Staff
Please click on any of the below names to reveal further information.
- Barry Raynes - Chief Executive | barry.raynes@reconstruct.co.uk
Barry Raynes is the Chief Executive of Reconstruct and has worked as a freelance trainer and consultant throughout most of the British Isles from Shetland to Guernsey. He has experience as a residential social worker, social worker, manager and staff development officer. He has been made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts for his contribution to child protection thinking.
Barry has a Masters degree in Public Sector Management and is currently researching his PhD into common language in child protection, supervised by Jan Horwath from Sheffield University. He has been involved in 30 serious case reviews conducted by Reconstruct since 2007. He has written web-based child protection and child care procedures for more than 50 Local Children's Safeguarding Boards and Local Authorities in England, Wales and Scotland.
- Phil Green - Non-Executive Director | phil.green@reconstruct.co.uk
Phil Green currently works with Reconstruct and as an independent chair of child protection conferences.
Phil started his social work experience in 1978 and has worked as a residential social worker and manager, field social worker and team manager, child protection co-ordinator and guardian-ad-litem. He has worked in the voluntary sector and for local authorities.
- Daksha Mistry - Training Director | daksha.mistry@reconstruct.co.uk
Daksha Mistry has a background in Psychology gaining a M.Phil qualification researching black identity development at the University of London. She has worked in youth work, education social work and family centres. As a manager of a family centre in Berkshire, Daksha was responsible for developing assessment and treatment work programmes for families where child protection concerns had been identified, chairing reviews and co-ordinating therapeutic support services. She has been a member of a range of multi-agency committees addressing the development of services for black communities and integrating anti-discriminatory work practices in predominately white areas. Daksha has worked as a trainer and consultant for Reconstruct since 1992 and is now the Director of Training. Daksha is responsible for operational issues and the training delivered by Reconstruct. She is currently completing a M.A in Strategic Leadership and Management in Public Sector Organisations at the Tavistock Institute.
- Jenny Raynes - Children's Services Director | jenny.raynes@reconstruct.co.uk
Jenny Raynes oversees the strategic and operational delivery of our Independent Children’s Services.
Jenny has worked in a variety of services for children & young people since 1979 and has a professional qualification in social work.
Jenny has worked as a residential manager and a field social worker and has held management posts in a family centre, a fostering team and a social work team for disabled children & young people.
She has been on a management committee of a Women's Aid refuge and worked as in independent person for young people in secure accommodation and in relation to investigation of complaints.
- Jason Williams - Business Development Director | jason.williams@reconstruct.co.uk
As Director of Business Development, Jason works collaboratively with other directors to oversee sales, marketing, IT and financial aspects of the company and the services we provide.
He has worked and managed in a variety of settings (youth work, probation, social work, therapeutic, fostering, advocacy) with children, young people and families since 1991.
Jason is a history graduate, qualified and registered social worker with post qualifying award, and has a post graduate certificate in leadership & management.
In addition to work experiences, his role as a foster carer since 2003, has enabled Jason to gain extensive insight and understanding of children and young people’s experiences of the ‘care system’. Jason is motivated to encourage and improve the participation and resilience of children and young people living ‘in care’.
- Ruby Parry - Consultancy Director | ruby.parry@reconstruct.co.uk
Ruby is a former Assistant Director of Children’s Social Care Services, highly skilled and experienced at all levels of operational and strategic management and service delivery, having worked in Children’s Services for more than 30 years. 14 of these were at various levels of management, and for 7 years she was at Assistant Director level in both a small Unitary and then a large County Council. Ruby qualified as a social worker in 1979, with a BSc Honours Degree in Sociology, and later gained an MSc in Management in 2003, with a distinction for her work on collaborative working in the public sector. She also holds a certificate in Staff Training and Development.
Ruby has managed and developed a wide range of services for children, including duty and assessment teams, children in need/ child protection and court teams, fostering and family placement, adoption, looked after children teams, residential services, youth offending services and secure provision, and leaving care services. She is a skilled communicator, trainer, and highly experienced and effective chair, including a range of multi-agency partnerships such as ACPC, LSCBs, Serious Case Review Panels, CAMHS, Teenage Pregnancy Board, Domestic Violence Forums, Fostering Panel, Child Protection conferences, and complex strategy meetings, and was Agency decision maker for Adoption and permanency whilst Assistant Director . She has also run several large scale joint child abuse investigations with the police and health, across local area boundaries, and co-wrote and implemented some of the first policies, procedures and training for the investigation and management of child sexual abuse post Cleveland.
Ruby is currently Director of consultancy for Reconstruct, and since joining the company in 2010, has led on a range of projects across England, Wales and Scotland, from direct work training and development with front line staff, to performance management and quality assurance development with LSCBs (and Scottish child protection committees), and strategic service analysis for Children’s Trusts. She has been involved in a number of serious case reviews, both as overview writer and as Independent Panel Chair, and in 2010 chaired one of the very few serious case reviews to receive an overall ‘outstanding’ judgement from Ofsted.
- John Woodhouse - Management Consultant| john.woodhouse@reconstruct.co.uk
John Woodhouse began working in Residential Child Care, and has worked in a variety of open and secure settings in this country and the USA. He was a manager at The Cotswold Community, a therapeutic community for boys.
John has worked as a Field Social Worker, covering assessment, long-term work with children and families and child protection before becoming an Assistant Manager in a Looked After Children’s Team.
John focused on ensuring children’s voices were heard in the system and secured a post as Children's Rights Officer for Wiltshire County Council and chaired the Children’s Rights Officers and Advocates Association for England and Wales before returning to mainstream social work as the senior manager for looked after children and then frontline child protection services for a unitary authority.
He now works full time for Reconstruct providing consultancy and advice for a range of organisations.
- Gordon Jelley - Training & Development Manager | gordon.jelley@reconstruct.co.uk
Gordon Jelley is the Training and Development Manager at Reconstruct. He is a qualified social worker and works across the company delivering training, employee development and management consultancy.
