Speaking at special celebration event this week Matt Dunkley said that the pressures on Children's Services departments had never been greater but he applauded the way staff in East Sussex had responded.
Held at the East Sussex National Golf Club on Tuesday 24 March, the 'Achievement Matters' awards ceremony was held to recognise and celebrate the many special achievements of staff within the department.
The event focused particularly on those who had gained formal qualifications during the year and also those who had been nominated by colleagues for an outstanding achievement award.
More than 100 staff were praised for achieving professional qualifications during 2008. These included a wide variety of NVQs and degrees in various subjects including counselling, youth work, social work, childcare, management, and business and administration.
And six teams and six individual staff members from the department received Outstanding Achievement Awards for their work on various projects or services during the year.
The awards were presented by Councillor Meg Stroude, the County Council’s Lead Member for Children and Families, and Councillor David Elkin, the Lead Member for Learning and School Effectiveness.
Mr Dunkley said afterwards: “I am pleased we can thank and applaud our staff in this way. The high standards achieved in East Sussex are down to the continuing professionalism and commitment of staff who remain totally dedicated to providing the best possible services for the people of the county.
“Ofsted’s most recent assessment of services to children in East Sussex rated the County Council as one of the highest performing in the country. It found that all of the services we provide for children, young people and families are good and many are outstanding – and that is down to our staff.”
The point of the awards ceremony was to highlight those who had developed their professional skills by achieving formal qualifications, and also to recognise those who had made a particularly outstanding contribution or commitment to work.
After the event Councillor Keith Glazier, the County Council’s Lead Member for Children’s and Adults’ Services said: “Our staff deserve our greatest respect and thanks for all they do for the children, young people and families of East Sussex. This is a successful Children’s Services department and I am proud of the very many people who make it so. Their hard work and dedication, much of which goes unnoticed means better services for the people of this county.”
Further information
The Outstanding Achievement Award winners were:
- Anne-Marie O’Brien for her working with young people as a reintegration and behaviour support mentor
- Dawn Emsley a children’s home worker
- Youth worker Matt Davey for his work with young people
- The admin team at St Mark’s House who reorganised filing systems to the benefit of social workers
- Vicki Ellis, senior officer within the Substance Misuse Team
- The Language and Learning Support Team which gained Dyslexia Friendly Status for the County Council
- The Aspire Team which has worked on a new Youth Service and Connexions database
- The Schools Data Collection and Analysis Team for its work helping teachers to analyse performance at the Foundation stage
- Improvement Manager, Penny Beynon, for her work on the Children and Young People’s Plan consultation
- The Unite Participation Team and Youth Cabinet for their work raising awareness of the concerns and views of young people
- The team that manages Czone, the website that is improving communication links with schools and children’s services professionals, and
- Mick Golby, Senior Finance Assistant.
Reference:
2355
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East Sussex County Council