Five Rivers Child Care has been awarded the prestigious Employer of the Year accolade at the National Children and Young People Awards 2021.
The National Children and Young People Awards are held annually and recognise individuals and organisations across the child care sector who are passionate about creating better outcomes for children in the care system.
Five Rivers Child Care is one of the UK’s most experienced practitioner lead services in turning around the lives of vulnerable children and young people. The organisation had been shortlisted for four nominations across three categories, including Employer of the Year, Children’s Home Team of the Year, and Home Manager of the Year.
Two of Five Rivers’ registered managers were finalists for the Children’s Home Manager of the Year Award in the South region, namely Naome Cynthia Muzeremwi [manager of Five Rivers’ Clannad children’s home], and Chelsea Bryan who heads up the organisation’s Orchard children’s home.
The home team at Five Rivers’ Avon House were named as a finalist in the Children’s Home Team Award category.
Five Rivers was announced as the winner in the Employer of the Year category at the Children and Young People Awards ceremony on Friday, October 22, and their unveiling came as a moment of immense pride and delight according to Nicci Willock, Five Rivers’ children’s services director.
Willock said: “I am so proud that we have been named Employer of the Year. We invest so much in our people, and they invest so much back in return. Our staff and Foster Carers show courage, dedication and perseverance every single day, and they do one of the most important jobs. It’s their work with one another and the work they do with our children which creates the positive culture we have here at Five Rivers Child Care.
“We’re delighted that our commitment to providing an excellent level of care to our colleagues, foster carers and children, shone through when we were interviewed by the judging panel. As much as it was about demonstrating the systems, processes, training, support, and infrastructure we have here, it was so clearly about our colleagues, and their dedication to the work they do, that helped us to achieve this award.”
Reflecting on Five Rivers’ work throughout the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, Willock added: “Being a social enterprise enables us to give back to children’s services in a meaningful way and prioritise providing an extra level of care and training to colleagues. We put our values and mission at the heart of everything we do and are very proud to have been recognised for our achievements.
“It’s always an imperative of ours to focus on the working culture that we provide here at Five Rivers. We need to pay close attention to how we look after our staff and carers, now more than ever. These incredible people have been on a very tough journey over the last two years and have come to work and opened their doors for children when many were closing.”
Willock also took the time to pay tribute to Five Rivers’ three finalists in the other award categories, and all at Five Rivers who helped make their success possible.
“We also want to say a huge congratulations to our two registered managers who were finalists in the Children’s Home Manager Award; Naome Cynthia Muzeremwi from our residential home Clannad, and Chelsea Bryan from The Orchard, who was highly commended for her work at the award ceremony. Also, to the exceptional team at Avon House – congratulations on being a finalist in the Children’s Home Team Award.
“Thank you also to all our staff and Foster Carers in the Five Rivers family, that help deliver our mission of turning children’s lives around. Without you, we simply could not offer the excellent level of service and care that we have been recognised for with this award.”
Photo by Max Kleinen on Unsplash
