New Year Honours 2023: OBE for Coventry special needs champion (original) (raw)

A Coventry man has been appointed an OBE for services to children with special educational needs.

Prof Adam Boddison was chief executive of the National Association for Special Educational Needs for six years, after working as a teacher.

He said one of his biggest achievements was getting the government to see the need for early identification.

Mr Boddison said the award was a "massive shock" and he had almost deleted an email telling him the news.

"I'm always very suspicious when someone sends you an email with an attachment, saying you've won an award," he said.

Once he got over the surprise, he said he was "very humbled" by the OBE and believed it reflected on the work of a lot of people within the organisation.

When he started at the National Association for Special Educational Needs he said "I wouldn't have described myself as as an expert" and admitted he had learnt a lot over the six years.

He also helped increase the number of members from about 4,000 to 40,000, but said a lot of challenges remained for families of children with additional needs.

"Funding is a huge issue," he said, and while more families were able to access support, "the amount of money in the system is insufficient".

He believes there are also "disincentives to be inclusive" for schools, because the money is not there for schools which try to help more children.

Mr Boddison moved on to become chief executive of the Association for Project Management a year ago, seeking a fresh challenge, but said he "could have stayed for life" in his old role.