Originally from Ireland, he has worked as across a spectrum of roles in local authorities from a home carer to senior workforce development officer over the last 20 years.
His particular area of interest is in how theory and research can support analysis and decision-making in social work practice and improve the experiences of children and families.
He is currently studying for his MA in Child Welfare and Safeguarding at Huddersfield University.
He lives in Sheffield with his partner and two children.
- John Watson - Training Director - Scotland | john.watson@reconstruct.co.uk
John Watson has DIPSW, Strathclyde University, 1995, and post qualifying certificates in Child Protection Dundee University. John is currently a team manager in child care/ protection. John supervises a team of social workers, and supports assistants.
John was previously employed as a Child Protection Reviewing Officer. He has long standing involvement with the Association of Child Psychology, and is a member of the British Association for the Study of Child Abuse (BASPCAN) John also lectures in social care at James Watt College.
- Cathy Bostock - Training Office Manager | cathy.bostock@reconstruct.co.uk
Cathy Bostock is the office manager at Reconstruct, more recently she has taken reponsibility for organising Reconstruct's conferences. She works full time and has been employed by Reconstruct since 1993.
- Joanne Musgrave - Training & Research Administrator | joanne.musgrave@reconstruct.co.uk
Joanne Musgrave is employed on a part-time basis by Reconstruct to assist trainers preparing their course handouts and materials. She is also the administrator of the Reconstruct Research Service dealing with administration matters, also on a part-time basis.
- Jade Griffiths-Heath - Business Admin ApprenticeTraining | jade.griffiths-heath@reconstruct.co.uk
Jade joined Reconstruct as an Apprentice in September 2011 in the Uxbridge office. Her role involves liaising with clients, letter writing, updating the database etc. She works Monday to Friday and is studying a Business Administration NVQ Level 3.
- Jan Jones - Accounts Manager | jan.jones@reconstruct.co.uk
Jan Jones looks after the company accounts, the office at Bath and supports the staff who operate from there.
When not working Jan sings in a mixed voice choir, loves the theatre, cinema, ballet, Annie Lennox, 'East Enders', and enjoys a good laugh (Billy Connelly a favourite).
Jan is very involved with her village church, the choir, fund raising and workshops with the young ones. Jan has three sons and two grandsons.
- Sadie Carr Simons - Marketing Manager | sadie.carr@reconstruct.co.uk
Sadie works on a part time basis as Marketing Manager for Reconstruct. She is responsible for a range of marketing activities including the Reconstruct website, the design and production of promotional materials, various forms of internal communications, all external marketing and media communications.
Sadie has previously worked in a marketing capacity for various companies including Birmingham City University. She has worked for Reconstruct since 2005.
- Irulan Horner - Children's Services Administrator | irulan.horner@reconstruct.co.uk
Irulan is the senior Children's Services administrator, based in the Bath office. Her role involves recruitment of volunteers and advocates, maintaining company databases, raising invoices, up-dating company materials and procedures, liaising with London, Bristol and Luton office to provide administrative support and manages the Administrative Assistant and Procedures Designer.
She also provides support to the Business Development and Consultancy teams. Including overseeing the procedures website for the South West and Reconstruct's policies and prodedures, as well as aiding on tender writing for new business.
Bringing with her knowledge of procedures and processes, accumulated over seven years of organising corporate events for Jaguar and Cadbury.
She joined Reconstruct in June 2009.
- Luke Smith - Children's Services Admin Assistant | luke.smith@reconstruct.co.uk
Luke joined Reconstruct in September 2009 as the Assistant Administrator, based in the Bath office.
His role involves assisting with all administration tasks, including letter writing, database updating, post, filing, HR etc. He works Monday to Friday and is studying Business Administration NVQ level 3.
- Lucy Whitfield - Procedures Designer | lucy.whitfield@reconstruct.co.uk
Lucy joined Reconstruct in 2011 on a part-time basis, constructing and editing Reconstruct's local authority child protection and child care procedures websites.
Coming from a background in newspaper and magazine production, she is mounting a one-woman campaign for better grammar: irradicating bakers' apostrophes, removing superfluous capital letters, and smiting improper use of the semi-colon.
She also assists the children's services administration team with various tasks.
- Suzanne Davies - Regional Manager, Children's Services South West | suzanne.davies@reconstruct.co.uk
Suzanne Davies is the Regional Manager for Children’s Services in the South West of England. Suzanne oversees Independent Visiting and Advocacy services in Devon, North Somerset, Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
Suzanne also recruits, trains and supervises all the independent visitors in this region with support from Assistant Coordinator Chris Gardiner. In this role she manages a pool of over 40 independent visitors and oversees around 60 ongoing relationships between visitors and young people.
Suzanne has worked for Reconstruct since the children’s services division began in 2001, carrying out a variety of roles including visiting, advocacy and child protection advocacy.
Suzanne has previously worked for Bath Women's Aid at their refuge for women and children and STAR (Support & Training Against Racism) She is also a qualified secondary school teacher.
- Chris Gardiner - Children's Services Assistant Coordinator | chris.gardiner@reconstruct.co.uk
Chris supports Suzanne Davies in the coordination of Independent visitors in the South West area.
Chris has worked for Reconstruct for 6 years as an independent visitor. He has a degree in Psychology and has worked in a variety of roles including Youth work, residential social work and adolescent support work.
In his spare time Chris has set up Peace of Mind events, which run days to help and support people in Bristol and the surrounding areas who suffer from depression, stress and anxiety.
- Cath Williams - Children's Services Assistant Coordinator | cath.williams@reconstruct.co.uk
Cath supports Suzanne in the coordination of Independent visitors in the South West area, working part-time alongside Chris.
