Celebrating our High Achieving Members
Care First 24 awarded a Gold Standard Commendation
We are really honoured that Skills for Care has awarded Care First 24 with a Gold Standard Commendation in recognition of our work to be more inclusive of social care in Nursing Education and to meet the recommendations of the ‘Strategy to enable social care placements for student nurses and nursing associates.’ Our commendation is also live on the Skills for Care website: Celebrating excellence in supporting nursing education.
Jayne Easterbrook, Development Director at Care First 24, commented, “At Care First 24 we are incredibly proud to have met the recommendations for the student strategy, as a complex homecare provider. Enabling practice learning in people’s own homes is in our view essential to understanding high quality person-centred care.”
Meeting the recommendations is part of a step-change in recognising social care settings as valued and vibrant learning environments, but also as a career option for our future nursing graduates.
Skills for Care commented that they are proud to recognise social care providers, universities, and colleges, that demonstrate exceptional commitment to developing future nursing professionals who understand the value social care as part of an integrated health and care system.
By meeting the Strategy to enable social care placements for student nurses and nursing associates recommendations, these organisations show strong leadership, innovation, and dedication to delivering high quality practice learning environments and curriculum content aligned to the ambitions of the 10-year plan for health.
“Their efforts are giving nursing students valuable hands-on social care experience and helping to build a more confident, capable, and highly-skilled nursing workforce for the future.”
There is no better time to work as a nurse in social care, with so many opportunities and a wide range of experience available in the sector. Care First 24 now offers a rolling apprenticeship programme. A four-year degree to become a registered nurse or a two-year degree for a Nursing Associate. Candidates must be employed by Care First 24 at the start of the apprenticeship and work solely for Care First 24 on a PAYE contract. The benefits are that the student will earn a wage while they learn, with no student loan to pay back, and ongoing support from Care First 24.
Hales Homecare Peterborough Achieves Excellent Rating in Recent PAMMS Inspection
We’re proud to share that our Peterborough service has received an Excellent rating overall in its recent PAMMS inspection.
The report highlighted that:
“Hales Group demonstrates a consistently high standard of domiciliary care provision, with strong evidence of person‑centred practice, robust safeguarding, effective management oversight, and a well‑trained workforce.”
Additional findings noted that service users feel safe, respected and supported by staff who treat them with dignity and kindness. Inspectors also recognised Hales for maintaining effective systems for capturing feedback, learning from incidents and driving continuous improvement.
These results reflect the consistent quality, safety and professionalism delivered by our local team.
Debbie Dennis, Head of Care at Hales Group, commented:
“This outcome reflects our ongoing commitment to delivering trusted, high-quality homecare in Peterborough & Cambridgeshire. We believe great care is about more than completing tasks. It’s about building relationships, protecting independence and helping people thrive, in the safety of their own home.”
"We’d like to thank our dedicated team in Peterborough for their hard work and compassion every single day.”
Home Instead Yeovil, Sherborne and Bridport ranked in the top five percent!
Home Instead Yeovil, Sherborne and Bridport has been ranked within the top five percent of health and social care companies worldwide for three years in a row in terms of care professional satisfaction.
All employees of the home care company were invited to take part in an anonymous survey by independent employee engagement experts WorkBuzz.
Home Instead Yeovil, Sherborne and Bridport is delighted to have received an impressive Care Professional advocacy score of 93%, an overall mark showing how supportive an employer it is. The rating puts them as a global leader in their sector and gives them a ‘5 star’ accreditation.
96% of care professionals said they are treated fairly regardless of race, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation or other differences while 96% said they are well matched to their clients.
Those who receive the company’s care were also surveyed, leading to exceptionally high satisfaction scores. This includes 100% of clients saying they feel safe when their care professionals visit and 96% of clients saying their care professionals have excellent understanding of their care needs.
