A woman who set up a pioneering Family Intervention project tackling school truancy and anti-social behaviour in London’s deprived East End and now advises the government nationally has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours.

Service manager Nikki Bradley, whose project won a Public Service award from a national newspaper in 2009, receives her honour “for services to children and families”.

Nikki became an advisor to Whitehall as a result of the success of the project helping families in crises with counselling where youngsters are disruptive in school. Her expertise on intensive family work contributed to the development of the government’s Troubled Families initiative.

Her New Year award follows a visit to the Town Hall last summer by Louise Casey, the Director General of the government’s Troubled Families Initiative at the Department for Communities which was inspired by Nikki’s project.

Tower Hamlets Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Oliur Rahman, said: “Nikki has received this honour recognising her achievements in helping families, particularly because social care is extremely challenging work which often goes unsung.”

The project has expanded to become a regular service and now helps families through other London authorities elsewhere in London.

It provides an intensive support service to families facing enforcement action due to continued school absence, anti-social behaviour, housing arrears and criminal activity.

A small number of pupils and their families is usually recognised as disrupting school life.

Nikki Bradley’s pioneering Intervention project helps such families get back into education and allows schools to return to the job of educating rather than having to deal with problem social life at home.

Nikki joined Tower Hamlets council in 2007 as a project manager for parenting services. She qualified as a social worker at Middlesex Polytechnic in 1985 and has worked in social care in child protection, mental health, adoption and as a children’s guardian.