Cath has worked for Reconstruct since November 2007. She has previously worked full time with children with learning difficulties, managed a group home for the RNID supporting deaf adults with learning difficulties, and has been a full time foster carer since 2003. She also holds a Diploma in Counselling, and has worked as a counsellor specifically with people who have survived sexual abuse.
- Mel Duncan - Advocacy Coordinator | mel.duncan@reconstruct.co.uk
Mel Duncan started working with socially excluded individuals in 1987 where she worked with homeless adults and later with young people. She then worked with children with learning difficulties as assistant teacher after leaving college with diploma in higher education.
She has worked as a residential social worker in children’s homes and secure units and as a probation service officer responsible for running home office accredited training. She became a home office accredited trainer during this time and trained staff across the country to run a variety of programmes.
Mel worked as a freelance trainer and group worker with people with drug and alcohol addictions between 2005 – 2006.
Most recently Mel has worked as a participation worker and freelance advocate with young people in care and is currently the south west placement manager for company working with care leavers.
She is also now the Coordinator for the Advocacy Service that Reconstruct provide for Devon County Council.
Her qualifications include advanced counselling, dip.HE and she is currently studying for a degree in social science.
- Deidre Bowen - Regional Manager, Children's Services South East | deidre.bowen@reconstruct.co.uk
Deidre Bowen is the Regional Manager for Children’s Services in the South East of England.
Deidre oversees Independent Visiting and Advocacy services in Bromley, Merton, Redbridge, Croydon, Barking and Dagenham, Hounslow, Redbridge, City of London and Luton.
Deidre also recruits, trains and supervises all the independent visitors in the London areas with support from her Assistant Coordinator, as well as delivering a direct advocacy service in Hounslow.
Deidre joined Reconstruct in Oct 2008, having previously worked for the prison service. She is qualified in both Law and Accountancy and is currently studying a qualification in Psychology.
- Lena Preissler - Advocacy Project Coordinator | lena.preissler@reconstruct.co.uk
Lena has studied in Frankfurt, Germany and qualified in 2008 as a Social-Pedagogue. Since then, she has worked for the Local Authority Frankfurt and completed a 1 year placement in Adult’s Services where she worked with the homeless and substance misuseers. After completing this placement, she joined a local charity organisation and worked for 2 years as a support worker for immigrants and refugees, ensuring they were not subject to any discriminatory practice and accompanying their first steps in a new country. Lena volunteered and looked after vulnerable children in an Indian orphanage for 6 weeks while at University and also helped in an after school club for teenagers in Frankfurt. Knowing how hard the process of migration can be, she decided to relocate to the UK in 2011 to work with the Children in Need team at the London Borough of Hillingdon for 7 months before taking on the role of Advocacy Project Coordinator.
- Marie Djoma - Assistant Coordinator | marie.djoma@reconstruct.co.uk
Marie Djoma is an Assistant Coordinator for the South East region based in the Wandsworth office in London. Marie coordinates Reconstructs’ Advocates and Independent Visitors in the South East. Prior to working for Reconstruct, I have worked in various administrative and support worker roles. My recent Job to date was working for Southwark Children Services Commissioning Team as a Brokerage Officer. I worked alongside Social care professionals in negotiating, sourcing placements and monitoring contracts for Children Services. My role was to negotiate with providers to find best value for money. I helped to find placements for social work teams from fostering, residential, semi-independence and independent living.
After leaving Southwark Council I went on to do an internship in a Children’s home in Westmoreland, Jamaica for 3 months working with vulnerable children.
Whilst working part-time for Reconstruct I also volunteer at Baytree Centre in Brixton working with children and young people in the local community.
- Valerie Reed - Project Coordinator | valerie.reed@reconstruct.co.uk
Valerie Reed is one of two part time Project Coordinators working in Luton to provide direct advocacy for looked after children and to additionally recruit, support and manage our Independent Visitors and Mentors who provide those services.
Valerie Reed started work in the voluntary sector in 1999 following the birth of her daughter who has disabilities in 1993. Val worked for Mencap as a Face to Face Co-ordinator in Bedfordshire. She was responsible for recruiting/training/supporting parents of disabled children to offer support around the time of diagnosis of a disability to parents of newly diagnosed children.
In 2002 Val moved to Scope and worked as a Fieldworker covering Oxfordshire. This role involved individual casework with disabled children and adults and their families/carers. She also supported local disability groups in the area. Val later worked for Contact a Family as a Family Worker. This post involved undertaking casework with disabled children aged 0 - 19 and their families/carers.
Val has additionally sat on the Priority Panel for Disabled Children as an Independent Observer; been a member of the Aiming High Program Board and the Aiming High Commissioning Panel; and been instrumental in setting up a Parent Forum - Oxfordshire Family Voices in line with Together for Disabled Children/Aiming High Parent Participation program.
- Abigail Bushnell - Project Coordinator | abigail.bushnell@reconstruct.co.uk
Abigail Bushnell is one of two part time Project Coordinators working in Luton to provide direct advocacy for looked after children and to additionally recruit, support and manage our independent visitors and mentors who provide these services.
Abigail first worked with young people in the voluntary sector in 2007 when she was employed by CSV (Community Services Volunteer) and went on to run the Yu-Act (Youth Action) Project. The Yu-Act project specialised in supporting vulnerable youths who were in the care of varies agencies such as Social Services, The Youth Offending Team or supported housing etc. Abigail’s role as Project Worker involved Recruiting, training, supporting and advising volunteers as well as organising, promoting and managing individual voluntary projects.
Abigail's past experiences as a Project Worker has given her many valuable and transferable skills as well as an enthusiasm to continue to help and work with vulnerable youths.
- James Rushbrooke - Participation Coordinator | james.rushbrooke@reconstruct.co.uk
James Rushbrooke works almost exclusively with young people both in and out of the care system and has done so since leaving University. He holds a BSc in Psychology and Drama and his varied and often-hectic work life sees him interacting with a large number of children all over the social spectrum.
