Decades of dedication: Long Service Awards 2025

49 members of the Sheffield Children’s family celebrated incredible milestones as they reached 20, 30 or even 40 years of service. 

The Long Service Awards gave them the chance to reminisce about their invaluable contributions over the years, as well as look forward to the future of Sheffield Children’s and how we will continue to provide a healthier future for children and young people. 

In this piece we would like to introduce you to just a few of these remarkable people. 

Finding a home at Sheffield Children’s 

Every person being recognised in the Long Service Awards has provided many years of dedicated effort, compassionate care and excellence – but as it turns out, some of them only took a couple of days to settle in and know they would be at Sheffield Children’s for a long time. 

Yvonne Foster, Domestic Assistant, reached 20 years and said: “When I first started, I thought it was such a big and daunting place – and it is even bigger now! But truthfully it only took me a few days to settle in. The people in my team made me feel so at home and I am still in contact with a lot of them from over the years.”   

The people make Sheffield Children’s 

People was a strong theme for many recipients of the awards, with lots of them crediting the colleagues they’ve worked with over the years as personal highlights of their time at Sheffield Children’s. 

Claire Reeve, Student Liaison Practitioner, has also been with us for 20 years. She started first as a nurse before moving into education and training. 

Claire said: “I wanted to be a nurse ever since I was 16. I witnessed my friend having a seizure and I wanted to be able to help them – I needed to know how to fix that. 

“When I see the impact that people I’ve trained go on to have and the compassionate care they provide, that’s really inspiring.” 

A commitment to safe, kind, and outstanding care 

At Sheffield Children’s we believe that everyone should receive safe, kind and outstanding care. This mindset is demonstrated by Emma Knight, Team Leader Occupational Therapy who celebrated 30 years with us. 

Emma said: “I work in an amazing team at Ryegate Children’s Centre. We really care passionately about the children and families we see. You meet them at a really young age and – as cheesy as it sounds – we walk alongside them as they grow up. I was reminded of one patient recently who is 19, I remember meeting them as a six-month-old!” 

Looking to the future 

With a collective 70 years of service, Natalie Titus, Joanne Ager, and Sally Ridsdale reflected on their time together in the Haematology service.  

Natalie, Medical Laboratory Assistant, said: “I’ve seen a lot of change over the years and when I first started, I was one of the youngest here. Now, it’s exciting to see younger colleagues come in, and I hope to see them evolve and grow into their roles!” 

Sally Chief Biomedical Scientist, added: “We all support each other, and I view my colleagues as family and having that sense of family at work helps the day pass quickly and keeps us all motivated.”  

Celebrating 40 years of dedication 

And finally, Jo Butler celebrated a remarkable 40 years at Sheffield Children’s as a Support Worker and was able to spend the Long Service Awards with colleagues that she herself had recruited as students 20 years ago! 

Jo summed up the mood of the day when she said: “It’s like a second family here. We all care about our colleagues, and the children and young people we see so much. I have grandchildren myself and I wouldn’t want them to be cared for anywhere else but Sheffield Children’s.” 

Congratulations to all our Long Service Award recipients, we hope you’re proud of your fantastic accomplishments and we’re so glad to have you as part of Sheffield Children’s.