One review from a client reads: “Home Instead Yeovil offers the gold standard of care to my elderly mother. They not only provide a great team but are also professional and patient when dealing with the family and the inevitable changes that need to be made to the care plan. For us we need to have confidence in every aspect of our relative's care and Home Instead instill that effortlessly.”
Director Mark Hunt says: “winning this award has been one of my proudest moments in my career and that was on the first occasion. It is an amazing tribute to everyone we work with to make this happen and as a happy team we provide the best care to clients as a result. The love shines through.”
Trinity Homecare named finalist in five categories at the 2026 Home Care Awards
Trinity Homecare is thrilled to announce that it has been named a finalist in five categories at the 2026 Home Care Awards, recognising excellence across multiple areas of the organisation.
Trinity has been shortlisted in the following categories:
- Marketing Expertise
- Most Outstanding National Home Care Group or Franchise Network
- Training and Staff Development Expertise
- Development of an Existing Brand, Franchise or Branch
- Live-in Care Expertise
“To be recognised across so many areas of our organisation means the world to us,” said Cameron Young, CEO of Trinity Homecare. “It reflects the compassion of our carers, the dedication of our office teams, and our ongoing commitment to delivering outstanding care to families across the UK. Every day, our team works tirelessly to ensure people receive not only high-quality care, but also the trust, continuity and support that makes living at home possible and fulfilling.”
This multi-category recognition reflects Trinity’s long-standing mission to provide personalised, dependable care that meets the unique needs of every client.
Care First 24's Lynn James Wellings wins Home Care Registered Manager award
At Care First 24, we are absolutely thrilled that our Registered Manager, Lynn James Wellings, has won the Home Care Registered Manager award category at the National Finals of The Great British Care Awards, which was held at the ICC Birmingham, on Friday 27th February 2026.
The Great British Care Awards are a series of regional events throughout the UK and are a celebration of excellence across the care sector.
The purpose of the awards are to pay tribute to those individuals who have demonstrated great practice in all areas of the social care sector, whether it is with older people or specialist services, residential or home care. From frontline staff such as care workers and care managers to people who have made an impact in other ways, such as training or innovation.
Lynn James-Wellings is a true inspiration to her team at Care First 24. She has over 30 years’ experience in the delivery of both domiciliary and complex care in the community and champions the ‘care at home’ agenda. Her current role is as Managing Director and Registered Manager for Care First 24.
Lynn has led by example and is renowned for her commitment to deliver a well-led, person centred service. Her team always come first and Lynn makes it an essential part of her business model to support her team, giving them opportunities to train, progress, and further their career.
She has used her knowledge, skills and dogged determination to not only grow Care First 24 from scratch in January 2022 into a profitable pioneering business with nearly 200 staff, but also reinvested operating profits to create a provider that is innovative and provides care that is personalised and compassionate.
Specialising in complex care, rapid response and personal health budget care services, Lynn oversees a nurse led provision which focuses on delivery of a well-led person centred service. Lynn viewed the recent shift in the CQC's format as a chance for innovation, utilising the updated criteria to advance Care First 24’s commitment to staff welfare.
Lynn also received some lovely comments from the judges in respect of her winning this prestigious award:
“There is no greater honour than caring for someone else’s loved ones, and Lynn embodies this completely. She is truly amazing. Her dedication, compassion, and leadership have left an extraordinary legacy; a thriving business in the hands of her team and 20–30 new nurses entering social care. Lynn’s philosophy, “We are only as good as the last hour of care we delivered,” reflects her unwavering commitment to excellence. Her impact is profound, making her a truly deserving national winner.”
What an incredible evening celebrating excellence in social care, surrounded by so many inspiring finalists and professionals who make a real difference every single day. Congratulations to everyone who was nominated and recognised - you are all amazing!
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to The Great British Care Awards for hosting such a fantastic celebration of talent in social care.
Finally a very special CONGRATULATIONS and thank you to Care First 24’s incredible Registered Manager, Lynn James-Wellings. Her leadership, passion, and dedication inspire us all. What a fantastic achievement!