In 2008 he was offered the position of Participation Coordinator for Reconstruct and began working with Bristol Young People.
As well as working in participation he provides training for Reconstruct, has been an advocate for children in the care system for the last six years, is a freelance teacher teaching drama in a variety of schools across the south west and both writes and directs plays for young people with his theatre group Sidetrack Theatre.
In his free time, James is a film maker, cinema goer, stand up comic and writer. He enjoys his multifaceted working with children and finds them infinitely more interesting to work alongside than adults.
- Naomi Moeketsi - Participation Youth Worker | naomi.moeketsi@reconstruct.co.uk
Naomi is a Participation Youth worker and works with the Children in Care Council in Bristol. Her main role is to maintain the smooth running of each meeting, and working closely with the young people. Naomi has also worked as an Independent Visitor with Reconstruct since 2008.
Naomi has her own Arts and Craft business since 2006 and worked with many council run organisations and the general public from ages 0-100 years old.
- Taniji Price - Participation Youth Worker | taniji.price@reconstruct.co.uk
Taniji is a participation worker for Reconstruct. She began doing freelance work in 2008 which lead to a participation role. Her main duty is coordinating and delivering the In Our Shoes training; she also attends the corporate parenting panel as the representative for all young people in Bristol.
Another role Taniji has with Reconstruct is support worker for the Children in Care Council and other young peoples working groups within the participation department. Taniji was care leaver from Bristol City Council and has a passion for the well being of looked after young people. She is also a residential worker for a private unit in Bristol.
- Flick Selway - Advocate | flick.selway@reconstruct.co.uk
Flick has worked for Reconstruct since 2004, as an advocate and independent visitor.
She has in the past worked and trained with Banardo's and then Southwark Borough Council Children's Services.
These early experiences inevitably led her to her work with Reconstruct and after raising a large extended family returned to the work she loves, and finds working with young people to be both challenging and rewarding.
- Simon Weaver - Advocate | simon.weaver@reconstruct.co.uk
Simon's interest in working with people, came from his involvement in scouting, currently assistants at a scout group in Bristol.
Simon did a community and sports degree in 2001, where he went on to work as a support worker with older adults with mental health problems and disabilities.
In 2005 he did a degree in Health and Social Care. He has recently supported adults with learning difficulties in independent living and is doing other participation work.
Simon started at Reconstruct doing independent visiting, while studying and is currently continuing this. He now does advocacy and participation work in Bristol.
- Emmanuelle Bertaud - Advocate | emmanuelle.bertaud@reconstruct.co.uk
As a support worker for vulnerable adults I gained lots of valuable experiences and skills which I still use today. I then worked with pre-school children in a nursery where my passion for working with children developed. I recently completed a course: 'Children’s Care Learning and Development' (Level 3 CACHE certificate), which increased my interest and passion for promoting the well being of children and young people.
I first started working for Reconstruct as an Independent Visitor and at a later stage I started doing some advocacy work, this led me to taking on the full time role of advocacy coordinator for two years. My role has recently changed and I can now focus exclusively on direct advocacy work, which I find very rewarding.
- Muna Adam - Advocate | muna.adam@reconstruct.co.uk
Muna has been working with children and young people for ten years. She begun as a volunteer supervisor at a lunchtime support club and has also taught English in China.
Whilst studying for her degree in Arabic and Persian she completed an NVQ3 in Playwork and was most interested in the module about children's rights. Last year she worked as the assistant manager at an afterschool club.
Muna came to Reconstruct to become an Independent Visitor. Her interest in advocacy and belief in children's rights and empowerment led her to apply for the role of retained advocate. She also volunteers as a counsellor at Childline and a youth worker at New Horizon Youth Centre in Kings Cross, as well as continuing as an Independent Visitor.
In addition our Children's Services division finds work for approximately 150 freelance children's workers and our training and consultancy divisions regularly uses the following associates:
- Caroline Thompson - Associate Trainer & Researcher | caroline.thompson@reconstruct.co.uk
Caroline has a background in child protection social work and inter agency training. She worked with Dartington on implementing a range of assessment based practice tools and now works independently as a trainer, writer and consultant.
- Sue Fadipe - Associate Consultant | ruby.parry@reconstruct.co.uk
Sue Fadipe is an experienced Children’s Services Senior Manager, in her last permanent position she was the Head of Children’s Social Care for a large County Council. She has successfully completed three interim assignments( both Senior Manager roles ,this included the management of SCR processes, one of which was recently judged as “outstanding”)as well as delivering a Mentoring scheme focussed on Performance and reflective practice for a previous employing authority ,for all first line managers.
Sue has a proven track record in the management of all Children’s Social Care services (including fostering, adoption and residential services), and has a wide experience and knowledge base including the management of multi agency teams and partnerships. She has delivered successfully in the context of social care service teams, providing high quality and safe services, despite reducing resources, significant recruitment challenges and increasing numbers of child protection referrals. Sue regards herself and is regarded by colleagues as being extremely “child focussed”.
She is a qualified social worker; she also has a MA in Social Policy and the Organisation of Welfare. She is a member of BASW and is registered with the General Social Care Council. As an associate consultant for Reconstruct Sue is able to take on a wide range of projects at both strategic and operational levels, and she currently delivers coaching, mentoring and training for managers for the company.
- Shoba Manro - Associate Consultant | ruby.parry@reconstruct.co.uk
Shoba Manro has been a qualified social work practitioner since 1998, working in child protection and with looked after children both as a practitioner and as a manager. She has held many management / development consultant positions, within Children’s services, Health, Education, and Community Development, and has in depth experience in the development and management of integrated CAMHS and other multi-disciplinary and cross sector services. Her passion has always been to empower children and young people to achieve their full potential, and she has made this possible in all of her projects and roles to date. Shoba is skilled at establishing integration between partners through relationship development, and through training and shared facilitated dialogue. She is a fantastic networker, building strength through shared values and interconnections between professionals and service users, and is able to deliver training, individual coaching and mentoring, service strategy and development, and direct work across professional boundaries as well as specifically within the Health and Social Work sectors.
