County Council celebrates its Workplace Heroes
A County Council officer who spearheaded the drive for access to free childcare has been named the authority’s Workplace Hero of the Year.
Mark Green won the award after increasing the uptake of free childcare places in Buckinghamshire to one of the highest in the country. This has had a particularly beneficial impact on low-income families. Mark has also gone above and beyond in supporting his staff both professionally and personally.
He was handed his trophy during the County Council’s Workplace Heroes awards ceremony, which was funded by commercial sponsors.
Other staff and teams to be recognised include:
- The Family Resilience Service, which supports families who are going through difficult times. The service received more than 70 compliments from children and parents last year and has been nationally recognised for best practice.
- Rebecca Dengler for progressing and securing funding for developing and delivering cycling schemes throughout the county and building excellent relationships with partner organisations.
- Andrew Bourne, a Building Surveyor, and Hanka Stanford, from School Commissioning, for their tireless cross-departmental work to deliver a new classroom, staffroom extension and car park improvement at Brushwood School in Chesham. Teachers were delighted with their work, which was delivered on time and £500,000 under budget.
- The Swan Unit, which is a multi-agency team focusing on preventing child sexual exploitation and supporting at risk children.
- Cecilia Bool, an independent reviewing officer of children who are in the County Council’s care, for her outstanding ability to engage with children, ensuring their voice is heard whilst also demonstrating high aspirations for them.
- The Highways Development Team, which is responsible for assessing the impact of development proposals, for working under extreme pressure during a busy period whilst still meeting targets.
- Geraldine Trickett,the Senior Coroner’s Officer, for being highly regarded by the legal counsel working on inquests, and excelling in the day to day running of the coronial service.
Buckinghamshire County Council Chief Executive Rachael Shimmin said: “This was all about celebrating the real, positive difference our dedicated staff make to residents’ lives on a daily basis. All of the winners have demonstrated fantastic public service and I’d like to congratulate them on their achievements.”