Celebrating Outstanding Personal Advisors: PA of the Year Awards 2024

The Personal Advisor Celebration Awards, held as part of our annual PA Celebration Event, once again brought together committed individuals who have made a lasting impact on the lives of care-experienced young people across the UK. This event celebrates the invaluable support Personal Advisors provide, honoring nominees, runners-up, and winners for each of our four awards: PA Team of the Year, Rising Star Award, Lifetime Achiever Award and finally, PA of the Year.

Nominations and Our Judges Panel

The nominations for each award have been sent by managers within the local authority who wanted to share the amazing impact their workers have had on young people lives and the service they provide. All nominations were passed to a judging panel which was made up of three young people with care experience, two local authority team managers and last year’s winner of the PA award. All of the panel agreed that the standard of the nominations this year was very high, and the members of the panel unanimously agreed that everyone who was put forward for these awards, is a genuine winner.

You can view all nominations in this year’s awards booklet, showcasing the remarkable contributions of every nominee! – Personal-Advisor-Nomination-Booklet-2024

PA Team of the Year:

This award honors teams of Personal Advisors who have demonstrated exceptional collaboration and innovation. It recognises those who have developed new services or made significant contributions to improving support for care-experienced young people, ensuring positive outcomes.

Team of the Year Winners: Kent and St. Helens

A huge congratulations to Kent and St. Helens, winners of this year’s PA Team of the Year Award! Their unwavering passion to empowering young people earned them well-deserved recognition.  The Kent team recognised and responded to the cost of living crisis, and so the 18+ Food Project was developed to support young people through this critically important time. St Helens Futures Team worked on developing a hub, and have reached out and supported young people in their local area. They have been creative with ways to support their young people and have a Never Doors Closed approach. Ofsted recently said they are “Passionate and highly committed”. Both teams have been able to provide particle and emotional support to and for their young people.

Team of the Year Runners-Up: Blackpool and Lincolnshire

Special congratulations to Blackpool and Lincolnshire, the runners-up for PA Team of the Year. Known for their collaborative spirit and focus on young person-centered support, both teams have shown immense dedication to making a positive difference in the lives of care-experienced young people. Blackpool’s Core has been developed into a sanctuary for young people where meaningful conversations, co-production work and activities can flourish. In Lincolnshire, they been working on enhancing their Participation offer and have secured funding to enable up to 100 young people to participate in a five day residential event.

Rising Star Award:

Celebrating new and emerging Personal Advisors who have quickly made a meaningful impact in their role, demonstrating exceptional potential and dedication in supporting care-experienced young people.

Rising Star Award: Jade Ward from North Yorkshire

This year’s Rising Star Award goes to Jade Ward from North Yorkshire! Jade has impressed both her peers and young people alike with her dedication and fresh approach to supporting care leavers. Jade lights up every room she walks in and will always help you find a solution to a problem when you think there isn’t one. One young person commented “ I am so lucky to have someone so genuine that actually cares as my lcw. She has helped me with so much and I couldn’t thank her enough, she deserves the world plus more and I hope she knows how much everyone appreciates what she does!”

Rising Star Award Runner-Up: Joe Hale

Congratulations go to this years runner-up Joe Hale from Wolverhampton. He was recognized for his outstanding contribution as an emerging leader in the field. Not only has he managed complex workloads, but he goes above and beyond to managers of our football team, and is always looking at ways to connect with young people. One young person said “It is the little things he does that mean a lot to us all!”

Lifetime Achiever Award:

Honouring those who have dedicated many years to supporting care experienced young people and have made a sustained impact throughout their careers.

Lifetime Achiever Award: Lynne King from Derbyshire

The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Lynne King from Derbyshire, celebrating her continued dedication and to empowering young people as they transition into young adults. Lynne’s nurturing guidance has allowed her to invest in her young people and has left a long lasting impact on countless lives, leaving some to say this: “Lynne strives for the young people to be the best they can possibly be on all levels… She supports the young people and encourages at a pace that is relevant to them”

Lifetime Achiever Award Runner-Up: Pamela Walters

Runner-up Pamela Walters from Somerset, is this years Lifetime Achiever runner-up. We wanted to celebrate her exceptional lifetime commitment to supporting care-experienced young people. Along with managing complex caseloads, pam has taken on the role of a senior in her team and continues to make positive changes. Young people constantly have great things to say about her, and within her team it’s no different, with people commenting “Pam is the most passionate Leaving Care Worker I have managed…She should be very proud of what she has achieved over the last 18 years plus, I know Somerset Leaving Care Service are very proud of having her as part of the team”

PA of The Year Award:

Recognising an individual Personal Advisor who has consistently gone above and beyond in their role, demonstrating exceptional dedication, care, and commitment to improving the lives of care-experienced young people.

PA of the Year: Sam Neath from Wolverhampton

Congratulations to Sam Neath from Wolverhampton, this year’s PA of the Year! Sam’s dedication and passion for supporting care leavers shine’s brightly. Sam has been and continues to be at the center of supporting young people, as well as the growth of a football team and tournament across the West-Midlands, resulting in a local tournament at a Wolverhampton Wanderers. One young person commented that Sam was “able to make my dreams come true playing at a Premier League stadium”

PA of the Year Runner-Up: Cerys Pearce Dunne

Our Runner-up for PA of the Year is Cerys Pearce Dunne from Coventry. We wanted to honour her impactful work and dedication to her role. She is an advocate and role model for young people, and has developed a forum for young people seeking asylum, which has developed a greater awareness of young people cultural and religious needs. We heard that “Young people can talk to her about anything… and her relationship based approach means that the young people attending these events always enjoy their time there. One young person who went on their first holiday/trip with Cerys said ‘I don’t even know what to say but I’m not gonna lie, those days were the best days I’ve ever had in my life”

These awards, initiated by the Young People’s Benchmarking Forum, reflect the deep appreciation for PAs across the country. Every nominee, runner-up, and winner has demonstrated life-changing dedication, and we celebrate the outstanding work each brings to their roles. Congratulations to all!