Chris, who has been with child care provider Care UK for seven years, beat off stiff competition from across Wales to achieve this remarkable award. Six semi-finalists where whittled down to just three finalists, and Chris received his award at a glittering ceremony held at City Hall, Cardiff.

Said Chris: "I am delighted to have won this award, which is really about the level of service we all provide for children in our care. My thanks go to my colleagues who have supported me in my work, and to Care UK which has not only supported me in my career, but also paid for my parents to attend the award ceremony."

Mario Kreft, chief executive of Care Forum Wales, added: "This year we received a record number of entries and have presented more awards than ever before. It has been a pleasure to recognise the commitment and contribution of all the finalists and the winners. Each and every one of them should be very proud of their achievement."

Chris's success follows the news that Care UK Children's Services, the child care provider responsible for the education and care of hundreds of vulnerable children around the UK, has achieved A Grade Centre status for NVQ Assessment. The training team of four is headed by training manager Zahra Leggatt, and she and her team are responsible for the training requirements of 125 members of staff.

NVQ external verifiers confirmed that very few centres are given the award and that the programmed delivered at Care UK Children's Services is "outstanding." Jan Wood, NVQ External Verifier who works closely with the Welsh Assembly Government and Care Council for Wales, went on to say: "This is an exceptional centre. Candidates really do develop into reflective practitioners and must therefore enhance service."

Ten pupils, from schools run by Care UK Children's Services at Ditton Priors and Cornmill in Shropshire, sat their GCSEs and all 10 have passed at least one exam, which is the Government target.

One pupil achieved five GCSEs, two pupils four and three pupils achieved three. This is the second year in a row that youngsters from Care UK have beaten the Government target for GCSE results in their group.

Child care provider Care UK operates services for "looked after children", including residential children's homes, fostering and education, under contract with local authorities.

Mark Williams, Referrals and Admissions Director at Care UK Children's Services, commented: "We are delighted for our GCSE pupils. There is so much publicity about "looked after children" underperforming in education, but we have proven that with the right support and despite the challenges in their lives, such youngsters can achieve results comparable to their colleagues in mainstream education. My congratulations go to our GCSE pupils and the teams that have helped them with this achievement."

Care UK Children's Services can be contacted on 01694 724488.

Little Islands has 24 beds in 13 homes, providing quality, bespoke care packages for young people with behavioural difficulties. The acquisition expands Care UK's children's services further following the acquisition of Promoting Positive Lives and Mosaic Social Work Services earlier in 2006. Care UK now provides children's residential and education services in the North West, Wales, the West Midlands and the South West.

John Turk, Managing Director, Care UK Children's Services, said: "Little Islands meets our strategy of enlarging our geographic footprint in key areas and complements our existing portfolio of homes by increasing our service provision in urban settings."

Jeanette Young of Little Islands said, "We wanted to find a buyer who would be able to offer additional opportunities to both our staff and young people. We felt Care UK was a great match and look forward to developing some really exciting services for young people."

Angela Geer has been appointed as development director for Care UK Children's Services.

Angela began her career as a Senior Residential Social Worker at Cheshire Social Services Department and, during her carer, has also qualified as a teacher. Following progressively more senior appointments within social work and education including a period with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Hong Kong, Angela was appointed Head of Residential Social Work at Corvedale Care in the early 1990s. Angela has been principal of the Riverside School in Cumbria and Head of Education at St Piers National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy (NCYPE) in Surrey before becoming Director of Corporate Services and Development at Sedgemoor, Somerset, for the last five years.

Angela brings with her a wealth of experience in developing children's services across both care and education.

Mark Pomell has been appointed as Head of Service for the Fostering Support Group based at Care UK's Crystal Palace Office. Mark's previous role was Head of Children's Services at the London Borough of Westminster.

Mark has a wealth of childcare and fostering knowledge. In Mark's six years at Westminster he built a diverse fostering service to 160 foster carers who supported 190 young people in placement. Mark will take over responsibility for the Fostering Support Group and for developing Care UK's fostering services working with colleagues across Children's Services.

John Turk, managing director of Care UK Children's Services, commented: "We are delighted that Angela and Mark have joined us to develop our already expanding Children's Services division. We are fast becoming one of the leading providers of care services to children in England and Wales, and the skills and expertise that Angela and Mark bring to our team will help us to develop that role."