Leanne Squires is the registered manager of Staffordshire Supported Living which supports individuals living with learning disabilities, mental health needs and autism offering personal care within their own homes across the West Midlands. The service, part of the Cygnet Social Care division, supports individuals in their own homes in Bordesley Green, Birmingham and in Wombourne, near Wolverhampton.
She scooped the Supported Living Manager Award at the Great British Care Awards which pay tribute to individuals and teams who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within their field of work. The award recognised the manager who shows vision in developing person centred care and supporting staff to meet the ever changing needs of the residents.
A spokesperson for the Great British Care Awards said: “I was blown away by the way Leanne not only went above and beyond for the service users but her staff too. The creative ideas all to try to have the service a harmonise place to work which then reflects in the care is truly inspirational.”
Describing how it felt to win, Leanne said: “I was amazed to know that I was nominated for this award, but to win it has been overwhelming.
“It has taken many years for me to get to where I am now, and to be recognised for my hard work it is truly amazing.
“I absolutely love my job, and to work with such an amazing staff team that support me in my vision for this service, and for our service users, is a privilege.
“I would also like to recognise the senior management team for their ongoing support which has enabled me to achieve success for Staffordshire Supported Living.”
James O’Neil, Deputy Operations Director for Cygnet Social Care, said: “Leanne’s determination, compassion and leadership to inspire others and people who use services, denotes a generation of leaders that embrace person centred support in a clear fashion.
“Leanne’s vision and direction as a leader in supported living services comes from a place that is organic, genuine and provides her team and her tenants with a safe place, a place of growth and simplicity in approach.
“The successes that Leanne, her tenants and team have achieved is a clear illustration that support derived and provided in a simple, collaborative fashion produces outstanding results.”
Cygnet Group CEO, Dr Tony Romero, said: “Leanne thoroughly deserves to be named Supported Living Manager of the year at the Great British Care Awards.
“At Cygnet Group, we strive to provide the highest quality and standard of care and always put our service users at the heart of what we do. This is demonstrated impeccably by Leanne.
“She is compassionate, motivated and value-driven and she helps to change the lives of service users for the better.”