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Celebrating professionals across children’s services and the young people they support.

Frontline Awards 2026 

Please submit your nomination for the Frontline Awards below.

Full category criteria

Any questions email events@thefrontline.org.uk.







Please note, all nominees need to be aware of the nomination before you can submit this nomination form. You cannot proceed with this form.






- Descriptions of those on the shortlist will be published in connection with the awards; by entering, you agree to reasonable use of your name, image and contents of your submission in promotional material and news reporting.

- Winning entries will be displayed on Frontline’s website and social media accounts; and as a condition of entry and/or acceptance of any award a licence is granted to Frontline for these purposes.

The Frontline Award for Leadership


This award recognises an individual social worker who is demonstrating excellent social work leadership within a local authority, improving social work delivery to benefit children and families.


This category is open to social workers working in statutory social work in children’s services.

You do not need to be a manager to be nominated for this award. We believe that by tapping into leadership skills, all social workers can inspire positive changes, big and small, within their own practice, teams and across services.


Nominations should highlight the following:

  • The leadership skills demonstrated by the nominee and what impact this is having for children and families
  • The ability to set a clear direction and collaborate with/support others to deliver complex work.


  1. How the nominee is demonstrating excellent social work leadership within a local authority? In your response please include what leadership skills make the nominee stand out as an excellent leader. 

  2. What impact their leadership is having on children and families? 





The Frontline Award for Practice


This award recognises an individual frontline social worker who is delivering excellent practice which is helping to improve outcomes for children and families.

  • This category is open to social workers working with children and families.
  • We are looking for an existing example of excellent practice and the impact this is having for children and families.
Nominations should demonstrate the following:
  • A strengths-based approach to social work practice
  • A commitment to engaging the whole family, listening to children and building effective relationships
  • The ability to be able to balance strengths and risks
  • Children front and centre of all decisions


  1. How the nominee is delivering excellent social work practice? Think about what makes the nominees practice stand out to you and how they hold children front and centre of all decision making.

  2. How the nominee is improving outcomes for children and families through their practice? Please share an example of excellent practice demonstrated by the nominee when working with a child, young person or family.





The Frontline Award for Innovation


This award recognises innovation within children's services, helping to create social change for children at risk of harm.


We are looking for evidence of a new idea, initiative or service that is being or has been developed and implemented to create lasting change for children at risk of harm.

  • This category is open to groups of up to three people who are working together on an innovation.
  • Larger groups can be nominated for the team of the year award if they meet all the relevant category criteria.
  • Results may not have been fully realised yet but a clear statement of anticipated outcomes and performance against the objectives of the innovation should be explained.


  1. What new idea, initiative, or service the nominee is developing / has developed to create lasting change for children at risk of harm?
  2. How this innovation is helping to create social change for children at risk of harm? Please include a clear statement of anticipated outcomes and performance against the objectives of the innovation. 





The Frontline Award for Team of the Year


This award recognises a team of social workers who have done outstanding work to improve support for children and families. This will be awarded to the team judged to have created the most impact through their collaboration.

  • At least one member should be a practising social worker within children’s services. 
  • Nominations should demonstrate how the team has taken individual strengths and brought these together to collaborate and create change. 
  • Please note when we say team we are referring to teams who work together regularly and not project teams. 
  • A team can be made up of a maximum of 10 people, with two members of the team to represent the group at the award ceremony if they win the final award.





  1. What strengths do different team members hold?
  2. How has this team coming together/collaborating improved outcomes for children and families?



The Frontline Award for Young People


This award recognises up to three individual young people with first-hand experience of the social care system and will be awarded to a young person for their achievements, or to recognise that they have gone above and beyond to help create change within the sector.


  • This category is open to any person with first-hand lived experience of the social care system between 16 and 25.We welcome nominations on a variety of achievements. 
  • An achievement could be in education, sport, music, art, dance and many more.
  • For a nomination around creating change in the sector, we are looking for evidence of how they are working to help create change for children and families.



Please note this award category is only open to young people with lived experience of the social care system who are between the ages of 16 to 25. You cannot proceed with this form.



Young People upload
  1. Details on the young persons achievement and / or how the young person is working to help others to create change
  2. and/or how they are working to create change within the sector for children and families



The Frontline Award for Multi-Agency Partnership of the Year


This award recognises a multi-agency partnership that has successfully worked together to safeguard and support children and young people.


A partnership must involve a local authority children's service and their work with one or more organisations such as health, education, the police, youth justice, a charity... all working to provide a coordinated and effective response to the needs of children and their families.


We are looking for evidence of how this partnership has improved outcomes for children and young people. Nominations should demonstrate: 

  • Shared aims between organisations and joint decision making 
  • Effective information sharing 
  • A child centred approach


  1. What organisations are involved with the partnership?
  2. What are the main aims of this multi-agency partnership and how this has improved outcomes for children and young people? What strengths do different organisations bring to this collaboration?   




Thank you for completing your nomination. Please let us know if you would like to be kept up to date on Frontline's work.