- Angela Stanton
Angela Stanton has a background in child protection. She has been a manager in front line teams for 25 years in Ealing, Islington, and Surrey. She had managed Family centres; Look after children teams, locality teams, child protection and child in need team’s .She has worked in residential and field work. She has a qualification in social work and family therapy. She has chaired reviews, strats, PLO meetings and child protection conferences. She has a special interest in therapeutic services and intervention within child protection. She has set up and run many projects e.g. Family Group Conferences preventative forums and multi agency infant mental health projects. She has undertaken learning sets with managers and management supervision and development programmers, focusing on performance indicators and competencies.She is interested in integrating anti discriminatory practice within work and services.
- Becky Tyler
Becky Tyler has over 15 years experience of working with children, young people and their families in a variety of settings. She has worked as Manager of a number of young people's drug services, in generic youth work, with young people with learning difficulties and disabilities and in schools. Becky is a qualified Youth and Community Worker and specialises in substance misuse work, sexual health education and training. As an experienced trainer Becky has recently worked on the development of Common Assessment Framework, Assessment Skills and Safeguarding courses.
- Christina Enright
Christina Enright gained 16 years experience as a nurse in the NHS before completing a BSc psychology, Dip in Family Therapy and an MA in Integrative Child Psychotherapy. Over the past ten years Christina has worked with children, adolescents and their families in a variety of settings, including schools. Her experience includes direct work with children, adolescents and parents, parenting capacity assessments, consultation to staff teams on case management as well as service development. Christina has a special interest in the brain, trauma and attachment; in particular how complex or developmental trauma impacts on the global development and mental health of the child, as well as its manifestations through presenting behaviour. Furthermore she is passionate about disseminating research evidence on the impact of trauma on a child’s development and presentation to wider arenas, particularly within the social care and education systems, so that through better understanding staff can work more effectively with the most challenged and challenging children and young people. Christina has a wide range of experience of training both within the NHS and social care system. She frequently uses her specialist knowledge and experience with children who have endured attachment disorders and trauma, to train staff within these sectors, as well as direct work with children, adolescents, birth parents, foster carers and adoptive parents.
- Stephen Henderson
Stephen Henderson Dip Theol Dip SW graduated from Stevenson College, Edinburgh in 1997. He has worked as a social worker in a Children and Families Area Team. He was previously an Assistant Service Manager with a responsibility for Child Protection and Family Support. In the past 5 years he has been a front line manager in Children and Family Teams. Stephen has particular interests in Child Protection, Child Development and the Law.
- Roselle Potts
Roselle Potts is a qualified solicitor with over 14 years in practice, working in care proceedings, homelessness cases and welfare benefit cases. She has five years experience working as a solicitor in a specialist law centre for young people aged 13-25. Roselle has been a foster carer for two years and has expertise in working with unaccompanied asylum seekers. She has run many training courses throughout her legal career for advice and social care staff.
- Pauline Kelman
Pauline Kelman is a Senior Social Worker working with children and their families for a London Borough. She has over 5 years post qualifying experience in the area of child protection. She was awarded her PQSW (Post Qualifying Social Worker) in January 2001.
Prior to qualifying Pauline has over 12 years experience of providing consultancy and direct training to staff at all level across health, social services and the voluntary sector. She is currently in her final year of study undertaking a Masters Degree in Child Protection.
- Ann White
Ann White has a degree in Psychology and Sociology and is a qualified Social Worker. Although most of her career has been in Child Care, mainly in Fieldwork and Family Placement, she has had experience across all sectors of Social Care.
Ann has been a Team Manager and was for six years a Training Officer for Children’s Services in a Local Authority Social Services Department. She has a City and Guilds NVQ Level 4 in Training and Development.
Although her main expertise is in Child Care training, Ann has significant experience in staff safety and managing challenging behaviour training together with training for supervisors and in personal and team development. She is also experienced in developing and delivering training involving service users.
- Cheryl Ozbilen
Cheryl Ozbilen is a social work practitioner and manager, currently working as an Independent Reviewing Officer for a Local Authority in Wales. Prior to this she was the Workforce Development and Training Manager for a Local Authority Children’s Services in North Wales.
Cheryl has spent the majority of her 22 year social work career managing residential services for adolescents, and short break services for children and young people with learning disabilities. She has a particular research interest in 'managing challenging behaviours' and 'Improving outcomes for Looked after Children'.
Most recently she has been involved in the delivery of LSCB Multi-agency Safeguarding Training, Joint Investigation Training and Foster Carers Training Programmes.
- Jane Robson
Jane Robson qualified as a social worker at Royal Holloway College, University of London in 1993. Prior to that she worked unqualified for 4 years in residential care firstly with children aged 0-18yrs.
As a social work practitioner and manager, Jane was part of the team that piloted the Assessment Framework and over the years she has presented assessments & careplans to court about complex child care issues. Many of these involved the parenting capacity of individuals assessed to be experiencing mental illness, substance misuse and learning disability.
In her current role in statutory social work, Jane chairs Child Protection Case Conferences , Statutory Reviews for children in public care and complex Child Protection Strategy Meetings. She is the Local Authority Representative for the Multi Agency Public Protection Panel and takes responsibility for all the serious case reviews in the department. With other colleagues she has delivered interagency training in, amongst other things, child protection, risk assessments, corporate parenting and working with Looked After Children.
- Kath McAndrew
Kath McAndrew is a qualified Social Worker with fifteen years experience. During that time she has specialised in child protection, working with parents and under 5\'s and working with troubled adolescents.
Kath has undertaken research in use participation in residential care. She is an experienced trainer and has delivered courses in all aspects of child care, child development and family work.
Kath has three children of her own.
