2022 Categories

You can enter yourself, your team or organisation, or you can nominate an individual, team or organisation.  You must have permission from your organisation or, if you are nominating someone else, you must have their consent in writing.

Award Categories

CATEGORY 1: EXCELLENCE IN CHILDREN'S SERVICES

The Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) approach supports children and young people to grow up feeling loved, safe and respected and to realise their full potential. At home, in school or the wider community, every child and young person should be safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible, and included.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR TEAMS OR ORGANISATIONS WHO:
  1. Excel in using the GIRFEC approach to support children and families in need in imaginative and child centred ways.
  2. Demonstrate application of trauma informed relationship based practice in action across the service or team, with evidenced benefits for the child and family.
  3. Listen and act on what they hear from children and families, and manage dilemmas and challenges.
  4. Work across disciplines and services for the benefit of children and families.

OPEN TO: Teams or organisations

CATEGORY 2: EXCELLENCE IN ADULT SERVICES

The Health and Social Care Standards set out what we should expect when using health, social care or social work services in Scotland. They seek to provide better outcomes for everyone, to ensure that individuals are treated with respect and dignity and that the basic human rights we are all entitled to are upheld. The objectives of the Standards are to drive improvement, promote flexibility and encourage innovation in how people are cared for and supported. All services and support organisations should use the Standards as a guideline for how to provide high quality care.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR TEAMS OR ORGANISATIONS WHO:
  1. Go above and beyond to provide excellent service for those in their care.
  2. Support people using their services to be independent by being flexible in the support which they provide.
  3. Promote an individual’s rights, choices and independence by encouraging active participation in the community.
  4. Effectively collaborate with other heath and care services to achieve best outcomes for individuals.

OPEN TO: Teams or organisations

CATEGORY 3: EXCELLENCE IN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

As described in Mental health in Scotland: a 10 year vision, people should be able to get the right help at the right time, expect recovery from mental ill health, and fully enjoy their rights, free from discrimination and stigma. Our mental health services are therefore fundamental to this vision. This Award is our opportunity to recognise the value of mental health services in supporting people of all ages and from all backgrounds to manage their mental health.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR TEAMS OR ORGANISATIONS WHO:
  1. Engage creatively with people, supporting them to fulfil their potential and overcome the challenges they face.
  2. Understand the wider factors which may influence mental health and work proactively to address stigma and challenge.
  3. Operate from a human rights perceptive, evidenced in practice, feedback and positive change.
  4. Demonstrate positive outcomes for those with mental health difficulties.

OPEN TO: Teams or organisations

CATEGORY 4: EXCELLENCE IN DISABILITIES SERVICES

A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People is the national delivery plan for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). As the current 2016-2021 Delivery Plan for A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People draws to a conclusion, we are looking for teams or organisations who are pioneers in meeting our ambitions for human rights to be at the heart of our disability services. This service should excel in making equality of opportunity, access to services and independent living a reality for all disabled people they work with.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR TEAMS OR ORGANISATIONS WHO:
  1. Have a demonstrable focus on maximising individual capacity, independence and fulfilment.
  2. Have human rights/children’s rights embedded in its approach and practice.
  3. Demonstrate that their practice and approaches protect people and encourage participation, promote justice and inclusion, and listen to disabled children and adults.

OPEN TO: Teams or organisations

CATEGORY 5: EXCELLENCE IN JUSTICE SERVICES

The Vision for justice in Scotland calls for a just, safe, and resilient Scotland. We must be able to exercise our human and civic rights, in order to live in a just and fair society. It is not only when these rights are threatened that we require robust and fair responses. Effective processes of justice provide us all with a sense of security which is fundamental to our everyday lives. We therefore must have trust and confidence that justice will be delivered fairly in any area of our lives.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR TEAMS OR ORGANISATIONS WHO:
  1. Promote a society in which people feel, and are, safer in their communities.
  2. Work together to address the underlying causes of crime and support everyone to live full and healthy lives.
  3. Have effective, person-centred and trauma-informed approaches to justice in which everyone can have trust, including as victims, those accused of crimes and as individuals in civil disputes.
  4. Support rehabilitation and work to reduce reoffending and revictimisation.

OPEN TO: Teams or organisations

CATEGORY 6: SHOWCASING AN INTEGRATED WORKFORCE

Integration brings greater emphasis on community-based services along with more joined-up, anticipatory and preventive care to ensure that people get the right care, at the right time and in the right place, and are supported to live as independently as possible. Working collaboratively across organisational boundaries, and with those who have lived experience of care-giving and care services, supports the development of integrated and person-centred care.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR TEAMS OR ORGANISATIONS WHO:
  1. Understand the importance of relationship-based practice to bring professions and colleagues together to learn from each other and improve services.
  2. Work as multidisciplinary teams and play to each other’s strengths to achieve best possible outcomes for those receiving care.
  3. Create examples of partnership working that put the people they help first regardless of budgets, location, or governance.

