Worcestershire County Council is proud to announce that one of its social workers has been shortlisted for recognition at the Social Worker of the Year Awards.
Parminder (Pinda) Sangha, who works in the Community Learning Disability Team for the north of the county has been named as a finalist for the Adult Social Worker of the Year Award.
He has been recognised for his ability to show empathy to the people he serves, their families and carers.
On his nomination, Parminder said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to be considered for such a prestigious award, which recognises the efforts of social work professionals across the country for the incredible work they do. As a Social Worker in the Community Learning Disabilities Team (North),
I am fortunate to be able to support individuals to achieve the best outcomes in life and ensure that their needs are met, this is something that I am very passionate about. My colleagues and family have provided me with invaluable support throughout my social work journey, and I cannot begin to express my gratitude to everyone but I hope they know how important they are to me.”
Councillor Richard Morris, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, at Worcestershire County Council said: “Pinda has always been able to show empathy to the people he serves, their families and carers; however, his own most recent life events have given him even greater insight to the barriers, discrimination, and difficulties disabled people can encounter. Pinder is now an expert by experience, and he uses this to continue advocating and supporting people to have a voice.We are extremely proud of him; we are humbled by his resilience, determination, and courage.”
The finalists were chosen by panels of independent judges including previous award winners, social workers, industry leaders and people with lived experience of social work.
All those who have been shortlisted are being recognised for their extraordinary practice and will find out if they have won the Award in their category at a special event this November in London.
The Social Worker of the Year Awards is the only major national awards event for social work in England, attracting hundreds of entries every year.
Peter Hay CBE, Chair of the Social Work Awards, said: “This year we received hundreds of entries which goes to show how passionate organisations and individuals are to shine a light on the inspirational achievements of an often-overlooked profession.
“We would like to thank all those who took the time to nominate a friend, colleague, or team for an award this year. To our finalists, we’d like to say congratulations! Being nominated for a national award, whilst supporting others during very challenging times in a year of big changes, is a remarkable achievement of which you should be very proud.”
This year the Awards have 18 categories across both children’s and adult services including two new categories for 2024; the Technology Enabled Lives and Practice Award and Practitioner-Led Research Award.
For more information about the awards, please visit the Social Worker of the Year awards website.