Retaining our social work values when times are tough

I qualified as a social worker twenty five years ago after completing a post-graduate diploma in social work at Goldsmiths College, University of London. I have worked with children and families in need of help and protection throughout my career.

I started working as a social worker in London and worked in a range of settings, joining one of the first child and family assessment teams in the country after a few years of practice.

I quickly developed a keen interest in safeguarding, working with children who had suffered neglect or abuse, and spent some time working closely with mothers who had fabricated and induced illness in their children.

I am a Practice Educator and have enjoyed supporting and assessing student social workers preparing for practice; I have also worked as a Lecturer to adult students of social work, teaching modules on law, legislation and practice. I have led teams of newly qualified social workers undertaking their Assessed & Supported Year in Employment and developed an ASYE Academy in an east London children’s social care division. I really enjoy delivering training to newly qualified social workers at our ASYE Academy in my current role as a Head of Service in Oxfordshire.

I love learning and teaching and have worked as a trainer throughout my career, delivering training on safeguarding, assessing, domestic abuse and anti-oppressive & anti-discriminatory practice.

I have always been passionate about making statutory and legal processes meaningful to families and was directly involved in the development of pre-proceedings processes that were accessible and helpful to parents and carers when the Public Law Outline was introduced.

Having worked as a senior manager in children’s social care for several years, I have developed and led a range of frontline services including multi-agency safeguarding hubs, assessment services, long- term statutory safeguarding teams, children in care and care leaving services and independent assessment services

I am very excited about the changes we’re making in Oxfordshire by implementing our Family Solutions Plus model – this practice model promotes restorative, relationship-based work with children, young people and families, with motivational interviewing at its heart, and specialist adult workers in our teams to help parents make and sustain the changes they need to care for their children independently.    

I’ve worked for Oxfordshire County Council for over 20 years in a variety of roles across children’s services, after completing an undergraduate degree in psychology. I’ve worked with children with autism in schools, provided domiciliary care and behaviour support to disabled children and studied for a masters in special educational needs and inclusion.

Throughout the years Oxfordshire has supported my career development which led me into management within our early intervention service and subsequently onto qualifying as a social worker. From here I worked in our statutory family solutions service before moving onto my current role as principal social worker for children and families.

I love working for children’s services at Oxfordshire County Council. I work with fantastic people who share the same values, passion, innovation and motivation for our work with children and families. I am passionate about the importance of building relationships and providing the best environment for practitioners to thrive and to enable us all to provide the best for the children and families of Oxfordshire.

I am a New Zealander by birth and travelled to the UK after completing an undergraduate degree in English, Anthropology and Sociology in 1994. I trained as a social worker in 1997 at Goldsmith College, University of London.

I have worked in a variety of settings including an inner London borough as a senior practitioner, within a child psychiatric inpatient unit , in management in the residential sector and led two Children’s Centres prior to returning to statutory social work in Oxfordshire. I am currently the Head of Service for Family Solutions Plus in central Oxford and the Head of Service for Early Help Services in Oxfordshire.

I am passionate about high quality social work and delivering effective services to children and their families.  I have strived throughout my career to develop effective interventions that make material difference to children’s lives and support practitioners to be creative and innovate in their practice.

Covid has been a truly testing time for all and to launch a new model in its midst has been one of the most challenging but inspiring parts of my career to date. I am looking forward to presenting our reflections on leadership during this turbulent period and how we remained close to our core social work values.