Sara Murphy Wins Care Leadership Award

Sara Murphy, Managing Director for Scotland at Community Integrated Care, was named the winner of the Executive Learning Disabilities and Autism Leader Award at this year’s Social Care Leadership Awards on Tuesday 13th October.

This award recognises leaders who have made a significant contribution to improving support for people with learning disabilities and autism, while championing high-quality, person-centred care and supporting the people who deliver it.

The judges were impressed by Sara and her impact. They said: “Sara is a leader who never loses sight of why social care matters – empowering people with learning disabilities and autism to live the best lives possible. Sara leads 135 services across Scotland, supporting more than 630 people and enabling over 1,700 colleagues. Despite the scale of her role, she remains deeply connected to the people, families and teams she works with. For these reasons, the judging panel is delighted to recognise Sara as a deserving winner.”

Sara has more than 27 years’ experience in social care and started her career as a Support Worker. Since then, she has held a range of leadership roles across the private and third sectors, helping to develop specialist support for people with complex support needs and championing innovative, person-centred approaches across Scotland.

Since joining our charity as Managing Director for Scotland in 2023, she has led significant improvements in quality and outcomes across our services. Today, she oversees 135 services supporting more than 630 people and 1,700 colleagues. Under her leadership in Scotland, more than 80% of services have achieved a Care Inspectorate rating of Good or above, while our Housing Support Service across Perth & Kinross and Forth Valley, achieved an Excellent rating across every area assessed.

Alongside her role at Community Integrated Care, Sara is a board member of the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland, where she helps represent the interests of not-for-profit social care providers and contributes to shaping discussions about the future of social care in Scotland.

Speaking about her award, Sara said: “I’m incredibly proud to receive this award. I started my career as a Support Worker, so I’ve seen first-hand the difference that great social care can make to someone’s life.”

“For me, leadership is about creating the right conditions for people with learning disabilities and autism to have choice, opportunity and control, while making sure the colleagues supporting them feel valued and able to do their very best work.”

Karen Sheridan, Chief Operating Officer at Community Integrated Care, said: “Sara combines strong leadership with a genuine understanding of what matters to people with learning disabilities and autism. She has brought real ambition to our work, improving the quality of services, championing new approaches and ensuring colleagues feel valued and supported.”

She continued, “Over the past few years, Sara has helped drive significant improvements across our services in Scotland while also playing an influential role in wider conversations about the future of social care across the UK. We’re delighted to see her recognised with this well-deserved award.”

The Social Care Leadership Awards celebrate excellence in leadership across the sector, recognising individuals making a significant difference to people’s lives and the future of social care. We were also proud to have Managing Director, Samantha Brennan, shortlisted for the Lifetime Achievement Award and our CEO, Jim Kane, named in the Top 10 of the Social Care Top 30 list.