There are less than two weeks left to enter the 2026 Accolades, the awards that recognise, celebrate and share excellent work across the social work, social care and childcare, play and early years sectors in Wales.
If you haven’t got your entry in yet – here are five reasons why you should enter your team, project or organisation for an Accolade or nominate a worker or volunteer for an award.
1. Recognising your achievements
There’s lots of excellent work taking place across Wales to help some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. The Accolades are an opportunity to recognise the work you do and a chance for the social work, social care and childcare, play and early years sectors to feel proud of what they have achieved.
2. Increasing staff morale and a sense of pride
You don’t have to win an Accolade to improve staff morale and create a sense of pride, but letting your team or staff members know you feel their work is worthy of entering the Accolades can be an enormous energy and morale booster.
Writing your application or nomination will also give you and your team a chance to reflect on the value of your work, which is sometimes easy to lose sight of until you sit down to look at it objectively.
3. Sharing notable practice and new ideas
Sharing your experiences and what you’ve learned can provide invaluable knowledge to others and help strengthen care and support across Wales. By entering the Accolades or nominating a worker or volunteer for an award, you’re showing your commitment to sharing experiences and learning from others.
4. Improving outcomes for people who use care and support
People work in social work, social care, childcare, play and early years to help improve the lives of people who use their services. The Accolades recognises the hard work that takes place in communities across Wales. By celebrating and showcasing the best of this work, the Accolades can help improve care and support for everyone.
5. Enhancing the image of social work, social care, childcare, play and early years
With seven categories, the Accolades is a platform to show some of the best care and support provision for a range of people. From supporting older people to young children, promoting inspirational leadership to innovative ways of recruiting and retaining of the workforce – the Accolades shines a light on some of the most inspiring initiatives, workers and volunteers from across Wales.
Will 2026 be your project or staff members’ chance to shine?
Make sure you get your entry or nomination in for this year’s Accolades – you have until 5pm on 10 November 2025.