to their own personal and professional development and constantly seek new and innovative ways to improve.
Established paid care or support worker of the year
This award recognises a paid care or support worker who consistently provides a high standard of individualised care and support, demonstrates commitment promoting and maintaining independence, choice and control with people whilst being responsive to their needs. They are dedicated to providing a holistic service, must have brought about change, and have made a difference to the lives of those they support. They are enthusiastic and very often ‘go the extra mile’. They are pro-active in and contribute to personal development and that of the team and service.
New paid care or support worker of the year
This award recognises a new paid care or support worker who has made an exceptional start in their social care career. Already, they will have demonstrated that they have the right values, behaviours, and attitudes to effectively work and support the people who need care and support. They will have started to build positive and professional working relationships with their immediate colleagues and with people from other services, as well as the people that they support. Through their enthusiasm, have they brought a fresh perspective and new ideas to the service.
Unpaid Carer Celebration
Please note: There will be no shortlist or single winner for this category. It has been designed to recognise and celebrate the enormous contribution made by many unpaid carers across our city. Rather than selecting one nominee, we will acknowledge and celebrate the impact of all unpaid carers who are nominated.
This category honours the invaluable role that unpaid carers play in strengthening families, communities, and the wider health and care system. An unpaid carer is someone who provides help and support to a family member, friend or neighbour who couldn’t manage without their help. This could be due to illness, disability, mental health problems or substance misuse. These are people who demonstrate exceptional compassion, dedication, and resilience in their caring role. Nominees will have made a meaningful and sustained difference to the wellbeing, independence, or quality of life of the person they support through practical or emotional help and support. They may balance caring responsibilities alongside their own challenges, often without any recognition. Nominees will be people who champion the rights, voice and needs of the person they care for, actively engage with available resources and support, and help ensure the individual has greater choice, control and positive outcomes.
Outstanding contribution to social care
This special award recognises an individual who has gone the extra mile and made a long-term outstanding contribution to social care. They have continuously gone above and beyond to make a significant difference to people’s lives and have consistently embedded Leeds values around person centred care and strengths-based approaches in all that they do. They have shown innovation and creativity in their approach to care and support and have constantly sought to improve the sector. They have committed a significant number of years to their role in the sector and must still be working in the sector or have left it within the last three years.