A Newton Aycliffe man has been left “delighted and humbled” after being named in the King’s Birthday Honours list.

Selwyn Arthur Leslie Morgans, 62, was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for services to children’s social care following a career serving vulnerable children in the North East spanning more than 40 years.

Selwyn was Senior Manager at Aycliffe Secure Children’s Home (SCH) for seven years between 2015-2022, which is the largest SCH in the country caring for vulnerable children.

The home cares for young people with a complex variety of needs, such as mental health issues, including self-harm, extreme aggression and/or violence. Some children have also been victims of criminal or sexual exploitation.

But Selwyn is keen for his award to shed light on how “fantastic and talented” the young people he looked after are.

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The Northern Echo: Selwyn Morgans.Selwyn Morgans. (Image: Handout)

“Some of the children we look after are some of the most challenging, but looked-after children are a talented bunch. Hopefully, this will really put them in the spotlight.”

Under Selwyn’s leadership, Ofsted was impressed by Aycliffe and judged the home as ‘Outstanding’ in all areas in September 2019.

The same report commended the support that Selwyn had put in place, which had led to a reduction in the custodial for young people, and praised the “excellent relationship” between young people and staff.

He added: “I am delighted and humbled to have made the list. It’s really nice to be recognised by your colleagues, and it was a surprise as I didn’t know that anyone was doing it.

“I missed the initial letter as they had an old address, so when I first got the phone call from Downing Street asking me whether I would accept, I thought one of my friends was winding me up – things like this don’t happen to people like me.”

“I really hope that my colleagues get something from it too, as it is never just one person who does this kind of work.”

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“My philosophy has always been that every interaction counts with these children – from the way that you get them up in the morning, to the way that you said goodnight.

“They were my young people, and if something wasn’t good enough for my son, then it wouldn’t be good enough for them.”

Though he retired in January, Selwyn continues to do “bits of work” helping children in the region, and has promised to take his medal back to the home in Aycliffe to show it off to the children.