To my practice educator: ‘You helped me build resilience during challenging times’

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

In this entry, a newly qualified social worker writes about the practice educator who reignited her passion for social work, taught her to approach cases with thoughtfulness and gave her the confidence to successfully complete her placement.

Dear Community Care team,

I would like to nominate my exceptional practice educator, Sandra, who played an instrumental role in helping me complete my placement despite the many struggles I faced.

Sandra’s constant encouragement and unwavering support helped me build resilience during challenging times, and her passion for social work, particularly her dedication to working directly with mothers and fathers, deeply inspired me.

I had the privilege of working alongside her as she developed her innovative direct work cards on neglect – an incredibly powerful tool that has enriched my practice and understanding of this critical issue.

Sandra’s mentorship extended beyond technical knowledge. She also helped me cultivate essential skills such as professional curiosity, encouraging me to look deeper and approach each case with a thoughtful and inquisitive mindset.

Throughout my placement, she was always there to reignite my passion for social work, reminding me of the importance and impact of what we do.

Her belief in my potential gave me the confidence to push through and complete my placement successfully.

Sandra is not only a brilliant social worker but also a compassionate and empowering mentor, who has left an indelible mark on my journey in this field. I am incredibly grateful for her guidance and dedication.

Warm regards,

Natasha

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.