The support worker brothers going ‘above and beyond’ for families and colleagues

For Community Care’s 50th anniversary, our My Brilliant Colleague series invites you to celebrate anyone who has inspired you in your career.

In the latest entry, a social worker from Liverpool City Council has nominated three family support workers – who happen to be brothers – for going “above and beyond” for both families and their co-workers.

I’m nominating my colleagues, Carl, Gary and Danny McCluskey, who are family support workers with Liverpool children’s services – and also brothers.

They have each worked for the authority for over twenty years and have extensive knowledge about supporting the most complex families in the city.

I have worked on cases with each of the brothers and they complete their work with compassion and care. They will go above and beyond to support not only children and families in the city, but also the team members they work with.

Danny, in particular, will go out of his way to make new members of his team feel comfortable and settled. He readily shares his knowledge, and newly qualified social workers learn so much from him about following a trauma-based approach.

Danny also deeply cares for his colleagues and is always at hand to give advice or be a listening ear for anyone who is having difficulties.

Our children’s services are lucky to have these three amazing brothers, who always strive to support children and families in the city.

I have no doubt that there are many, many families who have benefited from the work that the McCluskey brothers have completed with them. The care, compassion and knowledge they each share have changed people’s lives for the better.

How to nominate a colleague

For our 50th anniversary, we’re expanding our series My Brilliant Colleague to include anyone who has inspired you in your career – whether current or former colleagues, managers, students, lecturers, mentors or prominent past or present sector figures whom you have admired from afar.

Nominate your colleague or social work inspiration by either:

• Filling in our nominations form with a letter or a few paragraphs (100-250 words) explaining how and why the person has inspired you.
• Or sending a voice note of up to 90 seconds to +447887865218, including your and the nominee’s names and roles.

Despite the need to provide your name and role, you or the nominee can be anonymous in the published entry.

If you have any questions, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com.