Ayre admits that when she first received notification of her award twomonths ago, she suspected, at first, that she was the victim of apractical joke. "It was 15 November, I'll never forget it. A letterarrived and I thought it was a tax return," she says. "But it was fromDowning Street, I was overwhelmed, I was in tears."
Ayre began working at Tow Law as a housemother in 1974 after failing inher attempt to join the police force. "I wanted to be a policewoman, butI was too short," she says.
Since then, she has seen hundreds of children pass through the home.
"I was responsible for the daily running of the building, such as healthand safety, as well as supervising staff and young people's planningmeetings where we would liaise with teachers, for example, or work withchild and adolescent mental health services or people in the localcommunity," Ayre explains.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