- Leon Roach
Leon Roach is a trainer of some 20 years experience. Working within the statutory and voluntary sector care industries gives Leon a critical awareness of how social care is arranged. Specialising in diversity management affords Leon an opportunity to engage with wider social policy trends. Leon has worked in homelessness, penal reform, social services children and adults sections and more recently in higher education.
- Penny Rowlands
Penny Rowlands has a background of working with children and families in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors. She has managed a multi-disciplinary, community based family centre where target groups included children with disabilities and parent with mental health issues. The centre developed a number of outreach projects including a group in a homeless hostel and a group in a high rise living complex.
Penny has also worked as the manager of a prison based team working with remand and sentenced male and female prisoners. The work included delivering specialist parenting programs, facilitating childrens visits, maintaining family ties, pre- release programs, risk assessment, and the development of a child protection policy for the prison.
More recently Penny has managed a children and families assessment team for the local authority, has delivered training on multi-agency work in child protection, direct work with children and working with perpetrators of domestic violence.
- Sam Chapman
Sam Chapman qualified as a social worker in 1976. She started her career as a residential social worker working with adolescents including those in secure units before moving into field social work. Sam has worked in statutory sector, children and families departments in inner city London and Bristol and a shire county. Other practice experience includes positions in a GP practice, hospital and child guidance clinic.
Sam moved into training as lead multi-agency child protection trainer, including joint investigation training and also continues to teach in Further Education and Higher Education on BSc Social Work courses. Sam works as an independent trainer and part-time Associate of Reconstruct.
- Sam Tarling
Sam Tarling has been a qualified Social Worker since 1995 gaining a BA (Hons) degree in Social Policy and Administration with a CQSW, and has worked in Child Protection in a number of London Boroughs. She presently spends much of her time joint training on the Joint Investigation and Achieving Best Evidence Course with the Metropolitan Police.
She has a number of years experience in training a variety of different levels of child protection courses, is associated with a number of London Boroughs, the London Fire Brigade, Education Establishments, as well as being an associate trainer with Reconstruct.
Sam’s other work includes independent social work assessments for the statutory and voluntary sector along with policy work around Safeguarding issues with children and vulnerable adults.
In her much limited spare time she trying to do an MSc in Child Forensic Studies while planning for her wedding next year!
- Tony Griffin
Tony Griffin is a retired Police Officer who served with Wiltshire Police for 31 and a half years, mostly as a Detective Officer. He served the last 5 and a half years as a Detective Sergeant managing the child protection unit at Salisbury police station, working with the other partner safeguarding agencies. Tony was also involved in the multi agency training programme and retired in June 2007 to follow a career as a multi agency trainer with Wiltshire County Council and local safeguarding board
- Wynand McDonald
Wynand McDonald qualified as a social worker at Pretoria University (South Africa) in 1991. He then excepted officer’s commission in the South African Defence Force where he worked as a senior social worker delivering a wide range of services, including: family therapy, mental health services, research, community work and group therapy. During this time he also undertook further post-graduate studies in Psychology at the University of South Africa.
In 1996 he resigned his commission to be a social worker in private practice that focused mainly on families who experienced difficulties with mental health and addiction. Later, his practice consulted to a private addiction treatment centre where he fulfilled the role of the Assistant Head of Treatment. His duties included programme development, assessment and admission of patients and supervision of social work staff. Other areas of his practice included reporting in family law proceedings for the Office of the Family Advocate as well as being an expert witness, in criminal proceedings, for the South African Supreme Court.
He immigrated to the United Kingdom in 2001 where he worked in a busy West London children and families service as a senior social worker, assistant manager and manager of a frontline child protection team. His duties included the preparation of court reports in family proceeding matters and supervision of managers and senior social workers. Wynand feels strongly about training and development of social workers and he has been a practice teacher since 2003.
Recently, he accepted the role as policy / developmental officer for a Local Safeguarding Children Board which affords him the opportunity to do training and develop policy. He is also an Independent Reviewing Officer and he chairs complex strategy meetings and child protection case conferences.
Current projects include work on private fostering, missing children and safeguarding procedures.
- Ann Domeney
Ann Domeney qualified as a social worker in 1985. She has extensive social work experience with children and families and has held senior management positions in several local authorities. She has a broad experience of the range of issues that affect children and their families and a considerable interest in developing staff to reach their full potential in the challenging task of delivering good quality social work to children, young people and their families.
- Mark O'Donnell
Mark O'Donnell is an honours graduate in Social Sciences. Prior to Social work training he worked in a variety of positions in the educational field both at home and abroad.
He qualified as a social worker in 1994 and has since worked in a range of childcare settings in Glasgow and Lanarkshire. Mark is a practice teacher and has a particular interest in developing the use of Solution Focused practice within the social work setting. Mark currently works in a busy children and families team on the outskirts of Glasgow as well as working for Reconstruct.
- Marion Mellon
Marion Mellon has 10 years experience as a nurse in the NHS, working in acute and long-term psychiatric and general nursing settings. She gained a BA (hons)in Psychology in 2000 and went on to qualify as a Social Worker in 2005.
Marion works as a social work practitioner in a Children and Families team in the West of Scotland. She is a case manager for statutory and voluntary child care with extensive experience in looked after and accommodated children, child protection and child development.
Marion is a member of the child protection departmental working group of her social work locality. She is trained in joint investigative interviewing and in working with children who display sexually problematic behaviour.
- Marilyn Cunningham
Marilyn Cunningham is currently a Child and Family Social Worker within a Local Authority within the West of Scotland. Marilyn is experienced in undertaking Child Protection Investigations and attending and participating in Child Protection Conferences.
Marilyn has worked within Social Services for a number of years and has experience of working within Community Care, Adult Justice and Community Mental Health fields. Prior to entering into Social Work Marilyn Graduated from the University of Glasgow with a Master of Arts Social Science Honours Degree.
