Long Service Awards 2026

Not time served, but lives changed: celebrating our Long Service Awards

Colleagues from across iBC Healthcare came together to recognise the people who have been part of the iBC journey for five years or more — and the thousands of quiet, steady days behind every award.

There are moments in the life of an organisation that say more than any policy document ever could. Last week was one of them. Colleagues from across iBC Healthcare gathered at the Cosy Club in Leicester to celebrate our Long Service Awards, recognising 26 colleagues who have been part of the iBC journey for five years or more.

It was a room full of laughter, photographs and the kind of easy familiarity that only comes from years of working alongside one another. But underneath the celebration was something more serious, and worth saying out loud.

Years are easy to count. Impact is not.

Number of years is a number. It fits neatly on an award. What it does not show is what those years actually contained.

Every person honoured has shaped the lives of the people we support — building trust where it was hard won, showing up on the difficult days as well as the good ones, and helping people with complex autism and forensic mental health needs live fuller, more independent lives.

Behind each award sits an enormous number of ordinary days: early shifts and late ones, Christmas and birthdays, hospital appointments sat through, first bus journeys taken together, meals cooked, routines held steady when everything else felt uncertain. None of it makes the news. All of it changes lives.

That is what these awards really mark. Not time served, but lives changed.

Why staying matters so much in social care

In many sectors, long service is a nice-to-have — a sign of a settled workforce. In social care, it is something closer to clinical. It is part of the support itself.

For someone with complex needs, a familiar face is not a small comfort. It is the foundation everything else is built on. Trust takes months, sometimes years, to establish. Once it is there, it carries the weight of difficult conversations, new routines, setbacks and recovery.

A colleague who has been alongside someone for years knows what a change in body language means before a word is said. They know which days will be hard before the day begins.

That knowledge cannot be written into a support plan or handed over in a shift report. It is built, slowly, by people who stay.

When a support worker, team leader or manager stays, the person they support gets continuity — and continuity is what turns support into a relationship, and a house into a home. It reduces anxiety, prevents escalation, and gives people the confidence to try things they would not attempt with a stranger. It is also, quite simply, what good care looks like.

Few Words From Our CEO

“When someone stays with us for five years or more, it is never really loyalty to a company — it is loyalty to the people we support. I see it every time I visit a service: colleagues who know someone so well they can tell what kind of day it is going to be before a word has been spoken. You cannot recruit that, and you cannot train it quickly. It is built, shift after shift, by people who choose to keep showing up.

What the colleagues we are celebrating have given us is not time. It is trust, stability, and the chance for people to live the lives they actually want. These awards are our way of saying thank you for that — and I could not be prouder of them.”

Jenny Payne, Chief Executive, iBC Healthcare

What it says about iBC

Long service is a two-way story. People stay where the work means something, where they are backed when things get hard, and where they can see a future for themselves.

Over the last few years, the colleagues recognised have helped iBC grow across supported living, residential and day services, taken on new responsibilities, trained and mentored new starters, and carried the culture of the organisation forward simply by the way they work. Many joined as support workers and now lead teams and services. Several have supported the same person for the whole of that time.

“Five years ago I joined iBC Healthcare as an HR & Payroll Administrator. Over time I grew into Payroll Team Leader, learning something new at every step and building a team I am proud of. I am grateful for the trust placed in me and for the people I have worked alongside. Thank you, iBC, for five memorable years.”

Ranjita Sharma, Payroll Team Leader, iBC Healthcare

“Celebrating colleagues with five years or more at iBC Healthcare is a proud moment. Their commitment shows what our people bring every day: dedicated support for the people we support, and a collaborative, resilient culture built on shared values. It’s a privilege to lead the function that brings people like this into iBC.”

Arran Perrett, Head of Talent Acquisition, iBC Healthcare

Strong teams create stronger care. That has always been our belief, and these awards are the evidence for it.

Moments from the day

Congratulations to everyone recognised

10 years

Khaliffa Parker — Deputy Manager, Residential

9 years

Abshira Abdi-Abdule — Support Worker

7 years

Gavin Creighton — Team Leader, Residential

5 years

Victoria Achuemi — Support Worker

Olaitan Babajide — Support Worker

Andrew Baume — Head of Estates

Tania Boulting — Support Worker

Shamsa Daud — Support Worker

Emma Evans — Support Worker

Kerryann Gardner — Activity & Admin Co-ordinator, Day Services

Anna Goscombe — Director of Quality & Therapeutic Services

Stacey Green — Support Worker

Jessica Hill — Support Worker

Kayode Idowu — Support Worker

Jo Johnson — Administrator, Residential

Kerry Anne Mannix — Service Manager, Day Services

Abidemi Ogundele — Support Worker

Karim Ouboubker — Support Worker

Sharni Penney — Estates & Maintenance Compliance Co-ordinator

Charlie Potter — Service Manager, Residential

Satyaduth Seesunkur — Support Worker

Ranjita Sharma — Payroll Team Leader

Emly Sharpe — Support Worker

Manoj Tailor — Support Worker

Tanuja Tailor — Support Worker

Sarah Wordingham — Support Worker