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SCIE Chief Executive, Kathryn Smith, receives OBE at Windsor Castle

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) is proud to announce that its Chief Executive, Kathryn Smith, has today, 13 May 2025, received her Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) medal at a prestigious investiture ceremony held at Windsor Castle.

Kathryn was awarded the honour for Services to Social Care in His Majesty The King’s New Year Honours List 2025, recognising her long-standing dedication and leadership in social care since 1989.

Kathryn attended today’s ceremony with her family, where she was formally presented with the OBE medal in recognition of her outstanding contribution to social care over three decades, including roles in both the voluntary and statutory sectors.

Since joining SCIE as Chief Executive in 2020, Kathryn has led the organisation through a period of transformation, advocating for innovation, co-production, and evidence-based practice in the improvement of care and support services.

Reflecting on the ceremony, Kathryn said:

It was a privilege to attend Windsor Castle today and receive this honour.  I joined the sector to make a difference, confident that I had something valuable to contribute. Over that time, I have worked in a range of roles all connected by a common purpose: to improve lives.

While the OBE is awarded to me personally, I see it as a tribute to everyone who works tirelessly in social care, especially the people who draw on care and support, their families, carers, and the dedicated workforce. I feel incredibly proud to be part of a sector that, despite immense challenges, continues to be driven by compassion, resilience, and determination.

This recognition only deepens my commitment to working collaboratively across the sector to ensure social care is not only respected and understood but properly resourced and prioritised for the future.

Kathryn Smith OBE

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

Notes to editors

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading social care improvement independent charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK. We also work closely with related services such as health care and housing. We improve the quality of care and support services for adults and children by:

  • Identifying and sharing knowledge about what works and what’s new.
  • Supporting people who plan, commission, deliver and use services to put that knowledge into practice.
  • Informing, influencing and inspiring the direction of future practice and policy.

Our mission is to support best practice, shape policy and raise awareness of the importance of social care, working together. With the government’s ambition of reducing consultancy bills, SCIE can serve as the not-for-profit partner of government, working collaboratively to identify and implement improvements.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact media@scie.org.uk

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