Children's sector leaders recognised in Queen's birthday honours

Lenehan has spent most of her life supporting children with disabilities, having started work at 16 as a volunteer at a long-stay mental health institution before going on to become a social worker in 1980.

As director of the CDC since 2003, she has been instrumental in advising successive governments on legislation for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

She said: "I am extremely proud to accept this honour on behalf of all the children, young people and families whose lives are affected by disability or special educational needs. At a very early stage in my career I was struck by the fact that these children are often treated differently, by those who do not understand that disabled people have a voice or that they have something valuable to contribute."

Others to be made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire include Benita Refson, president of children's mental health school support charity Place2Be, and Louise Casey, director general of the Casey Review Team at the Department for Communities and Local Government, who also headed up the Troubled Families programme.

Also in the 90th birthday honours, Timothy Kidd, deputy UK chief commissioner of the Scout Association, has been awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

He has volunteered with the Scout movement since 1984 and taken on a variety of local and national roles and is due to become UK chief commissioner of the Scout Association in the autumn.

OBEs were also awarded to Oluseyi Oluyemi Obakin, chief executive of youth homelessness charity Centrepoint, and Susie Hargreaves, chief executive officer of the Internet Watch Foundation.

Eleanor Schooling, Ofsted's national director for social care, was also awarded a  Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in recognition of her services to children and families, including as director of children's services at Islington Council.

Meanwhile, Nigel Nash, service manager at the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) received a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to children and voluntary service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

James Sweeney, chief executive of YouthLink Scotland, was also awarded an MBE for services to youth work and along with Leonie Lonton, director of people and organisational development at Save the Children UK.

"The commitment of youth workers paid and voluntary inspire me on a daily basis as do the amazing young people I meet," Sweeney said. "I am also immensely lucky in having a board and staff team totally committed to our cause of making Scotland the best country to grow up in."

Key figures to be recognised in the Queen's birthday honours for their work with children and young people include:

Knight Bachelor:

Paul Marshall, chairman of ARK Schools and lead non-executive board member, the Department for Education

Professor Roger Vernon Scruton, for services to philosophy, teaching and public education, Wiltshire


Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE):

Benita Refson OBE, president, Place2Be

Christine Lenehan OBE, director, Council for Disabled Children

Louise Casey, director general at the Department for Communities and Local Government


Order of the British Empire (OBE):

Arwel Ellis Owen, chair, Care Council for Wales

Dennis Melvyn Benson, for services to education and commerce in Lancashire

Dr Hugh Connor Mulholland, consultant paediatric cardiologist, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and lately trustee, Heartbeat

Dr Ingrid Wolfe (Mrs Horton), director, Evelina London Child Health Programme

Emma Mulqueeny, founder, Rewired State and Young Rewired State

Fergus Cooper, for services to young people in Northern Ireland

Gregory Patrick Butler, regional managing director (South Eastern and Southern Regions), Education Authority

Hanif Malik, chief executive, Hamara

Jacqueline Drinkwater, lately national chair, National Day Nurseries Association Scotland

Julia Lalla-Maharajh, founder, Orchid Project

Kevin Donald Boyle, branch secretary of National Association of Headteachers, Cheshire, and Headteacher at Oaklands School, Winsford, Cheshire

Major Simon John Dean, founder and chief executive officer, Challenger Troop, CIC, Kent

Margaret Hilary Dawson, MBE, chief executive and general secretary, Workers Education Association for Wales

Michael Thomas Brown, mental health co-ordinator, College of Policing

Nicola Clemo, lately social worker and service director for children's social care, Cambridgeshire County Council

Neil Stuart Martin, chief executive, Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade

Noreen Campbell, for services to the development of integrated education in Northern Ireland

Norman William Kerr, area chair, Glasgow Children's Panel

Oluseyi Oluyemi Obakin, chief executive of Centrepoint

Professor Ivan Eisler, professor of family psychology and family therapy, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Rev Canon Dr David Peacock, founder and chair, Cumbria Reducing Re-offending Partnership Trust

Richard Arden, senior education adviser at the Department for International Development

Sarah Gates, mental health liaison officer, Sussex Police

Shaista Gohir MBE, trustee and chair, Muslim Women's Network UK

Susie Hargreaves, chief executive officer, Internet Watch Foundation

Timothy Kidd, deputy UK chief commissioner, Scout Association


Member of the British Empire (MBE):

Alison Gilligan, adopter, Plymouth City Council, Devon

Angela Dorothy Margaret Peters, chair, Kingswood NSPCC Voluntary Committee and chair, South East Surrey NSPCC Voluntary Committee

Ann Georgina Matthews, for services to young people through GirlGuiding, the Scout Association and the British Youth Band Association

Anne Harvey, social worker, approved mental health practitioner and children's social care service manager, Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council

Bernadette Ann Dornan, lately independent reviewing officer, Birmingham City Council

Bruce Alexander Noble, for services to young, vulnerable and disadvantaged People in England and Wales, Surrey

Carol Ann Smallworth, foster carer, Achieving for Children, Kingston and Richmond

