SBC’s stars shine through the night!

The sponsorship-funded event, held this year at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre, celebrates the endeavours of staff who go above and beyond the call of duty in their line of work.

The unsung heroes were selected from more than 350 nominations submitted by members of the public, partners, Councillors and colleagues.

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s Corporate Director for Support Services, Sally Holland , said: “STARS gives members of the public, our partners, councillors and staff the opportunity to nominate teams and individuals they believe have gone the extra mile to deliver excellent service.

“All the people nominated for tonight’s 14 awards work for or in partnership with the Council and have been put forward for recognition by people who work for them, with them, in partnership with them or who have received a great standard of service from them.

“As with any excellent organisation we regard our people as being our most important asset. It is even more important in these difficult and uncertain times to acknowledge those members of staff who go above and beyond the call of duty in their daily work.

“Many of our staff look after the most vulnerable members of our community and may be the only person they speak to. It is important to acknowledge the work our staff do to make Southend such a great place to live and visit.

“I would also like to thank the organisations who have so generously funded this event despite the unprecedented economic circumstances and all those who gave us their STARS nominations.”

Introducing our STARS and why they won:

Winner of the Mayor’s STAR Award, sponsored by Adventure Island: Crematorium Team

This team oversaw the refurbishment of the town’s crematorium and earned huge praise from service users and colleagues alike. One person who nominated the team said: “How lucky we are to have this lovely place to remember our loved ones. Not only have they provided a more open but serene area, the staff always have a smile on their faces and are never too busy to help.” Another said: “My daughter sadly died two years ago. From the day of her funeral I have had amazing support and consideration from this team. I am disabled, but they allow me to drive my car as close as possible to my daughter’s memorial. I have even been offered a cup of tea when the weather has been cold. I cannot praise this team highly enough.”

Winner of the Safe Award, sponsored by Travelers: First Contact Duty, First Contact Children In Need/Public Law Outline (Court) & Children with Disabilities Teams

These three teams all respond to concerns reported to the Council about a child's safety or welfare. They are inspected annually by OFSTED, which this year congratulated them on an 'outstanding result'. The director of a neighbouring authority who led a peer review of the teams’ work in April said: “I wish I could bottle what this team is doing and take it back to my own authority.”

Winner of the Clean Award, sponsored by Cory Environmental: Cycle Southend

The judging panel praised this team for “tirelessly promoting” cycling initiatives both within the council and externally at a range of events throughout Southend, working “with passion and enthusiasm” to promote cycling to the people of Southend and are helping to genuinely transform Southend in to a cycling town.

Winner of the Healthy Award, sponsored by Access Anyone: Collaborative Care Team

This team has successfully increased the percentage of older people living independently at home through rehabilitation and intermediate care, and received 33 separate nominations! One service user said of the team: “They gave me back my faith in the care industry. I am greatly appreciative to be able to live independently in my own home which I thought was not possible. They are an excellent service and a blessing!”

Winner of the Prosperous Award, sponsored by London Southend Airport: Southend Together Partnership Team

The judging panel found this team “a joy to work with and great ambassadors for Southend and the Council” hugely enhancing the town’s regional profile with their “enthusiasm, ingenuity and passion in their work” which had helped them establish credibility among partners and colleagues alike.

Winner of the Excellent Award, sponsored by Cory Environmental: Susan Fox

Susan, who was described as “the backbone of the Youth Offending Service”, impressed the judging panel by amassing 17 individual nominations. She landed the award for her ability to cope calmly and professionally under pressure and still find time for others. The head of her service said of Sue: “We couldn’t run the service without her.”

Winner of the Community Cohesion Award, sponsored by Swan Housing: Southend Adult Community College Skills for Life Team

Southend Adult Community College was praised for providing in partnership with South Essex Homes a life skills course aimed at assisting tenants with their maths and English qualifications which had made a tremendous impact in Southend's communities.

Winner of the Customer Service (Support) Award, sponsored by ttsp, AECOM and EC Harris: Michaela Baker

The panel were impressed to hear how Michaela had worked out-of-hours to ensure the Council’s Lagan case management system was as accessible as possible to ensure continuous service delivery to the public. They said: “Michaela is truly delivering excellence and is a shining example of going the extra mile, beyond her normal duties.”

Winner of the Customer Service (Customer Facing) Award, sponsored by Smith Davis Press: Benefits Mobile Team

This team was recognised for an innovative advisory service it launched in three local libraries and a family centre earlier this year, which enabled them to deliver services to people who may ordinarily have struggled to get to the Civic Centre.  One person who nominated the team said: “It was so incredibly helpful and reassuring to be able to speak to somebody face to face and to have my claim dealt with on the spot. I was also given information I was unaware of and did not know how to obtain which was extremely appreciated.”

Winner of the Delivering Excellence (Innovation) Award, sponsored by Skanska: Payments, Billing & Debt Recovery Project

This project identified and recovered almost £1million of bad debts from the Social Care field, particularly Adult & Community Services. Their director commented: “Joined up work has resulted in significant and real bankable savings for the organisation.”

Winner of the Leadership Excellence Award, sponsored by Investors in People (East of England ): Shirley Lough

The panel said Shirley was “an inspirational leader” for both her team and her departmental colleagues and was extremely supportive of her staff whenever they experienced either professional or personal problems. One person who nominated her said: “She is an all round excellent manager who we are extremely lucky to have.”

Winner of the Partnership Award, sponsored by Pinnacle psg: Southend Multi-Agency Anti-Social Behaviour Response Team

The judging panel praised SMAART for being “completely dedicated to the task of tackling anti-social behaviour in Southend” and demonstrating the difference that working across agencies in a “fully integrated and co-ordinated way” could work. They said members of the team were resilient individuals who often saw the worst side of the public and worked in extremely challenging circumstances.

Winner of the Team of the Year Award, sponsored by Capita Resourcing: Southend Libraries Audience Development Team

Over the past five years this team has developed a programme of events that is the envy of many library authorities. With no budget or extra funding they host two book festivals, numerous author events with some of the best names around and workshops on everything from learning Chinese to Manga.

Winner of the Employee of the Year Award, sponsored by Atkins: Janet Boughtwood

Janet is the Programme Manager for the Tickfield and Civic Centre Efficiency Projects. The panel praised Janet’s interaction with stakeholders and the charm and humour, professionalism, high level of diplomacy and sensitivity she had displayed during what were often highly emotive meetings.