Award ceremony offers a chance to shine once more.

It's that time of year again when workers from the social care sector don their glad rags to attend the glittering gala awards ceremony for the 2009 Social Care Accolades, held during Social Care Week.

Yet again this year, there has been fierce competition for the top prizes in social care and 14 finalists from across Wales will be nervously anticipating the opening of the envelopes from the Cardiff City Hall stage.

Hosted by BBC Wales presenter Jason Mohammad, this year's ceremony will feature a keynote speech by the Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas AM.

Competition was strong again this year, making the judging process tough for the panel, who travelled the length and breadth of Wales, visiting those entries that had been shortlisted.

They were looking for evidence of the improvements and achievements that learning and development initiatives had made to the quality of services and outcomes for service users.

Commenting on the Accolades, Jane Powell, development officer of the Ponthafren Association, said: "It's great to be recognised for the work we are doing. The Association is run mainly by volunteers so it's thanks to them that the Ponthafren Association has been such a success at helping so many people."

Similarly, Claire Hughes, who works as part of the RCT CSUIT programme, said: "It's fantastic news to make it to the finals of the Social Care Accolades and be recognised for the hard work we have put in. We are hoping that, after the success of previous years, we are going to make it a hat-trick for Rhondda Cynon Taf in 2009."

The Social Care Accolades are held every two years, and are now established as a key event in the social care calendar.

You will find details about this year's winners in the press after the event, and photos will be on the Care Council website on June 19, www.ccwales.org.uk u cp Offering opportu changing chanc Examples of develop which have led to pro in workers' abilities social care.

unity, ces pment schemes oven improvement and practice in Learning about caring about lea Promotion of social c choice for new recru o a ac caring, arning care as a career of its into the sector.

Community engagement Projects where teams, groups or organisations have worked in partnership with their community to get a better understanding of its profile and needs.

Being a learning organisation An organisation or service which draws on the knowledge and experience of practitioners, service users and carers to inform the ongoing improvement of the organisation and the learning and development programmes required.

Investing in the workforce Innovative and creative learning opportunities or programmes which assist the development and delivery of modern services by actively supporting Continued Professional Development.

Learning together Learning and development programmes involving staff across professional boundaries which have been designed to strengthen and improve the provision of a seamless service.

Language choice and dignity in care

Examples of good practice from across the social care sector from organisations which are providing development opportunities for staff to improve their understanding of the importance of Welsh language sensitivity in effective practice.

Categories of Awards and what judges were looking for