Double award scoop for Birmingham Children's Trust at 2025 Social Worker of the Year Awards

It was double delight for Birmingham Children's Trust at the 2025 Social Worker of the Year Awards event as Andrea Bassi won ‘Children’s Social Worker of the Year’ and the Trust scooped the gold for ‘Supportive Social Work Employer of the Year’.

The annual awards, which are supported by local authorities, professional bodies, and sponsors across the sector, celebrate social work excellence at every level: from students and newly qualified workers to experienced managers and lifetime achievers.

James Thomas, Birmingham Children’s Trust Chief Executive, said: “Winning two Social Worker of the Year awards is testament to the devotion and dedication of all our staff, from those working with and directly supporting children, young people and families to those who are providing extremely valuable support services to enable practitioners to thrive.

“We take great pride in embedding our ‘Connections Count’ practice model throughout the Trust through an innovative training programme, and back this up with authentic staff voices being heard and read through targeted blogs and podcasts.

“It is no coincidence that Andrea Bassi, one of our ‘Connections Count’ podcast hosts has been celebrated as Children’s Social Worker of the Year, as Andrea embodies our practice model every day, being relational, trauma-informed and developmentally sensitive.”

For Andrea, Trust workstream lead for Fostering Sufficiency, it is thoroughly well-deserved recognition for over two decades devoted to supporting children and families in Birmingham.

Andrea, a keen mountain climber, first started working with Birmingham Children’s Services in 2004 and worked across the safeguarding, Children in Care, and Court teams, before working with an adoption team in the voluntary sector between 2014 and 2020.

Since 2020 she has been working with Breathe Trust Connect - a specialist service for people who have lost a child to adoption and want to access therapeutic support.

Said Andrea: "It feels surreal. My name was called, people clapped, cameras flashed, and yet part of me still feels like I'm quietly back in a room with a family, listening, thinking, feeling, doing the work. Something doesn't sit comfortably. I don't do my work for recognition. I believe every child and every parent deserves to feel safe, seen, respected, and valued. And maybe this award is simply a reminder of those small, quiet things. The listening, the slowing down, the noticing, the holding hope. The things that really do matter.

"When I think about the children, parents, and carers I've met, I see their faces, their courage, their pain, their hope. They've taught me what resilience and love look like. In truth, this award belongs to them. I think of my colleagues, their laughter, their reflective questions, the sharetears, the times we've held each other steady. This recognition belongs to them.

"As I reflect on what this award means to me, I do feel something shift. Not pride, exactly, more a sense of deep gratitude. A quiet acknowledgment that the way I've chosen to work - with empathy, compassion, reflection, and connection - has value beyond what I see in the moment. These things bring the power to make a difference.

"I want to carry this forward gently. Not as a badge, but as a responsibility. I pledge to keep speaking up for relationship-based practice, to keep holding space for the voices of families, and to keep reminding others (and myself that connection really does count). For now, I'll let myself breathe. I'll let myself feel seen, and I'll trust that it's okay to accept this, not as a spotlight, but as light shared among all of us who care for children and families."

The ‘Supportive Social Work Employer’ gold award recognised how the Trust has embedded its practice model ‘Connections Count’ into the heart of practice across the organisation. Judges appreciated how the Trust has provided practice model training to all staff, as well as the regular publication of specific ‘Connections Count’ themed blogs and podcasts, written by and starring Trust staff from across the organisation.

Adam Birchall, Principal Social Worker at Birmingham Children’s Trust, who attended the Awards ceremony, said: “I think it’s a real pleasure working at the Trust as we have a culture of supportiveness and respect as well as recognition that carries across the organisation. From individual and group supervisions to our fantastic learning offer and our truly inclusive staff wellbeing offer to our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion offer, we value every single employee and want them to develop and thrive in the Trust.”

“Winning the ‘Supportive Social Work Employer of the Year' Award is further recognition that we are a leading employer that loves to celebrate the achievements of our staff. Whether that is delivering ‘Big Thank-Yous’ for World Social Work Day, or shout outs in our chief executive’s weekly blog, every time we say thank you, we know this motivates colleagues who are delivering vital work in ever challenging situations.”

 

The Trust was recognised for its comprehensive training offer, led by the Learning Academy, its drive around supporting staff wellbeing, including delivering the TRiM programme, a trauma-focused peer support system and its investment into services through the Trust 25 programme. 

In addition, the Trust’s commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion was highlighted, ranging from celebrating key events such as Eid and Black History Month, to a weekly EDI news broadcast and staff events, giving focused time to explore issues such as micro-aggressions and gender identity.