Rob Fordyce, Principal Social Worker and Head of Service for Quality Assurance and Practice Development and Sofia Paciukanis, Child Protection Social Worker

We’re pleased to announce our next CSWM Award winner. After considering October’s nominations from across the region, our panel from Wakefield have selected Kirklees’ Sofia Paciukanis for her outstanding practice.

Sofia was nominated for her “transformational” work in child protection, demonstrating empathy, compassion and a cool head for de-escalating stressful situations. She also manages to find the time to support students on placement, deliver assessments training, and lead a working group on use of language within social work.

“The nomination clearly evidenced the impact of Sofia’s practice when working with children and families. The information reflected her ability to challenge during a time of conflict and how she helped a father to understand the impact of his behaviour on his children. Sofia clearly goes above and beyond for her colleagues and the wider service.  Keep up the great work Sofia!”

Judges: Cheryl Whitehouse, Assistant Director and Jenny Smith, Principal Social Worker - Wakefield Council

The nomination itself included some feedback from the young people and families Sofia works with, which highlights the real positive impact she has had on the community:

“Sofia really advocated for 'D' and championed for her to have a relationship with her half siblings. 'A' feels Sofia went the extra mile for D and if it wasn’t for Sofia, 'D' may have not had the relationship she deserved with her siblings.”

“’X’ shared that she really liked Sofia’s ‘No nonsense attitude’, she said ‘when your in that situation you need someone to be firm and tell you how it is’. ‘X’ always felt this was done in partnership not against her. Sofia is very transparent and breaks things down step by step to help you understand.”

Sofia’s work has also been recognised by senior colleagues from Kirklees:

“We’re delighted that Sofia has been recognised for her fantastic practice in Kirklees – this is a thoroughly deserved award. “Applauding our practitioners is very important to us, so to be recognised by others outside of the authority is a privilege. We’re immensely proud of our social work teams here in Kirklees and of the high standards we achieve in supporting our families.” – Vicky Metheringham, Service Director for Family Support and Child Protection, Kirklees

On receiving the award, Sofia shared her appreciation:

“I am really happy and proud of myself to receive this award from CSWM and to represent Kirklees Council.

I have been a Child Protection Social Worker for seven years and, although the job is difficult, I love working with children and families and making a positive impact on the lives of children in our borough.

It is lovely to be recognised for the hard work that my colleagues and I do every day.”

The CSWM Awards are our monthly award which celebrates social workers who go above and beyond. Each of our partner local authorities and adoption agencies can make one nomination per month. The winner is picked by our guest judges - senior colleagues from different local authorities.