Cheryl Gillott
May 2026
Cheryl
Gillott
,
RNMH: Mental health nurse, level 1
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
Leicester
United Kingdom
There have been many times when I have felt overwhelmed, exhausted, or frightened for his future, and Cheryl has taken the time to listen, advise, and guide us with kindness and professionalism.
I would like to nominate Cheryl Gillott for the DAISY Award in recognition of the extraordinary care, compassion, advocacy, and dedication she has shown to my son and to our family over many years.
Cheryl has been involved in my son’s care for approximately eight years, supporting him through what has often been an extremely complex and difficult journey involving ADHD, autism, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and significant barriers to education and daily life. Throughout that time, Cheryl has never treated him as simply another patient on a caseload. She has seen him as a whole person: a vulnerable, intelligent young man with enormous potential, but also with needs that require patience, consistency, specialist understanding and genuine compassion.
What makes Cheryl exceptional is not only her clinical knowledge, but the way she applies it. She understands my son’s ADHD in the context of his wider neurodevelopmental and mental health profile. She has consistently recognised that his difficulties are not caused by lack of motivation, poor effort, or unwillingness, but by genuine barriers in executive functioning, processing, anxiety regulation and emotional control. That understanding has been profoundly important, because my son has often struggled to make himself understood by professionals and educational staff.
Cheryl has advocated for my son with clarity and commitment that have made a real difference. Her professional input has helped others understand the extent to which his ADHD, anxiety and processing difficulties affect his ability to function, particularly under pressure. She has supported requests for appropriate adjustments and has helped explain why he needs more than generic support in order to demonstrate his true ability.
At crucial moments, Cheryl has been a steady and trusted professional presence. When he has been overwhelmed, dysregulated, anxious or unable to cope, Cheryl has offered calm, practical and informed support. She has helped us understand what may be happening beneath the behaviour, how best to respond, and how to keep him moving forward when things have felt frightening or unmanageable.
As his mother, I cannot overstate how much Cheryl’s support has meant to our family. There have been many times when I have felt overwhelmed, exhausted, or frightened for his future, and Cheryl has taken the time to listen, advise, and guide us with kindness and professionalism. She has been a source of reassurance, not because she minimises the difficulties, but because she understands them and helps us find a way through.
Cheryl has also played an important role in ensuring he did not feel abandoned during vulnerable periods of transition. For a young person like my son, trust is not easily built, and change can be destabilising. Cheryl’s consistency, warmth and reliability have helped preserve that trust and have provided continuity at times when he was at risk of feeling lost between services.
What stands out most is that Cheryl genuinely cares. Her care is thoughtful, practical, skilled and deeply humane. She combines clinical excellence with compassion, advocacy and emotional intelligence. She has gone far beyond what our family could ever reasonably have expected, and her support has had a lasting impact on his wellbeing, confidence and access to appropriate help.
Cheryl represents the very best of nursing: not only treating symptoms, but recognising the person, supporting the family, advocating when it matters, and making a vulnerable young person feel seen, understood and valued.
For all these reasons, I wholeheartedly nominate Cheryl Gillott for the DAISY Award. She has made an extraordinary difference to his life and to our family, and we will always be grateful for her dedication, kindness and exceptional care.
Cheryl has been involved in my son’s care for approximately eight years, supporting him through what has often been an extremely complex and difficult journey involving ADHD, autism, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and significant barriers to education and daily life. Throughout that time, Cheryl has never treated him as simply another patient on a caseload. She has seen him as a whole person: a vulnerable, intelligent young man with enormous potential, but also with needs that require patience, consistency, specialist understanding and genuine compassion.
What makes Cheryl exceptional is not only her clinical knowledge, but the way she applies it. She understands my son’s ADHD in the context of his wider neurodevelopmental and mental health profile. She has consistently recognised that his difficulties are not caused by lack of motivation, poor effort, or unwillingness, but by genuine barriers in executive functioning, processing, anxiety regulation and emotional control. That understanding has been profoundly important, because my son has often struggled to make himself understood by professionals and educational staff.
Cheryl has advocated for my son with clarity and commitment that have made a real difference. Her professional input has helped others understand the extent to which his ADHD, anxiety and processing difficulties affect his ability to function, particularly under pressure. She has supported requests for appropriate adjustments and has helped explain why he needs more than generic support in order to demonstrate his true ability.
At crucial moments, Cheryl has been a steady and trusted professional presence. When he has been overwhelmed, dysregulated, anxious or unable to cope, Cheryl has offered calm, practical and informed support. She has helped us understand what may be happening beneath the behaviour, how best to respond, and how to keep him moving forward when things have felt frightening or unmanageable.
As his mother, I cannot overstate how much Cheryl’s support has meant to our family. There have been many times when I have felt overwhelmed, exhausted, or frightened for his future, and Cheryl has taken the time to listen, advise, and guide us with kindness and professionalism. She has been a source of reassurance, not because she minimises the difficulties, but because she understands them and helps us find a way through.
Cheryl has also played an important role in ensuring he did not feel abandoned during vulnerable periods of transition. For a young person like my son, trust is not easily built, and change can be destabilising. Cheryl’s consistency, warmth and reliability have helped preserve that trust and have provided continuity at times when he was at risk of feeling lost between services.
What stands out most is that Cheryl genuinely cares. Her care is thoughtful, practical, skilled and deeply humane. She combines clinical excellence with compassion, advocacy and emotional intelligence. She has gone far beyond what our family could ever reasonably have expected, and her support has had a lasting impact on his wellbeing, confidence and access to appropriate help.
Cheryl represents the very best of nursing: not only treating symptoms, but recognising the person, supporting the family, advocating when it matters, and making a vulnerable young person feel seen, understood and valued.
For all these reasons, I wholeheartedly nominate Cheryl Gillott for the DAISY Award. She has made an extraordinary difference to his life and to our family, and we will always be grateful for her dedication, kindness and exceptional care.