"I was absolutely shocked," she laughs. "You work hard in your job because you want to do it well, not because you think you're going to get an MBE."
Hard work has enabled McCarthy to progress from dinner lady, 20 years ago, to teaching assistant manager at Newark Orchard Area Special School in Nottinghamshire.
Not wanting to show off, she hasn't read her head teacher's recommendation for the MBE. "I suspect I got it because I'm passionate about getting things right for children, but to get it right for children you've got to get it right for the people who work with children," she enthuses.
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