Celebrating our social workers

This week, we celebrated Social Work Week - a week to recognise the many social workers who support vulnerable children, adults and families in times of need.

Here in Sutton we have over 100 social workers working in both Children’s and Adult services. Do take a look at the videos to hear what our social workers do and how they are making a difference.

• Andy, having lived in Sutton for most of his life, became a social worker so that he could support people in his local community.

• Luke told us of his own childhood experiences and how the intervention of a social worker made a difference to his childhood - this spurred him on to become one himself.

• We heard from Laura, Jonathan and Nick about how Sutton is a good place to work, how supportive colleagues and managers are and how the council encourages people to develop.

I want to thank each and every one of our dedicated social workers for all that they do, day in and day out to support, encourage, listen and agree ways forward with those in our community who need some help. After all, more than half of your council tax is spent on Adult and Children’s Social Care, so this is an opportunity for you to hear directly from some of the great people providing these services.

As well as celebrating Social Work Week, we also marked Young Carers Action Day. The theme for this year was 'taking action on isolation'. Sutton Carers Centre provides a Young Carers service to 600 Young Carers in Sutton to support their wellbeing. A Young Carer is someone who cares for or is impacted by someone in their family - usually a parent or sibling - who has a physical illness, disability, and/or a mental health or substance misuse issue.

Sutton Young Carers Ambassadors adopted the national theme alongside their own local one of #StoriesNotStatistics to explore what solitude means to them. They also compiled a 'Solitude Music Playlist' for those moments when they need a bit of a lift when feeling alone, or when they need to block out the noise of the world. The playlist includes 'We are the champions' by Queen and 'Extraordinary Being' by Emelie Sande.

As well as providing funding for the Young Carers Service, we also have two Carers Champions, Cllr Marlene Heron and Cllr Chris Williams. They said:

“We are truly proud of all our Young Carers and how our Young Carers Ambassadors are supporting other Carers with positivity and love. Sharing their knowledge and experience, they have created resources that will help young people in similar situations to find support or simply some time for themselves. Another amazing example of how much they give to our community”.

It is estimated that there may be up to six Young Carers in every classroom - that could be over 2,500 Young Carers who may need support. If you know someone who is a Young Carer, then please direct them to Sutton Carers Centre.

And finally, this week saw the 'launch' of the new Children, Young People and Families Directory. It has been refreshed in partnership with Sutton Council, Community Action Sutton, Volunteer Centre Sutton and Home-Start Sutton. It contains a list of voluntary organisations who can help in many different ways.

Councillor Marian James