OPEN TO: Teams or organisations

CATEGORY 7: RURAL WAYS OF WORKING

98% of Scotland’s land mass is defined as rural. It is inhabited by 17% of the population, a figure that is growing due to movement from cities to accessible rural locations. Community relationship dynamics and levels of service provision can be different to those in urban areas, and we recognise that this presents both opportunities and challenges to professionals supporting community members. Acknowledging the unique challenges associated with dispersed and often geographically isolated communities requires a particular skill set. This Award highlights the creativity and innovation of services in Scotland's rural communities to achieve best outcomes for those accessing support in their area.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR TEAMS OR ORGANISATIONS WHO:
  1. Have adopted a new and innovative way of working to reduce inequalities associated with rural and remote communities to improve access for those in need of support.
  2. Utilise some of the unique opportunities in rural communities to achieve best outcomes for those accessing care.
  3. Have embraced a person-centred approach and worked with their communities to find imaginative and diverse ways of meeting need.

OPEN TO: Teams or organisations

CATEGORY 8: OUTSTANDING RESIDENTIAL CARE SERVICE

Our society is structured around family life, and living in residential care is often not a choice people expect to make or to have made for them. Group living provides a safe place for many adults and children, but it requires particular skill and commitment to ensure that this maintains the individual’s rights, developmental needs, dignity and potential for growth and development. This Award celebrates residential care services and thanks them for their commitment to high quality support and care for their residents and staff.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR TEAMS OR ORGANISATIONS WHO:
  1. Embrace rights and choice in service delivery in an innovative and forward looking manner to ensure that the social and wellbeing needs of their residents are met.
  2. Understand and demonstrate relationship based and trauma informed practice, recovery and development in the service and in individual practise.
  3. Demonstrate how working in collaboration with the community and other agencies/services improves outcomes for residents.
  4. Keep staff wellbeing at the forefront of delivery.

OPEN TO: Teams or organisations

CATEGORY 9: BRIGHT SPARK IN SOCIAL WORK

This Award celebrates the achievements of rising stars in the social work profession in Scotland. Do you know of a social work student or Newly Qualified Social Worker who takes great pride in their work, has a positive attitude and takes time to understand the people they support? This is an opportunity to recognise the contribution of new entrants to the profession, and to inspire the next generation to consider a career in social work.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO:
  1. Go ‘the extra mile’ to make a difference for those they work with and to understand and apply their social work studies.
  2. Bring enthusiasm and commitment to their work.
  3. Are keen to learn, to develop themselves and to continue to work in the sector.
  4. Are proud of the work they do and are ambassadors for the sector.

OPEN TO: Social work students currently undertaking practice placements, or individuals within their first two years of social work practice

CATEGORY 10: BRIGHT SPARK IN SOCIAL CARE

This Award celebrates the achievements of our rising stars in the social care workforce. Do you know someone new to working in a care and support setting who deserves to have their talent recognised? Are they proud of their work, have a positive attitude and take time to understand the individual needs of the people they support? This is an opportunity to value the contribution of those new to working in the care sector, and to inspire the next generation to consider a career in social care.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO:
  1. Go ‘the extra mile’ to make a difference for those they work with and to understand and apply their learning to ensure best outcomes.
  2. Bring enthusiasm and commitment to their work.
  3. Are keen to learn, to develop themselves and to continue to work in the sector.
  4. Are proud of the work they do and are ambassadors for the sector.

OPEN TO: Individuals new to working in social care

CATEGORY 11: LEADERSHIP AWARD - IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SOCIAL WORK SCOTLAND

Strong and compassionate leadership has an impact on the vision and ethos of an organisation and empowers others to develop and use their own leadership skills. The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) specify six leadership capabilities that make up effective leadership in social services. These are: Vision, Creativity and Innovation, Self-leadership, Collaborating and Influencing, Motivating and Inspiring, and Empowering. Social services operate in an increasingly complex, challenging and changing environment. Working effectively in partnership can help provide best value and improved outcomes for people who use our services. The need for effective leadership of these collaborations is important.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR INDIVIDUAL LEADERS WHO:
  1. Demonstrate strength in SSSC’s six leadership capabilities.
  2. Inspire or motivate others to create positive change to improve the impact of the social services sector.
  3. Advocate for, and have a positive effect on, the wellbeing of their staff.

OPEN TO: Individual leaders across the social services sector

CATEGORY 12: SOCIAL CARE WORKER OF THE YEAR

Do you know someone working in social care who has gone above and beyond in their role over the past year? Have they demonstrated social care values and ethics in action to provide the best possible support to those they are working with?

