Home page
Donate now
Home page

Submit your nomination

Celebrating fantastic social workers and most importantly the young people they support.

Frontline Awards 2025 

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.







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 social work, helping to create social change for children and families who do not have a safe or stable home.

    • We are looking for evidence of a new idea, initiative or service that is being developed and implemented to create lasting social change for children and families who are receiving support from social workers.  
    • This category is open to groups of up to three people who are working together on an innovation, as long as at least one of them is a qualified and registered social worker (though they do not have to be working as a practicing social worker). 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 and families who are receiving support from social workers?
    2. How this innovation is helping to create social change for children and families who do not have a safe or stable home? 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 or a multi-agency team 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.  

    • For multi-agency teams nominated at least one member should be a practising social worker within children’s services. Other members can be from other professions or agencies. 
    • 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.


    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





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

    Contact Information