We are very excited to announce we have been named as a finalist in not one, but two prestigious awards! The National Children and Young People Awards celebrate excellence in care for young people and their families, showcase innovation and best practice and pay tribute to those who excel in quality care provision.

Jake Shelton, Registered Manager of Wings School Notts, is the first of our fantastic finalists, having been shortlisted in the Children’s Home Manager Award. In his leadership roles at the school, Jake has created and led initiatives and ways of working which have significantly reduced negative contact with police, incidents of self-harm and episodes of missing from care.

Jake has embedded a range of training that makes sure the team are aware of what individual needs young people may come to the school with, so they can begin supporting them correctly from the day they join – this includes training on working with children who identify as a different gender, CSE, drugs and alcohol, mental health and others.

Driven by Jake, this training allows staff to best equipped to work positively with not just the young person affected but to also support the other young people at the school, informing their language and interactions.

The second of our fantastic finalists is David*, a young person who was previously supported in one of our residential schools. He has been shortlisted in the Leaving Care category.

David was nominated as he has worked hard to develop positive and appropriate relationships with adults and his peers and is determined to succeed. He achieved his GCSEs and has been supported through studying health and social care.

David has now left his school but not for long. He will return as an apprentice as he has decided he wants to work as a learning support assistant while continuing his studies in Level 2 ‘Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools’.

Jake and David will now both be interviewed before the winners are announced at an awards ceremony to be held on October 24^th.

Paul Brosnan, our Chief Executive has said: “We are delighted that the achievements of both Jake and David have been recognised in this way. Being named as finalists is testament to their hard work and we are very much looking forward to the awards ceremony in October.”

We wish them both the best of luck and will be keeping everything crossed for the night!