WE ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO:
  1. Currently work in social care services and have gone above and beyond in their role to support the people receiving support.
  2. Help to inspire or motivate those they work with.
  3. Develop relationships that make a difference, promote rights and tackle inequalities.

OPEN TO: Individual registered workers in the social care sector

CATEGORY 13: SOCIAL WORKER OF THE YEAR - IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SCOTTISH ASSOCIATION FOR SOCIAL WORK (SASW)

Relationship-based practice is at the heart of what social workers do. Social work has always had a strong human rights and ethical basis that emphasises the importance of building a positive, professional relationship with those accessing support as well as with multidisciplinary colleagues. Social workers skilfully balance any tensions between the rights and responsibilities of the people who use services and the legitimate requirements of the wider public.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO:
  1. Provide exceptional service which has improved outcomes of the individuals they work with.
  2. Promote the importance of social work within the wider public service.
  3. Use their skills in relationship-based practice to work with those accessing support and colleagues in multidisciplinary settings to play to each other’s strengths to achieve best possible outcomes.
  4. Effectively balance the tension between meeting the needs of the people who they work with and the legitimate requirements of the wider public.

OPEN TO: Registered social workers

CATEGORY 14: OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIAL SERVICES

This brand new Award recognises those who have demonstrated a deep commitment to social services and excelled in a career supporting the most vulnerable in our society. Open to any individual who is registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), we encourage organisations and individuals to nominate their long-serving colleagues for this lifetime achievement award.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO:
  1. Have made a major contribution to an organisation or community and have devoted their time and energy to achieving sustained positive change, over the span of their working life.

OPEN TO: Individuals registered with the Scottish Social Services Council

Next... 2022 Ceremony

Blogs & Latest News

Image for NEW DATE CONFIRMED!

NEW DATE CONFIRMED!

We are pleased to confirm that the Scottish Social Services Awards will now take place on Wednesday, 9th November at the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow.

Image for Scottish Social Services Awards Postponed

Scottish Social Services Awards Postponed

In light of the recent sad news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen, as a mark of respect, we have decided to postpone this year’s Scottish Social Services Awards 2022.

Image for Awards Finalists Announced!

Awards Finalists Announced!

The Scottish Social Services Awards 2022 finalists have been announced for our 14 categories!

More Blogs & News

What Our Winners Say

Maureen Tait

Winning this award has brought fantastic benefits to our staff, the team and our association. So much good work goes unrecognised and, as a Manager there is nothing more fulfilling than a fully functional team who are recognised and rewarded for the great work they do.

Sheltered Housing Services Manager, Port of Leith Housing Association

Angela Voulgari

This recognition was an excellent opportunity for a very new service to become more visible and raise awareness of the important work carried out on equality and on protecting the human rights of vulnerable people in Scotland’s Black and Minority Ethnic communities.

Service Team Leader, Bright Choices

David Clark

This was a huge confidence boost for me, as it came as I began my social work career. It also acted as wonderful recognition of Glasgow Caledonian University and East Ayrshire Council Health and Social Care Partnership’s commitment to providing quality social work placements. It’s vital that we use all available opportunities to recognise social services workers who have ‘gone the extra mile’ and made differences to the lives of others. As such, I would implore anyone connected to this amazing profession to nominate any individual, team, service or organisation that deserves public praise for their efforts.

Social Work Student, Glasgow Caledonian University

Sheryl Walker

The award meant a great deal to the organisation and all our members. We were delighted and extremely proud to receive this accolade. We would recommend others to apply for the SSSA awards where achievements are recognised and celebrated on a national, public platform. It’s an opportunity to proudly share the positive social benefits that such innovative, user-led projects can bring about and reinforces the need to continue supporting them.

C-Change Scotland

The team

It was great to have recognition and be nominated. It helped to raise the profile of the service - winning was an added bonus! The video helped to bring the service to life and was very powerful, clearly showing how vital it is to have an empathetic approach which puts people first. Both services working together enhances how we can help people and show how effective collaborative working can be when there is a clear understanding of the needs of the client group.

Glasgow Women's Supported Bail Service

Loretto Care

Having the opportunity to celebrate the positive impact the service has on the lives of the individuals we support is a great feeling! Services, teams and individuals should definitely enter these awards. It's a great forum to raise the profile of the care sector and acknowledge all the amazing people who work so hard to support individuals to live a meaningful life.

Crossreach

Winning the Making Change Happen Category reinforced to us that what we were doing was well thought of externally, by our professional body, SSSC. This professional recognition really boosted the team. It has also opened doors for us as an Organisation ; introducing us to people and organisations to increase the awareness of the work we do and in time seeing this type of initiative mirrored in other organisations

Corinne Morrison-Gillies, Head of HR Operations and People Development