Carol Hazel Fitzsimons, chief executive, Young Enterprise Northern Ireland

Christeen Erica Smith, senior clinical nurse specialist, Royal Hospital for Sick Kids, Edinburgh

David John Woodrow, proprietor, Woodrow's Newsagents, for services to the Scout Movement and the community in Bishopton, Renfrewshire

David Sear, for services to girls' and women's Cricket, Kent

Diana Marion Hasting, trustee, Parents and Children Together Charity

Deloris Collett, foster carer, Birmingham City Council and chair, Birmingham Foster Care Association

Dr Peter Adrian Hindley, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, paediatric liaison, St Thomas's Hospital

Dr Robin Harold Buckland, founder, The Children's Holiday Foundation Charity, North Devon

Elaine Jane Nicholson, founder and chief executive Officer, Action for Asperger's, Northamptonshire

Ellen (Elly) Barnes, founder and chief executive, Educate & Celebrate

Ellen Gertrude (Trudy) Kilcullen, for services to young people in London and Essex through children's organisations and voluntary service

Elroy Everton Palmer, team leader, St Giles Trust, for services to the rehabilitation of offenders

Emma Elizabeth Wylie Samuelson (Emma Samms), co-founder, Starlight Children's Foundation

Emma O'Connor, foster carer, Sunderland City Council

Esther Fletcher, chair, West and Chester Branch, National Autistic Society

George Hawkins, director, StepAhead

Geraldine Ann Parris, founder and trustee, The Children with Special Educational Needs Foundation Charity

Harriet Eva Ackunson, lately HEO, Faith and Integration, Department for Communities and Local Government - for services to Faith Groups

Hazel Elizabeth Ralston, founder, Anderston Youth Café, for services to education and youth development in Glasgow

Heather MacQueen Bisset JP, lately president, Gordon County Girl Guides

Irene Cullen, foster carer, Newcastle City Council

James Sweeney, chief executive, YouthLink Scotland

Jayne Elizabeth Senior, for services to child protection in Rotherham

Jean Margaret Wilson, founder, New Hope Charity, Worcestershire

Jennifer Johnson, chief executive officer, Kids Allowed

John Andrew Sutcliffe, chairman, Rossie Young People's Trust, for services to young people

John Dixon Phillips, for services to business, education and young people in the West Midlands

John Gurparshad Singh, for services to charity and disaffected young people in East London

John Palczynski, foster carer, Guildford City Council

Kirsty Freeland, family support manager and manager, Children's Bereavement Service, Strathcarron Hospice

Lady Joan Catto DL, chair, Voluntary Services Aberdeen

Lara Newman, property adviser on Free Schools, Education Funding Agency

Leonie Lonton, director of people and organisational development, Save the Children UK

Lorraine Dooley, co-founder and manager, The Tower Hamlets Opportunity Group

Lorraine McKenzie, administrator, East Dunbartonshire Women's Aid

Margaret Ann Bersey, social worker and team manager, Plymouth City Council

Marion Kirkham, for voluntary services to children and young people in the North West of England

Mark Nigel Evans, watch manager, Stratton Fire Station, Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, for services to disadvantaged young people and community relations in Wiltshire

Michael Cullen, foster carer, Newcastle City Council

Michael Joseph Allured, policy adviser, Children in Care, Children's Services and Departmental Strategy Directorate at the Department for Education

Nigel Clive Nash, service manager, Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

Nigel David Blair, founder and trustee, Eikon Charity

Omobola Odutayo, executive officer, Department for Work and Pensions, for services to youth employment in Haringey

Rachel Mary Medill, founder and chief executive officer, Ride High Charity

Rachel Paula Anderson, for services to gender equality in football, Essex

Raymond Michael Smallworth, foster carer, Achieving for Children, Kingston and Richmond

Robert Ian Macpherson, Children in Care Division, Children's Services and Departmental Strategy Directorate, Department for Education

Robyn Alice Patricia Dalby-Stockwell, for services to children with learning difficulties, Cambridgeshire

Rosemary Grace Elizabeth Cleave, fundraiser and chair, Huddersfield Branch, NSPCC

Steve Andrew Ralph, for services to young people and the community particularly through the Scout Movement

Steven John White, for voluntary services to education and sport particularly in Leicestershire

Susan Frances Dwyer, lately manager, Wellington Avenue Methodist Friendship Centre, Picton, Liverpool, for services to Children and Families

Susan Lesley North, lately director of operations, The National Parent Carer Participation Programme, Contact a Family, West Midlands

Taiyabur Rahman Chowdhury, lately adoption social worker, Bradford City Council

Thomas Alfred O'Connor, foster carer, Sunderland City Council

Thomas Gilligan, adopter, Plymouth City Council, Devon

Tribunal Judge Jane McConnell, lately chief executive, Independent Parental Special Education Advice

Tunde Okewale, barrister and founder, Urban Lawyers, for services to the community and disadvantaged young people

Valerie McGregor, education adviser for Academies and Free Schools, Department for Education

Wendy Palczynski, foster carer, Guildford City Council


Commander of the British Empire (CBE):