The recently retired head of early years services at Southend-on-Sea City Council has been invited to a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate His Majesty King Charles III’s coronation.
The Department of Education nominated Elaine Hammans for the honour, for her services to education and children’s services. It is the second time she has been honoured for her commitment, after she was invited to Downing Street around 20 years ago to meet the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Elaine, who was due to retire in 2020 but stayed an extra three years to help with the Covid pandemic, finally retired at the end the end of March 2023 following 23 years of service at Southend and life-long career in childcare. Elaine was also the driving force in securing £40m of lottery funding for the A Better Start Southend programme. Without Elaine's passion for this project, this money would never have come to Southend-on-Sea.
She said: “When I was told, I was shocked. It’s such an honour to be invited and it’s so nice to be recognised. I’m passionate about early years and it’s such a diverse career because it's across all sectors, meeting different people. I even enjoy the legal element and have always worked closely with Ofsted and DfE (Department for Education).
“I stayed on during Covid because I couldn’t leave my team when they needed me, when the childminders, nurseries, and pre-schools that we support, were on the frontline along with the schools, I couldn’t just swan off.
“But this invite makes it even more worthwhile because it came just at the right time with my retirement. My husband Les and I can’t wait for 3 May. I’m now enjoying a slower place of life, planning holidays and spending time with my family, especially my grandchildren.”
Elaine left school at the age of 15 with no formal qualifications. Once she had her first child, she started childminding, getting qualified under the Children Act, at the same time as working and bringing up a young family.
She came to Southend-on-Sea City Council in 2000 as a development officer for early years and worked her way up.
She said: “I spent five years earning my post-graduate degree in business management and was in cap and gown in my forties. I always say it’s never too late to follow your passion, to retrain or learn something new. If you’ve got the commitment and the drive, you can achieve anything.”
Michael Marks, executive director for children and public health, said: “The invite to the coronation is a fitting tribute to Elaine’s extensive career, dedicated to children and families. Elaine has always worked diligently and passionately, with commitment to not only to raising the profile and standards of early years education, but to improve the care of pre-school children and support local families. Her friends at the council wish her a long and happy retirement.”