The Leeds Quality in Care Awards celebrate excellence throughout the Leeds adult care sector.
These are part of the vision for an Age Friendly Leeds and to be the Best City to Grow Old in and a place where people age well.
Nominations for the 2024 awards have now closed.
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.
Questions to consider when writing your nomination
- How has this individual contributed positively to nursing within the sector?
- How have they made a difference to the lives of the people they are caring for?
- How is this person committed to their own development and continuous improvement?
- How does this person encourage and support the wider workforce in ensuring positive health and well-being outcomes?
- How do they engage with other health professions to ensure the best outcomes for people they support?
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. 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, they have brought a fresh perspective to the service.
Questions to consider when writing your nomination
- How have they demonstrated their commitment to providing quality care and support?
- How do they ensure that they treat people with dignity and respect?
- Have they demonstrated their ability to work together as part of a team and to work alone?
- Can you give examples of how they have demonstrated the right values, behaviours, and attitudes?
- Share examples of how they have positively integrated into their new role and organisation.
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, may have influenced positive 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.
Questions to consider when writing your nomination
- How have they made a difference to the lives of the people they support?
- How have they influenced positive change?
- How do they go the extra mile?
- What examples demonstrate the impact on individuals supported by the service?
Volunteer of the year
This award recognises a volunteer for their valuable and selfless commitment to innovation, dedication and contribution to the sector. They have shown commitment 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 and bring added value to the service.
Questions to consider when writing your nomination
- Tell us about the role of this person - what do they do, how often?
- How have they contributed to the service, what difference have they made to people’s lives?
- How have they demonstrated the Leeds values in their work and embedded a person-centred approach?
- What examples demonstrate the impact on individuals supported by the service?
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.
Questions to consider when writing your nomination
- How has the service benefited from this person’s exceptional management skills?
- How has this person got the most out of their staff?
- How has this person made positive changes and improvements to the service?
- How do they demonstrate inclusive leadership?
- How do they actively promote and support the continuous professional development of their team(s)?
- How does the manager seek feedback on their performance and actively manage their own continuous professional development?
- Give examples of how the manager engages in and supports networking, and development opportunities, to improve their organisations services and outcomes?
Best recruitment and retention initiative
This award recognises employers who have established initiatives to encourage new and returning talent into their workforce. They will have an effective method for targeting and attracting new people, as well as an effective recruitment process which enables them to recruit individuals with the right values and behaviours.
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
Questions to consider when writing your nomination
- What methods does the organisation use to target and attract new and returning workforce?
- How does the organisation ensure that it engages in 'values-based recruitment'?
- How does this organisation maintain high retention rates and support staff to progress?
- How have the recruitment and retention initiatives improved the quality of the service provided to the people that they support?
- How do they ensure that equality, diversity, and inclusion is prominent throughout their recruitment and retention initiatives and processes?
Most innovative approach to supporting independence, choice and control
This award recognises employers who have shown consistent commitment to the independence, choice, and control for the people that they support. We’re looking for services or individuals who support people with decision making and have enabled them to make choices about the way they live and the care they receive.
They have 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.
Questions to consider when writing your nomination
- How has the organisation improved the independence, choice, and control of the people they support?
- How are people supported in decision-making by the individual or service?
- How do they ensure that people remain in control of their own lives?
- What do they do to ensure person centred approaches?
- What examples demonstrate the impact on individuals supported by the service?
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 be included as fully as they can in all aspects of the service provision.
Questions to consider when writing your nomination
- How does this service promote equality, diversity, and inclusion?
- How has the service ensured that staff have the support they need to provide inclusive services?
- How does the service ensure that people can live a holistic and full life?
- Does the service utilise co-production to develop and review its service provision?
- Is there evidence that an inclusive leadership style is present and used to deliver the service?
- What examples demonstrate the impact on individuals supported by 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 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.
Questions to consider when writing your nomination
- What new digital system or product has this organisation implemented/used in their service?
- How has this system or product improved and increased the independence of the people who use the service?
- How does the digital system support the organisations workforce challenges, providing solutions?
- How are the people who use the system encouraged to use it and to get the best out of it?
- Does the digital system give the organisation or people a unique selling point (USP)?
- What examples demonstrate the impact on individuals supported by the service or the organisation?
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.
Questions to consider when writing your nomination
- How has this individual gone the extra-mile in their role?
- How has their approach made a difference to people’s lives?
- How have they shown innovation and creativity when seeking to improve the sector?
- How have they demonstrated collaboration through successful partnership working?
- How have they supported inclusivity during their career?
- Have they demonstrated good leadership qualities and behaviours in their role?
Nominations have now closed.
