Tricia Pritchard, the founder of the British Association for Professional Nannies, who has worked for over 30 years to raise the profile of nannies in the sector, has been awarded an MBE for services to childcare and early years.
‘I’d like to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to those in the sector I’ve worked so closely with for over 30 years,’ Pritchard said.
‘In particular, I’d like to pay tribute to all those wonderful individuals and organisations who supported the Regulation Matters Campaign, the campaign for the registration of nannies and the regulation of nanny agencies. I had the pleasure of chairing the campaign for several years.'
She said the campaign 'put nannies on the map and while we didn’t succeed in gaining registration, we certainly raised the professional profile of nannies, resulting in them qualifying for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register.
‘My work for BAPN (British Association for Professional Nannies) was equally rewarding. We developed and promoted safer recruiting practices for employers, ensuring the safeguarding of children cared for in their own homes.
BAPN raised the profile of the professional nanny and the Home Childcare profession highlighted the risks associated with employing unregistered, unregulated childcare, ‘and helped working families get it right', she said.
‘We gained huge respect from the sector including DfE, Ofsted, NCFE, and others. With Nursery World we created the first ever National Nanny of the Year Award and hosted the first ever Nanny Hub at the Nursery World Show, London, alongside partner market leaders.
'Without the support and encouragement of the sector for over three decades, I would not have received this great honour. I shall be forever grateful.'
Pritchard said she continues to work as an adviser to the childcare and early years workforce for a number of organisations on a voluntary basis.
PHOTO Bright Horizons
Caroline Wright (pictured above) , Early Childhood Director at Bright Horizons UK, has been awarded an MBE for services to early years education.
She started her career as a practitioner with an NNEB qualification, worked in a children’s home in Birmingham, spent some time as a play therapist with children in hospital, and even drove a double decker bus taking pre-school to children in rural communities.
Wright gained a Master’s degree and helped to develop the initial Early Years teacher training programme at the National College of Teaching and Leadership, and worked as an early years lecturer at University Campus Doncaster and Anglia Ruskin University on Early Childhood Studies programmes.
After working in leadership roles in the public and private sectors, Caroline joined Bright Horizons in 2020 with the responsibility for guiding best practice to enable practitioners to develop children’s full potential through the group’s Nurture Approach.
She said, ‘I feel truly honoured to receive this award; it has been my absolute pleasure to work with and for children for the past 45 years, and I truly can’t imagine that any other career would have been as rewarding or as exciting as this.
‘I have loved every moment and can honestly say that it has been a privilege to be involved in the lives of so many children, practitioners and families. I have been very lucky to have had strong mentors and guides in my professional career and I hope that I have been able to provide some inspiration to other early childhood practitioners, so that they too can make a positive difference to the lives of our children.’
Ros Marshall, managing director, international, at Bright Horizons, said, ‘Caroline always places the needs of the child at the centre of her life’s work, and she has trained and inspired dozens of early years teachers over the last 27 years.
'Education and the importance of early years education is a service for society, and Caroline is an exceptional leader, who always generously seeks to help others to develop their skills and knowledge so they can provide the very best teaching and care for young children. We are truly delighted and overjoyed that her dedication to early years care and education has been rewarded with this most prestigious award.’
Others working in education and with children and families that received honours include:
- Ruth Miskin is made a Dame for her contribution to teaching children to read across the country, using techniques she developed as a headteacher in Tower Hamlets. Miskin developed a phonics programme called Read, Write Inc., adopted by over 7,000 schools UK and worldwide, and has advised successive governments in the teaching of literacy. She advised on the Rose Review into the teaching of reading, the phonics screening check, the National Curriculum and Lord Bew’s SATs Review Committee. She has also led the English Hubs Training Centre and co-wrote the Department for Education’s Reading Framework.
- David Holmes, chief executive of Family Action, has received a knighthood for services to children and families
- Vivien Waterfield, deputy chief executive of Home-Start, is made a CBE for services to early years learning
- Janet Legrand, chair of trustees, The Children's Society, is made an OBE
- Michael Cladingbowl is made an MBE for services to education. He became one of Her Majesty's Inspectors for Ofsted in 2002 and later Ofsted's national director of schools.