A Dudley Council officer who has gone above and beyond in her work to help children and young people in Dudley borough has scooped a national award.

Rachael Doyle, who has worked at Dudley Council for 22 years, has been highly commended for her work as part of the Dudley Safeguarding Children Board neglect strategy. The NSPCC GCP2 Elephant Practitioner Award recognises Rachael’s collaborations with teachers, social workers, health professionals, youth workers and family support officers to increase use of the nationally recognised GCP2 toolkit.

Rachael was also given the award for her national work with the NSPCC in developing a preventative measures framework for new parents. She said:

"It’s an honour to have been put forward for this award by my colleagues and I hope my bringing it home will further help to spread awareness of the benefits the toolkit can have here in Dudley borough.

"I am very passionate and committed to the work I do and I will continue to work with other professionals to get the best for our children and young people.”

Recommended for professionals across the borough, the GCP2 toolkit gives a uniform approach to assessing parental and guardian care, and having personally taken the lead on managing and implementing the project including a number of briefing and training sessions she has enabled over 400 practitioners in Dudley borough to be trained to use it. Councillor Sue Ridney, cabinet member for children and young people, added:

"I would like to extend my personal gratitude to Rachael for the outstanding work she has been doing in Dudley borough. Her dedication to helping children and young people across the borough and beyond shines through and this award is very much deserved.”