17th May 2023 • My Family Our Needs
We welcomed parents and carers to a glittering Bloody Awesome Parents (BAPS) SEND Blog Awards ceremony on 20th April at the Athena, Leicester! It was a fantastic evening of celebration and there were a lot of hugs and tears.
In case you missed it – keep reading to find who went home with an award and to hear from some of the finalists and BAPS Awards supporters.
This year marked the sixth BAPS Awards, which originally began over a glass of wine or two. My Family Our Needs and event co-founder Debs decided to join forces to create something that recognises Bloody Awesome Parents. Debs mentioned the lack of a dedicated SEND blog awards to MFON and so, the BAPS Awards was born.
The BAPS Awards allow SEND bloggers to be recognised for their talents, stories and families – from the everyday to the exceptional. They showcase the valuable contribution SEND bloggers make in raising awareness of additional needs, both within the SEND community and wider society.
Finalists arrived at a red-carpet drink’s reception, with anticipation growing as parents greeted fellow bloggers, caught up with familiar faces and made new friends. Cerrie Burnell, actress, singer, playwright, children’s author and former television presenter for the BBC children’s channel CBeebies, was invited to host the awards. Cerrie put finalists at ease and took the time to interview winners on stage. Her warmth, professionalism and honesty made for a thoroughly enjoyable event.
A night to remember
A giant disco ball shimmered above the stage and the room continued to fill with cheer and emotion as each winner’s name was read out. Many winners were lost for words at the sheer disbelief of winning but once the wonderful three-course dinner was served, the party really began, and the dancing took hold. The BAPS Awards really is a night off for parent carers and there was so much happiness in the room. Parents supported each other and listened to each other’s challenges and joys. BAPS provides a rare and intimate space for parents to be themselves.
There were 10 award categories – a real testament and acknowledgement to the number of areas that parents and carers are championing and excelling in. Categories included, ‘Blog Post with the Biggest Impact’, ‘Best Use of Media’, ‘Newcomer’, ‘Bloody Awesome Parent of the Year’, ‘Educating Education’, ‘Mental Health Champion,’ ‘Championing SEND’, ‘The Truth about SEND’, ‘Community Support’ and ‘Making a Difference’.
Deserving recognition
Margaret Sutherland, author of A&Me, who writes about her son Rhys and how his diagnosis of autism has changed her life and the way her family operates, won the ‘Blog Post with the Biggest Impact’ award. Writing about her BAPS experience, she said, ‘As the words were read, I realised that they sounded familiar, but still, I couldn’t bring myself to think they could be speaking about me. The words were being spoken to over a hundred people, and they were all listening. Then it was confirmed, “The winner is A&Me!”
‘I stood and walked to the stage, and all I could think was “Do not fall over!” You think of strange things in times of stress and anxiety, and these were my only thoughts, not to make a tit of myself!
‘When you type and share your story with thousands, it is done behind a screen, and your words are sent out into the social networking world, comments and likes come back, but standing on the stage, holding an award made me realise that there are real people on the other side of the screen. There are people reading my stories, and my posts so make an impact.’
Breaking stigmas
BAPS Ambassador, James Hunt, and author of Stories with Autism took the time to have photographs with a number of fellow bloggers and his honesty and appreciation for being there was clear to see.
Speaking to My Family, Our Needs, James said, ‘As an ambassador this year, I get to sit back and enjoy it and take in the whole show. I think it’s really important that parents receive the recognition and it’s great that this year there is an award for parents, not just bloggers. To see people receive the recognition they deserve is amazing and that’s why BAPS is so important.’
Michael and Paul Atwal-Brice, fathers to two sets of identical twins, Levi, Lucas, Lotan and Lance, live in South Yorkshire. The Atwal Brice Family won the ‘Best Use of Media’ award. The fathers have built up a vast network of friends in the charity and media sector, having been ambassadors for Caudwell Children’s charity and AFK charity, working directly to help disabled children across the UK.
Reacting on stage when winning the award, Michael and Paul said, ‘The priority is always the children and to break all those stigmas in life and also to show local authorities don’t mess with us.
‘This award is our award, it’s our children’s award, to show that they are just amazing.’
Join the BAPS community
Dr Carly Jones MBE, My Family Our Needs columnist and BAPS supporter, urged other parents and carers to join the BAPS community and said, ‘I think people should come to BAPS because you don’t only get to see people to hear about their home care duties but it’s also about raising awareness of disability. You also hear about campaigning work and find out about the issues that really matter to parents and carers – families can leave that legacy to their children. So, although in many ways it is serious, it’s ‘responsibly silly’ because we all have a really good time. You’re missing out if you’re not here. Everyone is just lovely and caring, and everyone wants everyone to have the best time and that’s so rare.’
So, who were our 2023 winners?
Blog Post with the Biggest Impact
Congratulations to A and Me blog
Best Use of Media
Congratulations to the Atwal Brice Family
Newcomer
Congratulations to mummyandherthree.autism
Thank you to VoyageCare for their #BAPSAwards award sponsorship.
Bloody Awesome Parents of the year
Congratulations to Emma Appleby
Thank you to Care Choices for their award sponsorship.
Educating Education
Congratulations to Victoria Dye. Victoria champions pathological demand avoidance- friendly strategies and emphasises that a person-centred approach is key.
Thank you to Certitude for their award sponsorship.
Mental Health Champion
Nicola Reekie from the PDA Space. Nicola arranges monthly webinars, runs online support groups.
Championing SEND
Congratulations to Tigger Pritchard. Tigger promotes positive neurodivergent acceptance.
The Truth about SEND
Congratulations to Steph’s Two girls uses her platform to give advice to other parents and writes about her own journey with our own two girls.
Community Support
Congratulations to Born to perform dance school. Born to Perform is an inclusive and fully accessible dance school.
Thank you to Macintyre for their award sponsorship.
Making a Difference
Congratulations to Emma Murphy from INFACT. Emma campaigns to represent every affected person in the UK harmed by Sodium Valproate and other AEDs in Pregnancy.
Thank you to ChoiceSupport for their headline sponsorship.
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