Five Rivers Child Care, whose headquarters are based in Salisbury, has been awarded the Childcare Large Employer of the Year Award at the inaugural Paragon Skills Apprenticeship Awards 2022.

The Paragon Skills Apprenticeship Awards ceremony was attended by individuals and organisations in the social care, childcare, and professional sector to celebrate their contribution to apprenticeships over the past year.

The Childcare Large Employer of the Year Award celebrates the work of organisations who invest in apprenticeship programmes, training, and development.

There were two finalists in the Childcare Large Employer of the Year category that were nominated by Paragon Skills. Following the nomination, an in-depth interview with the judging panel took place virtually with Five Rivers’ Learning and Development Manager, Karen Williams, who discussed the apprenticeship programme at Five Rivers.

Karen said: “I am so thrilled that Five Rivers has been recognised by a leading training provider, Paragon Skills, for our commitment to offering apprenticeships and developing our teams across the organisation.

"We have worked exceptionally hard to ensure that our employees have access to a variety of training and development opportunities as this is a key part of our ethos; investing in our employees and making sure they feel supported so that they can provide the best outcomes for our children and young people.

"I am delighted that our commitment to our people shone through when I was interviewed by the judging panel.

“This award is further acknowledgement of our commitment to our employees following on from our Gold Investors in People accreditation in 2020 and being named Employer of the Year at the National Children and Young People’s Awards in 2021.”

Five Rivers Child Care is an independent fostering provider and a social enterprise, whose headquarters are based in Salisbury but has offices, residential homes and schools across England.

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