The organisers of the Social Worker of the Year Awards issued an appeal for nominations in Surrey and beyond today (June 21).

The Awards provide a platform to showcase outstanding social workers in Surrey who have gone the extra mile to make a positive difference to the lives of individuals in their local community.

Last year, Shaira Makorie, a social worker at Achieving for Children in Kingston won the silver award for ‘Team Leader of the Year, Children’s Services’.

Ms Makorie’s team supports young people looked after and leaving care from age 16-25, supporting them through the transition into adulthood, including safe and suitable accommodation and education training and employment, all of which helped her secure the gong at last year's ceremony.

Among the sponsors for this year's event are Sanctuary Social Care, who deal with social work recruitment.

Ahead of the closing of nominations next month (July 19), Sanctuary Social Care director James Rook said the recruiters were proud to sponsor the event and urged people to nominate great social workers from their communities.

"We are very proud to be able to support these awards, which help improve understanding of the challenging and complicated work which children’s and adult social workers do every day and give recognition to some of the unsung heroes in our communities," he said.

"If you have been supported by a social worker, who has gone above and beyond the call of duty, why not nominate them for an award and help them receive the recognition they deserve," Mr Rook added.

For more information and to submit a nomination, visit www.socialworkawards.com