We’re delighted to congratulate Amy Allott-Thomas, one of our alumni, for winning the “Rising Star” award in Bradford Council’s Service Excellence Awards.

Open to anyone working for the council, the award recognises the potential of someone in the first five years of their career with a commitment to making change happen.

Amy was in the final stages of her training with us when she received the award and was absolutely delighted:

“I really do want to thank my manager and my team for being so brilliant to work with.

“They’ve been incredibly supportive and so encouraging whilst I’ve been here and given me some great opportunities to learn.”

Nominating Amy for the award, Viceina Brown, Social Care Manager explained:

“Amy is a pleasure to work with and her eagerness to improve her knowledge and develop her skills is an asset which will support her development as a social worker.

“She is a strong advocate of person-centred care, always working “with” the service user and accepting they are the experts of their lives. She is excellent at identifying their strengths and balancing them with her knowledge of community support.

“One of the service users Amy worked with recently was at threat of eviction from his care home.  She built a good relationship with the man and the care home team, and together – with additional support sourced and continuously reviewed by Amy – they’ve managed to keep him where he is.

“It was great outcome for the service user. He’s not had to manage another move, which would have been disruptive to him and his mental health. And, more importantly he is happier than ever at the care home.”

Helping people live the life they want to live

Amy is passionate about helping people to live the life they want.  Having enjoyed learning about how legal frameworks can be used to support people, she’s keen to complete her Approved Mental Health Professional training.

“People often think being an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) is just about carrying out mental health act assessments and detaining people but there’s so much more to it.

“It’s about using the law to help people to live their lives, promoting independence and recovery, and finding the least restrictive way to support people.”

Amy’s clearly had a brilliant start to her career in mental health social work and we wish her every success in the future.