Nominate a foster carer for a Queen’s honour and give them the recognition they deserve…
In recognition…
If you know a friend or colleague involved in fostering who, in your opinion, deserves to be recognised for their hard work and dedication to improving the lives of children and young people, you can show your appreciation by nominating them for the Queen’s birthday or New Year honours list.
There are many talented people making a huge difference to children’s lives. A powerful way to signal our thanks is to get public recognition of their achievements by nominating them for the Queen’s birthday and New Year honours lists. With your help let us say thank you.
How to nominate
The process of nominating someone is relatively straightforward. You can find a nomination form and guidance on its completion at www.gov.uk/honours. Completed nomination forms can emailed to the Honours Team in the Department for Education (DfE) at the following address: Honours.team@education.gov.uk.
Timing
You can nominate someone at any time but entries for the New Year 2018 honours list must reach the DfE by Friday 24 February 2017.
What makes a strong nomination?
When recommending someone for an honours award you should provide examples of the nominee’s special achievements and tell us about the impact their contribution has made to someone’s life or to wider society wherever possible. When writing the recommendation, provide some contextual background to any points you want to make and let us know about any particular challenges which had to be faced and overcome. Additional evidence of working in new or innovative ways, or volunteering and/or charitable work can often strengthen the nomination.
Who to nominate?
The DfE particularly wants to encourage more nominations for foster carers, and especially those from ethnic minority background who are currently underrepresented in the honours lists.
What happens next?
The DfE will consider the nominee for the next open honours list, whether this be for the Queen’s Birthday or New Year round. The Honours Team may need to contact you to clarify points or to ask you for additional information.
Whether someone receives an honour, and the type of honour they get, such as an MBE or an OBE, is decided by an independently chaired Honours Committee. The committee’s decisions are relayed to the Prime Minister before they sent to the Queen, who awards the honour. A nomination for an honour can take 12 to 18 months (occasionally longer) before a final decision is made.
Further advice
The DfE Honours Team would be happy to answer your questions, you can email them at; team@education.gsi.gov.uk or call 020 7340 7460/1