Emma Topham was pleasantly surprised to learn she had won the trust’s Exceptional People Award for July – a fabulous way to brighten an already hot and sunny summer.

A children’s speech and language therapist with the trust since 2016, Emma is known for being incredibly effective in her role and a steady source of knowledge. She consistently goes above and beyond what is asked of her and maintains a positive rapport with pupils and parents in Oxfordshire.

Pamela Cotter, who nominated Emma for the award, said: “She is outstanding in her ability to engage our pupils, assess them and provide clear recommendations alongside high quality resources for our staff and parents to use, and the progress of most has been accelerated significantly due to this fantastic specialist support.

“Emma has proven herself time after time to be proactive and creative in her approach. She has met with parents and pupils in the school holidays to provide evenly spaced visits in a timely fashion; this is to name but one committed way that she works.”

When she learned that she had won the trust’s monthly award, Emma said: “It was a lovely surprise when I found out I had won, and I am so grateful for being nominated.

“Every minute of every school day, communication is key to social, emotional, functional and academic progress and I feel proud to be able to say that myself and the wonderful team that I work in play a part in helping to make this happen.”

Emma will receive a certificate and our thanks for her valued service to the trust and patients.

Every month we recognise and reward a team or staff member that has made a real difference to the trust, our people and our patients. Nominations are welcome from staff, service users, patients, or friends and family of service users and patients. If you would like to nominate someone exceptional you can download a form here.