Finalists Revealed in First Ever Bradford Cares Excellence Awards
Thirty people and teams who work in adult social care in Bradford are looking forward to the first ever Bradford Cares Excellence Awards in November.
They will find out if they’ve won one of ten awards on 5th November when the prizes will be presented at a prestigious ceremony at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford.
The Bradford Cares Excellence Awards 2026 celebrate the outstanding individuals, teams and organisations making a difference across the adult social care sector in Bradford.
They bring together care providers, professionals, partners and stakeholders from across the district to recognise excellence, dedication and innovation within the sector.
Tickets for the awards ceremony are now on sale, and the organisers at the Bradford Care Association are looking forward to hosting the event.
“We’re really excited to be staging the first ever Bradford Cares Excellence Awards to highlight and celebrate the amazing people working in adult social care in Bradford,” said Louise Bestwick, Chief Executive of the Bradford Care Association.
“Everyone’s looking forward to the awards ceremony, which will be a memorable occasion for everyone involved, from our nominees and winners to our sponsors and special guests.”
Sam Dawson, Bradford Cares Quality Lead, said: “It was a real privilege to be part of the judging panel. Reading through the nominations genuinely gave me that warm, fuzzy feeling – they were such a lovely reminder of the brilliant work, care and commitment happening every day across the Bradford district.
“Selecting the finalists was incredibly difficult, as there were so many fantastic examples of people going above and beyond and making a real difference to people’s lives.
A huge congratulations to everyone who was nominated. You should all be incredibly proud of the difference you make!”
In total, 156 people and teams were nominated by social care professionals, care service users and members of the public, and a panel of judges selected 30 finalists across ten categories.
The full list of finalists can be found here – https://bradfordcares.co.uk/awards-night/ – and at the end of this news release.
Care professionals from across Bradford district will be gathering at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford from 6pm on Thursday 5th November 2026 to celebrate the success of all the finalists.
As well as the awards ceremony itself there will be a welcome drinks reception, a three-course meal, live entertainment and a DJ and disco until the end of the evening.
Tickets are available here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-GB/ticketing/bradford-cares-excellence-awards–2026
The Bradford Cares Excellence Awards would not be possible without the support of the following sponsors:
Headline sponsors
Delphi Care Solutions and the University of Bradford
Award sponsors
TL Dallas & Co, Aston Brooke Solicitors, the University of Bradford, JTM Service, Hempsons, Delphi Care Solutions and Citation Professional Solutions.
THE FINALISTS
Frontline Leader of the Year – Community Based Support
Sponsored by the University of Bradford
Kumbirayi Shenje – Home Care Perfection
Rachel Pountney – Creative Support
Sharon Garbutt – Sentinel Homecare Limited
Outstanding Contribution to Care Award
Sponsored by Citation
Dr Robert Holt – The Glen Nursing Home
Lisa Bearder – Well Springs Nursing Home
Victoria Wareham – Northern Healthcare
Care Worker of the Year – Community Based Support
Elitsa Stoyanova – Right at Home Ilkley, Keighley & Skipton
Matthew Moses – Care2Care
Saheed Shah – Supported Lives Services
Frontline Leader of the Year – Care Home
Sponsored by Aston Brooke Solicitors
Courtney Kozlow – Strong Life Care
Dr Robert Holt – The Glen Nursing Home
Tolulope Peter Awotoye – The Bridge Care
Registered Manager of the Year – Care Home
Sponsored by JTM Service
Asma Daji – The Bridge Care
Mujtaba Zahid – Ivolve Care and Support Cranbourne House
Sue Walsh – Well Springs Nursing Home
Registered Manager of the Year – Community Based Support
Sponsored by Hempsons
Salma Begum – Assist Homecare Ltd
Samina Sheikh – AS Care Ltd
Samuel Harrop – Right at Home, Ilkley, Keighley & Skipton
Service support worker of the Year
Georgina Welch – Abbeyfield The Dales Fern House
Melissa Holmes – Home Care Perfection
Sara McMahon – Abbeyfield The Dales Fern House
Innovation in Care Award
Sponsored by Delphi Care Solutions
Be Caring Bradford
Care 24-7 Ltd
The Glen Nursing Home
Wellbeing & Activities Initiative of the Year
Airedale Seniors Collective Project Team – Springbank Care Home / Steeton Court Nursing Home (Spellman Care)
Cooper House Activities Team – Cooper House (Strong Life Care)
Team Behind the ‘Adopt a Grandfriend’ Scheme – Steeton Court Nursing Home (Spellman Care)
Care Worker of the Year – Care Home
Sponsored by TL Dallas
Emily Roberts – Summit Care Group
Joy Umaku – The Malvern Group Limited
Viola Dube – The Bridge Care
Notes for editors:
- The Bradford Cares Excellence Awards are taking place for the first time in 2026.
- They are being organised by the Bradford Care Association and Bradford Cares, an adult social care recruitment platform and workforce initiative managed by the Bradford Care Association in association with other partners.
- The Bradford Care Association was established in 2014 as a non-profit organisation with a voluntary board of directors to enhance care standards throughout the Bradford district, offer support to care providers, and give the sector a voice at a local and regional level.
- To find out more, visit https://www.bradfordcareassociation.org/
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