Marilyn has an interest in Social Research and plans to undertake a Post Graduate Degree in Social Research Methods in the near future.
- Ruth Dalzell
Ruth Dalzell is a trainer and consultant with thirty years experience in the field of child and family welfare. Qualifying as a social worker in 1982 she was a practitioner for many years in frontline fieldwork services, family placements and youth justice from where she moved into learning and development in a local Authority. From 1997 to 2006 she worked for National Children’s Bureau where for 9 years she instigated, managed and delivered practice development projects, consultancy contracts, policy activity, conferences, seminars and training courses and latterly managed a practice development unit. Whilst at NCB Ruth co wrote ‘Putting analysis into assessment: Undertaking assessments of need’ [2007]. Due to its success and popularity Ruth and her co author updated the book this year and it was reissued on October 31st, including a recommendation by Dr Eileen Munro. Ruth has proven skills in project and team management, training and facilitation, service evaluation and consultation with service users, communication and dissemination. Ruth still undertakes some practice as an IRO and undertaking independent assessments from time to time.
- Roberta Margison
Roberta Margison graduated with a DIPSW from Glasgow Caledonian University in 1997 with a specialism in disability. Roberta has a varied experience of working in area team and specialist child care projects. She is an experienced trainer in the field of behaviour management which includes developing a specific programme focusing on children and young people who have additional support needs. Roberta has acted as a consultant in the field of disability since 1995, delivering training and talks to various voluntary sector staff, parent carers and student social workers on disability issues. She has a level 1 in British Sign Language and is fluent in the Makaton signing system. Roberta has been a member of several committees and management boards in her capacity as a Carer. Roberta graduated from the SHS (Scottish Human Services) Partners in Policymaking leadership course in 2000 and is a trained Person Centred Planning facilitator. Roberta is a keen advocate of the Citizenship model of disability and self-directed support.
- Mairi Brackenridge
Mairi Brackenridge has a background in social work starting in 1976 as a trainee social worker in a Child and Family Clinic in the London Borough of Croydon. After undertaking her Diploma in Social Work she worked for Strathclyde Region for 18 years, 14 of these as a basic grade social worker in Easterhouse, Glasgow. Although this was a generic role the caseload was weighted heavily to long term children and family work. She moved to a child care planning role at headquarters which developed the ground work for the introduction of the Children (Scotland) Act and the requirement for child care plans.
After local government reorganisation in Scotland in 1996 she moved to a promoted post as a Planning Manager for social work in South Lanarkshire before moving to manage the Criminal Justice service. In this role she was also responsible for the development of the Council response to Violence against Women and working with young people involved in offending and anti social behaviour including the establishment of the pilot Youth Courts. As a consequence of this role she became involved as the Association of Directors of Social Work‘s (ADSW) representative on a number of Scottish Executive/Scottish Government activities including a period of secondment to the Scottish Executive as the CoSLA representative during the ‘Reducing Reoffending’ developments. She also contributed to the development of MAPPA arrangements in Lanarkshire and chaired the first MAPPA Steering Group. Latterly she was Head of Adult and Justice Services responsible for mental health, learning disability, physical disability, reception, substance misuse as well as criminal justice services. In this role she developed the Council's approach to Adult Protection.
Mairi took early retirement in December 2009 and since that time has undertaken some work as an independent consultant including looking at adult protection practice. She is on the Board of Indepen-dance a small organisation that provides integrated dance for people with disability and the Board of Venture Trust Scotland which uses outdoor experiences to develop skills of young people in trouble.
- Hayley Tuffin
Hayley Tuffin is both a qualified social worker and systemic family therapist registered with UKCP. Originally working in a district Children & Families team, she then went on to work in a CAMHS team in London whereby she specialised in working firstly with children who have been sexually abused and then with mothers who had experienced domestic violence.
She is an experienced trainer and lecturer, having lectured for the Institute of Psychiatry on various courses and done safeguarding courses for social care, Early Years and safeguarding boards. She is just about to take up some part time work with the Refugee Council as a systemic practitioner, organising training and casework there.
- Diane Apatoff
Diane Apatoff obtained her Social Work qualifications in 1984 and a Masters in Social work from the University of Leicester. She has extensive social work experience with children and families and has also held a specialist child protection post in a busy London teaching hospital. Diane currently works as an independent trainer and consultant and also as an independent Social Worker.
Diane has also managed training and development services in the statutory and voluntary sectors and has delivered training to many professional and community groups. She obtained her training qualifications from Goldsmiths, University of London In 1996.
- Pravin Navekar
Pravin Navekar has worked for local authorities for 18 years. He has a degree in social work and a Masters in Human Resource Management. He has worked as a consultant for over 10 years with a variety of voluntary and private sector organisations. Pravin has developed a specialism of working with organisations on issues of diversity and equalities.
- Robin Watts
Robin Watts is a retired police officer. He spent 30 years as a Detective in the Metropolitan Police. The last 10 years of his service were in child protection, the last 5 years as a child protection trainer. He set up and managed the child protection training unit, and created the courses for police officers and social workers, training them in joint investigation, achieving best evidence, and for police officers the national ‘Specialist Child Abuse Investigators Developers Program’. Since retiring from the police he has trained numerous agencies and organisations in many aspects of the child abuse arena. Has created and delivered courses for charities involved in the child protection field, and advises on procedures and policies. Has also advised and advocated in the child protection arena. Has qualifications in childhood studies, and is working towards further qualifications.
- Anne Louise Pemberton
Anne-Louise Pemberton (BA Hons) has a background in leadership, performance management & customer service training.
As a manager for British Airways, Anne-Louise was responsible for the coaching and development of front line customer care staff and managers.
As an independent trainer and consultant Anne-Louise has designed, delivered and evaluated a wide variety of soft skills training programmes. She is also an independent recruitment associate.
