Social work celebrated in King's Birthday Honours

BASW warmly congratulates all those from social work, social care, fostering and those working and volunteering in sectors that work with children, people with disabilities and in mental health, who have been recognised for their achievements.

Among this year's recipients was BASW UK Chair, Julia Ross, who has been made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for her long and distinguished career in social work. 

Ross started her career in 1963 as a nurse at St. Thomas Hospital in London before retraining as a social worker four years later, a move she describes as her “best decision”. She joined Hammersmith local authority as a child protection social worker in 1970, and served as Special Adviser to the Select Committee on Violence in the Family, the start of a long, distinguished career in social work. Ross took social work leadership roles at three separate local authorities, across Scotland and England the last of which was Barking & Dagenham from 1998-2005. 

In 2005, Ross became the National Programme Lead for Social Care, at the Department for Health & Social Care. More recently, Ross became UK Chair of BASW in 2022, a position she still holds. 

In her career, Ross has held positions on numerous boards in social services and healthcare, including governmental and NHS bodies, as well as writing and publishing a novel titled ‘The Laughing Robot’, which takes an absorbing look into social work and its relationship with technology.

Reflecting on her career, Ross remarked “social work has been my life…. Thank you all for this amazing honour which overwhelms me, makes me anxious and delights me in equal measures."

“The height of my career was Director of Social Services (Children and Adults) London Borough Barking & Dagenham, where I worked in and with such a diverse, fascinating and at times challenging community. I miss it still and follow on social media daily.

“I am hugely proud of being a professional social worker and am constantly in awe of what we all do, endlessly and tirelessly. I still have the school photos of two children in the first family I worked with in London, and they will remain with me for ever, a constant reminder of their importance and their lives.”  

BASW member, Tricia Pereira awarded OBE

Everyone at BASW would also like to extend our congratulations to long-time member, Tricia Pereira on her recognition in the King's Honours List for services to social work and social care.

Pereira is Co-Chair of Independent Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard Advisory Group, where she has been unrelenting in working for a more diverse and inclusive social work and care sector. Through her leadership, significant strides have been made in this area, for example by ensuring a growing number of councils have embraced the Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard, upholding the ideals of equity and justice for all.

As a qualified social worker, Pereira has held a number of other prominent roles, including as Director of Operations/National Workforce Development at Skills for Care, Practitioner Development Lead with London ADASS, Co-Chair of the National Adults Principal Social Worker Network for England and Co-chair of the BAME Communities Advisory Group for the Department of Health Social Care, COVID-19 Support Taskforce.

Pereira's passion for social justice and in cultivating more compassionate and inclusive leadership in social care, a topic she spoke on as keynote speaker for BASW's UK Conference in 2023, is inspiring and makes her accolade in this year's Honours List a worthy one indeed. Paying tribute to Tricia's achievement, BASW CEO Prof. Sam Baron and Chair Julia Ross commented:

Extraordinary contributions & service recognised

Across the board, a number of well-known individuals were awarded honours in recognition of their extraordinary contributions and service in their respective fields, including Mairi-Anne Macdonald, Deputy Director of Development and Innovation at Research in Practice who received an OBE for services to social work.

We have listed other notable recipients below. Please do contact us if we have missed a recipient from the social work community.

• Neil Eastwood OBE For services to Adults and Children's Social Care
• Linda Hurst OBE For services to Foster Care
• Brian O'Hagan OBE For services to Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland
• Sukriti Prova Sen CBE For services to Children Social Care
• Maurice Neely MBE For services to Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland
• Dr Lisa Cherry OBE For services to Children, Young People and their Families across Education and Social Care
• Tahira Ali MBE For services to Foster Care
• Satbinder Bains MBE For services to Foster Care
• Diane Benstead MBE For services to Foster Care
• John & Pamele Garbett MBE For services to Foster Care
• Maureen & Stephen Greene MBE For services to Foster Care
• Leonard & Pamela Pattinson MBE For services to Foster Care
• Stephen & Wendy Lowe BEM For services to Foster Care
• Claire & Donald Robinson BEM For services to Foster Care
• Colin & Mandy Blair OBE For services to Foster Care
• Dr Sharon Curtis OBE For services to Early Years Education and Children's Mental Health
• Susan Garner BEM  For services to Mental Health Carers in South West London
• Edith Leask BEM For services to Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Kathleen Courtenay MBE For services to People with Disabilities
• Fiona Knight BEM For services to People with Learning Disabilities and to Autistic People
• Alice Wintergold BEM For services to People with Disabilities
• Lisa Harker CBE For services to Children and Young People
• Helen Adam OBE For services to Families, Children and Young People
• Nigel Brown OBE For services to the Welfare of Children and Families
• Tania Bright MBE For services to Vulnerable Children and Families
• Amanda Radley MBE For services to Vulnerable Children and Adults
• Wendy Ford BEM For services to Charity and to Young People
• Donna Hilton BEM For services to Children and Young People
• Margaret Scott BEM For services to Down Syndrome Children, Adults and their Families

The full list can be viewed here.