Safeguarding Specialists: Serving the Voluntary, Statutory, and Private Sectors with Expertise

Leoni Craigie holds a PGCE in adult education. She has a passion for working directly with people to promote their learning and development. She is a qualified coach and mentor and has trained in providing advice and guidance. She has a Diploma in Leadership and Management. She has used her qualifications in different work roles with learners from varied backgrounds and work areas, as an individual coach, mentor, workforce trainer and group facilitator. She has experience of writing courses on a range of topics, developing teaching resources and delivering training face to face and online. In addition, she has experience of family work and is a trustee of a voluntary sector family support initiative. Related interests are work with children and families, family support, early help, working systemically.

Rosie Levins is a qualified and registered social worker having obtained the Certificate of Qualification in Social work in June 1986. Since then she has worked in a range of social work roles including child protection with children at risk, as a supervising social worker for connected and mainstream foster carers and adoptive families; in the adult sector with adults with disabilities including adult safeguarding. She has a working knowledge of looked after and child protection procedures and an overview of policies within health, education and social care. Her particular interest is in systemic practice, undertaking assessments, reflective practice, person /child centred practice and identifying patterns. She has vast experience in court work and report writing.

Sharda Parthasarathi gained her social work qualification in 1990 and has subsequently over 30 years’ experience of working with children and families in different settings, including residential care, front-line social work and family support teams in both voluntary and statutory sectors. She has worked as a strategic lead in child safeguarding and has been a member of Safeguarding Children Boards (now Safeguarding Children Partnerships), fostering panels, and a school governor. Her specific work interests are in equality and diversity, adult learning and development, supervision skills, working with neglect, harmful sexual behaviour and interventions to promote change.

Sue Ravasio has many years’ experience of working with adults with learning difficulties, and supporting families with multiple and complex needs. Qualifying with a Certificate in Education, she worked first as a coordinator for an Independent Living Skills programmes and in residential homes supporting young people living away from family. She now has responsibility for Early Help Services, managing a team of staff. and chairs the Early Help Hub. She is also qualified to deliver a number of parenting programmes including Caring Dad’s. Her particular interests are in coaching and mentoring, supervision skills, group work and working directly with young people. Sue is also interested in systemic approaches and trauma informed practice.

Sue Roberts has worked in a variety of settings since 2008, on a freelance and consultancy basis as a centre lead/ trainer /teacher /assessor/ quality assurer. She is a qualified teacher, assessor, IQA, LIQA EPA and holds a CMI L5 in Leadership and Management and a First Class Honours Degree in Education and Training. Her areas of expertise are management, customer service, business administration and safeguarding, specifically around relationship or workplace interpersonal abuse and coercive control. She has a pragmatic and 'can do' approach which enables her to identify areas needing improvement using excellent communication, motivational and coaching skills to implement improvements, coaching, training and mentoring staff as required.

Siobhan O’Reilly was a government lawyer specialising in employment law and related procurement issues. She is a Trustee of two charities and has introduced Staff Handbooks, HR policies, training and advice on implementation from Induction throughout the work lifecycle. She holds the Certificate of HE in Learning and Education and is an accredited CIPD management trainer. She has experience of providing coaching and mentoring and in designing and delivering training programmes for organisations to meet their needs, for example, Leadership training, Transferable skills, Managing Psychological and Emotional Health, How Behaviours Impact on Workplace Culture, How to hold Difficult Conversations, Recruitment and Selection Interviewing for both interviewers and interviewees.

Lindsay Bridge is currently a trainer in Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence. She also works for Restorative Solutions facilitating groups of men and women who have received a police caution for domestic abuse. This was a change of focus for her, offering those who harm an alternative point of view and an opportunity to change their behaviour. Her specialist areas are domestic abuse and coercive control including legal changes and lessons learned from domestic homicide reviews. She delivers MARAC briefings, Designated officer and MARAC chair training. She has a degree in organisation studies and a PGCE in teaching. She is qualified in ‘Protective Behaviours’ and ‘Peer Massage’, beginning her career as a nursery nurse. She has an interest in brain development, trauma informed work and preventative work, believing this is the best way to safeguard for the future.

Judi Pickles is a qualified and registered social worker with over 20 years experience of working in various roles in both children’s and adult services, most recently working in fostering for 9 years as a practice manager providing reflective supervision to social workers. She has knowledge and skills in relation to staff wellbeing, developing resilience, staff development and workload management. She also has significant experience of allegation management and working with the LADO, compliance and preparation for Ofsted inspections and developing processes within services such auditing and induction processes.

Julie Evans qualified as a Careers Guidance specialist in 1984 and worked in that field with vulnerable children and adults for over 20 years. By 2000 her career evolved to being responsible for professional development with expertise in multi-agency learning, safeguarding and child protection; quality assurance; adult education and learning. She has a particular interest in embedding learning into practice and improving outcomes for children and adults.