Menu
BCOP is celebrating an outstanding six shortlist places in the West Midlands Great British Care Awards 2026, recognising our people, teams and nursing homes for excellence across care, leadership, workforce development and innovation.
The Great British Care Awards celebrate excellence throughout the social care sector, recognising individuals, teams and organisations that make an exceptional difference to the people they support.
BCOP has been shortlisted for:
BCOP has been shortlisted for the Care Employer Award, recognising our commitment to creating a caring and supportive workplace and investing in the people who provide our services.
Our value of putting People at the heart of everything we do applies to our employees as well as the older people we support.
The Care Employer nomination recognises our commitment to investing in our workforce and creating opportunities for employees to develop their skills and careers through specialist training, apprenticeships and other formal qualifications. Over a number of years, we have changed the ways we reward and value staff, including commitment to the real living wage, personal development, staff appreciation and long service awards. Across our 270-strong workforce, employees tell us they love working for BCOP and it contributes to the stability and longevity of our teams.
Our commitment to learning is also recognised through the shortlisting of HR Manager Caroline Sampson for the Workforce Development Award.
Caroline works across our nursing homes, housing services and Support Office to help employees develop their skills and careers. During 2025/26, employees achieved 28 Level 2 and Level 3 Care Diplomas, alongside apprenticeship opportunities including Nursing Associate, Business Administration and CIH Housing qualifications.
Caroline has also successfully accessed external funding through the Learning and Development Support Scheme and Workforce Development Fund, as well as government apprenticeship funding, helping make these development opportunities possible.
Carla Smith, Manager at Anita Stone Court in Moseley, has been shortlisted for the Care Home Registered Manager Award.
A qualified nurse, Carla is passionate about ensuring residents are living, rather than simply existing. Her approach combines high professional standards with a strong sense of home, belonging and community.
Carla holds regular “Outstanding” meetings involving staff and a resident representative to identify ways the home can continue to improve. She has also introduced initiatives such as Famileo family newsletters, while cultural celebrations, church services, family fun days and other events help residents maintain connections with family, faith and the wider community.
Under Carla's leadership, Anita Stone Court has also achieved the Gold Standards Framework Quality Hallmark for end-of-life care.
The Neville Williams House Care Team, led by Manager Amy Beasley, has been shortlisted for the Care Team Award, with its nomination focusing particularly on the team's excellence in palliative and end-of-life care.
In 2026, Neville Williams House achieved the Gold Standards Framework Quality Hallmark with an exceptional 77 / 77 assessment score.
The independent assessment highlighted the contribution of colleagues throughout the home, from nursing and care teams to activities, domestic and maintenance staff. Compassionate teamwork, proactive care planning and a shared commitment to supporting residents and their families were evident throughout the assessment.
It is a powerful example of how excellent end-of-life care is not the responsibility of one person or department, but something to which the entire home contributes.
Robert Harvey House has been shortlisted for the Care Innovation Award, recognising its forward-thinking approach to supporting people living with dementia.
Innovation can be seen throughout the home, from its 1950s-style Sensory Street and therapeutic environments to Namaste Care, providing personalised sensory-led comfort and engagement for people with advanced dementia.
The home is also actively involved in research and has previously received three ENRICH awards recognising its support for research, complex studies and commitment to championing research within care homes.
Finally, Anthea Reid, Manager of Robert Harvey House, has been shortlisted for the Outstanding Contribution to Social Care Award.
Anthea has dedicated 38 years to BCOP, progressing from a junior role to managing Robert Harvey House.
Throughout her career she has championed excellence in dementia care, research in care homes and person-centred end-of-life care. Under her leadership, Robert Harvey House has continued to embrace new ideas while maintaining the warmth and individualised care valued by residents and their families.
The nomination follows another significant achievement for Anthea and her team: Robert Harvey House was named Palliative Residential Care Provider of the Year 2026 at the national Palliative Care Awards.
The six shortlist places are particularly special during BCOP's 80th anniversary year, reflecting both our long history of supporting older people in Birmingham and our determination to continue developing and improving our services.
They also recognise something fundamental to BCOP: excellent care depends upon excellent people.
From colleagues building their careers with us and managers leading continuous improvement to teams embracing research, innovation and outstanding end-of-life care, we are incredibly proud to see their achievements recognised.
Congratulations and good luck to Caroline, Carla, Anthea, Amy and the Neville Williams House team, everyone at Robert Harvey House, and all our BCOP colleagues who have contributed to this fantastic achievement.