In the education sector, Anne-Louise has worked with young people developing communication and interview skills. In the health sector, Anne-Louise is involved in the development and training of Motivational Interviewing techniques for health professionals.
Anne-Louise has worked with a number of blue chip clients helping with recruitment and managing performance. She is MBTI & FIRO qualified and has a certificate in management studies.
- Rob Black
Rob Black is a qualified social worker with a specific interest in solution focused practice. He has been presenting workshops and training in this approach since 1999 throughout the UK and Europe. He has previously worked in a variety of voluntary and statutory settings and currently works as a Solution focused practitioner for Bath and North East Somerset Social Services
- Roger de Wolf
Roger de Wolf had a career in teaching, theatre, youth arts work and community development before gaining a DipSW and becoming a Probation Officer. During his eleven years in a voluntary sector drug and alcohol agency, he worked with problem drug users and their families, and trained both staff and volunteers. Alongside the day-job, his practice as trainer, group-worker, non-managerial supervisor, university lecturer and team development facilitator has expanded and developed over the last twenty years, and he is now fully freelance. Roger is a trained and experienced mediator and is passionately interested in solution-focused working and motivational group work.
- Jim Wild
Jim Wild is an academic, trainer and activist in the context of child protection and safeguarding work, masculinities and values. Jim worked on the frontline in child protection for 15 years. He was a social work lecturer at Nottingham Trent University for 7 years and convenor of the first unit on critical studies in men and masculinities and course leader for the diploma in applied studies in working with men at Nottingham Trent University. Jim is editor of ‘Working with Men for Change’ (Routledge: 2002), ‘Fit for Practice in Child Protection’ (Reconstruct: 2005) and ‘The Value-Base of Social Work and Social Care’ (Open University Press: 2008). He is presently writing a ‘pocket book’ for frontline workers on difficult, dangerous and evasive service-users in child protection.
- Elizabeth Cameron-Hay
Elizabeth Cameron Hay's practice background has been in Local Authority work with children and families. She has managed Children’s Homes and a Family Centre, and worked as a specialist Child Protection Social Worker. Currently, Elizabeth works in Learning and Development for a major Child Care Charity. This has given her the opportunity to become involved in Children's Rights and Participation work and hre remit includes work with parents, carers and young people as well as supporting workers and staff teams.
Elizabeth has a particular interest in using the creative arts to work with children, young and adults; and in Group Work.
She has extensive experience in learning and development in Child Protection, Direct Work with Children and Young People Residential Work with Young People, Team Development, Working with Diversity and Supervision. She is skilled and experienced at offering consultancy to teams and groups. As a disabled woman, with mobility impairments, Elizabeth has a personal commitment to promoting disabled people's rights and participation.
Elizabeth is a qualified Teacher and Social Worker. She has a Postgraduate Certificate in Storytelling in Therapy and Education (University of Hertfordshire) , and a Postgraduate Diploma in Working with Groups ( Tavistock Institute).
Elizabeth is an Associate Trainer with the NSPCC's Child Protection Learning and Development Team. She is a member of BASW and the Tavistock's Register of Psychotherapists and Allied professions.
- Lynn Everton
Lynn Everton is an experienced practitioner and manager, having worked in children’s social care services and services for disabled children for 20 years. She gained a BSc and qualified as a social worker in 1990, and later gained an MA in Public Policy and Management, with a distinction for her work on Direct Payments for parents of disabled children.
Lynn has managed and developed a wide range of services for children in need and disabled children and their families, including a multi disciplinary service, a social work and play service, residential and fostering short break services, Parent Partnership service and Children’s Rights service, both within a local authority and voluntary sector organisations.
Lynn is an experienced trainer, having provided training for foster carers, multi disciplinary professional staff groups, volunteers, play and youth workers, and social workers. She is experienced in undertaking service reviews and evaluations and in change management.
Lynn is an Associate Trainer and Consultant at Reconstruct as well as being an Associate Tutor at the University of York, Social Policy and Social Work Department.
- Shefali Shah
Shefali Shah LLB (Hons), DMS, Solicitor, has 15 years experience in public and private sector, with over 13 years experience as a Local Authority Solicitor in various Local Authorities and as a Manager of a Social Services Legal Team responsible for all child, adult protection, community care and asylum matters. Shefali is member of the Law Society Children Panel. She has conducted high profile care and adoption proceedings on behalf of the Local Authorities, and Children and acts as a legal advisor to various adoption panels and national children charities.
Shefali also has extensive experience in both practising and teaching Children Law to social work and legal practitioners.
- Prity Patel
Prity Patel LLB(Hons) has extensive experience of providing an effective legal advice as a Principal Lawyer within a Local Authority for 10 years. Prior to that Prity was in Private Practice for 6 years as a Divorce and Child Protection Lawyer representing parents and extended family members within Public Law Proceedings. As Principal Lawyer Prity was responsible for managing a team of Lawyers dealing with education, adult and child protection cases; acting as Legal Advisor to the Adoption and Permanence Panel and Local Children Safeguarding Board. Prity was responsible for ensuring her client, Children Services were compliant in meeting the Every Child Matters agenda.
- Steve Chamberlain
Steve Chamberlain has been working in social care since 1978. He started his career with adolescents in a residential unit, and qualified as a social worker in 1983. During the 1980s he worked in a generic ‘patch’ team, undertaking child protection and child care planning work. He qualified as an Approved Social Worker in 1987.
Steve moved into a mental health team in 1991 and has specialised in working with adults since then. He continues to practice as an Approved Mental Health Professional (previously ASW) and since 1999 has managed a Community Mental Health Team, an older people's mental health service and most recently has been social work lead for mental health in Kensington and Chelsea.
He is currently seconded to the regional office of the Department of Health as London Implementation Lead for the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.
He has worked as an associate trainer for Reconstruct since 1997, training mainly on Mental Health and Parenting, but also teaching Mental Health Law to social workers and other professionals.
