2nd March 2022

Swansea carer wins ‘Dignity in Care’ Award

Tristan Harris was praised by Great British Care Awards judges as someone ‘loved by staff and the people he supports’ at Swansea’s Dan y Coed school and home.

A Swansea carer has been praised for providing ‘Dignity in Care’ after winning an award of the same name in a national awards ceremony.

Tristan Harris took the title at the regional finals of the Great British Care Awards and will now go on to represent Wales at the UK finals this Spring.

Tristan is a Support Worker at Dan y Coed, a specialist home and school for young people with autism in West Cross, Swansea, and was described by the awarding panel as a ‘great asset’ to both the home and to Orbis Education and Care.

Judges of the Great British Care Awards also said they believed that Tristan had ‘found his vocation in life’ after leaving his job in electrical sales to pursue a career in care with Orbis in 2020.

“I feel really honoured to have been shortlisted for this award in the Welsh finals of the Great British Care Awards, let alone to have won it. I haven’t been working in the sector for that long, but the judges are right when they say I have found something that I love doing.” “I came into care during the pandemic, at a time when the sector was facing some of its greatest pressures and found the work to be as rewarding as it has been challenging. I am looking forward to developing my career in care further and possibly managing a home myself one day, and this award has given me the confidence to pursue those goals.”

Tristan Harris Support Worker, Dan Y Coed

Orbis runs 17 schools, residential homes and day facilities for children and adults with complex needs associated with autism, and is one of the UK’s leading specialist providers. The group was awarded three titles overall at the Wales regional finals of the Great British Care Awards.

Colleagues at Orbis Bangeston Hall in Pembrokeshire were also awarded the ‘Covid Hero Team Award’, and Head of Academy Living Kris Davies was named the ‘Care Frontline Leader Award’, at the ceremony in February. All three will now go on to represent Wales in their respective categories at the UK finals in Birmingham this March.

“We are immensely proud of all our nominees and winners at this year’s Great British Care Awards all-Wales final, and of all our colleagues generally here at Orbis Education and Care. “The past two years have been some of the most challenging the care sector has ever had to face, so to have our team’s dedication and passion recognised on a wider scale really is wonderful and thoroughly deserved. “Tristan is a dedicated individual who approaches each day with a warmth and compassion that he never fails to extend towards his colleagues and the people he works so hard to support. Here at Orbis, we can’t think of a more worthy winner of the ‘Dignity in Care Award’,” Suzanne added.

Suzanne Lawrence Chief Executive Officer

Orbis Education and Care are recruiting now at its centres in Swansea and across Wales. For more information about the group visit www.orbis-group.co.uk.