Parent Champions Awards 2021

The Parent Champions Awards ceremony is a major highlight of every year at Coram Family and Childcare. This year was no exception and we were bursting with pride when we received the nominations and learnt about the truly inspiring work of volunteers over the last 12 months.

A massive congratulations to Parent Champions Leicester who took home the crown for Scheme of the Year for their boundless creativity, setting up the delivery of a Citywide Summer Programme called “Get up and Go” in 2020. The judges also wished to highly commend Parent Champions Caerphilly for their work in developing support around early language and wellbeing in response to local need. Both areas have been particularly badly affected by the pandemic and the teams have really risen to the challenge to support their local communities in times of need.

A huge well done to Sian Northey from Caerphilly who won the award for Coordinator of the Year. She was nominated for her excellent partnership work, linking up with Flying Start, Families First, the NHS and the Welsh government. Her nomination illustrated that Sian works with “honesty and passion, no issue is too small for her to take account of.” A special mention to Sophie Jobbings from Camden who was highly commended for her outsanding work in facilitating a conference with volunteers from Little Village, Anna Freud Centre and Camden Blossoms.

Next up, it was time to announce the winner of a brand new award for Virtual Guru to recognize incredible online innovation. Many congratulations to our winner, Denise Martin Alves from Hillingdon who has been using social media to spread the word about the campaign for better childcare in Brent for children with disabilities and special education needs. Well done Denise and to everyone who has embraced new technology this year!

The award for Biggest Impact went to Lin LUI from Croydon who has been involved in a range of new groups this year, such as home learning sessions and has also run virtual events to reach isolated parents. Lin is also very committed to supporting new parents and is opening a breastfeeding cafe at Home Start Croydon. The judges also wanted to highly commend Ciara Audley and Fatimah Goni from Leicester for their tireless work in encouraging families to access daily activities during the pandemic.

Last but certainly not least came the award for Biggest Personal Development. We were delighted to announce that Emilia Zunduevae and Laetitia Khenchelaoui won this category. Laetitia was advised by an engagement worker to join Parent Champions when she saw how much Laetitia enjoyed talking to other parents and sharing information. She has taken part in conferences, interview panels and is now the co-chair of Bright Start Advisory Board in her locality. Emilia spoke very little English but since becoming a Parent Champion, has made a huge impact in a short space of time and is now a paid apprentice in the Bright Start Islington Team.

Megan Jarvie, Head of Coram Family and Childcare said: