Associates

ANDREA WILKINSON-QUINN
Specialist areas: Domestic abuse; safeguarding; workforce development; children & families
Experience: Over 30 years across local authority and consultancy settings
Safeguarding expertise: Domestic abuse; multi-agency working; Domestic Homicide Reviews/Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews; family support
Training: Writes and delivers domestic abuse training across health, education, local authority and business settings
Additional expertise: Parenting support; parental engagement; SEND inclusion; workforce development

ANNE-MARIE MCATEER
Specialist areas: Safeguarding investigations, child protection and vulnerable witness interviewing
Experience: Over 30 years across policing, criminal justice and safeguarding
Investigation expertise: Complex child abuse investigations and independent investigations within education and care
Training: Safeguarding training grounded in investigative and trauma-informed practice
Qualifications: Master’s degree in Advanced Child Protection with specialist interviewing qualifications

CHLOE MEANEY
Specialist areas: Safeguarding, safer recruitment, organisational culture and family safeguarding
Experience: Safeguarding consultant, trainer and advisor across private, statutory and voluntary sectors
Consultancy: Policy reviews, safeguarding audits and development of learning and training programmes
Additional expertise: Education, social care, social justice and inclusive workplace cultures
Governance: Former safeguarding trustee and experienced in supporting organisations to strengthen safeguarding practice

DEBBIE MEARMAN
Specialist areas: Neurodevelopmental services, autism, ADHD and safeguarding
Experience: Over 20 years supporting people with autism and learning disabilities
Professional background: Registered Learning Disability Nurse and experienced Clinical Supervisor
Quality assurance: Clinical governance, audit, service improvement and multidisciplinary team development
Additional expertise: Safeguarding risk, multi-agency working and safe information sharing

DENISE ROBERTS
Specialist areas: Safeguarding; child protection; children’s health; training
Experience: Children’s Nurse & Specialist Community Public Health Nurse with extensive safeguarding experience
Safeguarding expertise: Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children; complex safeguarding cases; sexual assault; asylum-seeking children & families; trauma-informed practice
Qualifications: Specialist Community Public Health Nurse; Children’s Nurse; Postgraduate Certificate in Education; Advanced Communication
Additional expertise: Level 3 safeguarding training; policy writing & review; training development; curriculum design; audits & compliance

DHANISHTHA KURUVILLA
Specialist areas: Safeguarding; children’s & women’s rights; international development; organisational safeguarding
Experience: Over 14 years across local, national and international settings
Safeguarding expertise: Safeguarding strategy & policy; risk management; organisational culture; safe & accountable practice
Qualifications: MSc Childhood Studies; LLM Human Rights; First-Class BA Modern Languages with Education
Additional expertise: Partnership building; community engagement; child marriage; international safeguarding

EMMA JONES
Specialist areas: Research & evaluation; safeguarding; trauma-informed practice; lived experience
Experience: Across humanitarian, public health, crime & justice sectors
Safeguarding expertise: Child criminal exploitation; violence against women & girls; coercive & controlling behaviour; trauma-informed interviewing
Qualifications: Master’s degree in Psychology
Additional expertise: Participatory action research; lived experience engagement; domestic abuse & misogyny; compliance audits; gambling-related harm

FIONA BITTERS
Specialist areas: Safeguarding; investigations; vulnerability; strategic leadership
Experience: Over 30 years across policing, safeguarding & vulnerability services
Safeguarding expertise: Child protection; child abuse; child homicide & child death investigations; violence against women & girls; multi-agency safeguarding
Qualifications: Master’s in Applied Criminology & Police Leadership; Chartered Manager & Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute; nationally accredited PIP 3 & PIP 4 Senior Investigating Officer
Additional expertise: Complex investigations; national child death practice; organisational change; service improvement; partnership working

HANNAH SHEAD
Specialist areas: Safeguarding, trauma-informed practice and violence against women and girls
Experience: Over 25 years across the women’s sector, substance misuse and services for people with complex needs
Leadership: Former Chief Executive with responsibility for strategy, governance, compliance and organisational development
Consultancy: Safeguarding reviews, research, evaluations, policy development and reflective practice
Additional expertise: Specialist training, board development, coaching and mentoring

JADE BOOY
Specialist areas: Safeguarding children; health; training; professional development
Professional background: Qualified Midwife & Health Visitor with over 10 years’ experience across health settings
Leadership: Former Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children & strategic safeguarding lead
Safeguarding expertise: Training; policy development; supervision; audit; multi-agency working
Qualifications: Master’s degree in Strategic Leadership in Health & Social Care

KELECHI UKANDU
Specialist areas: Safeguarding; child protection; health; multi-agency practice
Experience: Over 17 years as a Registered Nurse, Health Visitor, Safeguarding Advisor & Named Nurse for Child Protection
Safeguarding expertise: Complex & high-risk child protection; serious violence; child exploitation; child sexual abuse
Additional expertise: Race, ethnicity & safeguarding practice; strategic leadership; safeguarding partnerships; multi-agency learning & improvement

KELSIE FORD
Specialist areas: Education; safeguarding; pastoral support; young people
Experience: Working in education since 2013 across teaching & pastoral roles
Education expertise: Performing Arts & Media Production
Safeguarding: Supporting safe, inclusive environments for children & young people
Additional role: Welfare Officer for a grassroots football club

KERI STANDEN
Specialist areas: Safeguarding; education; safer recruitment; organisational safeguarding
Experience: Over 20 years working with children & families across Youth Justice/Children & Families Services
Consultancy: Independent safeguarding consultant working across Early Years; schools; MATs; sport; out-of-school settings
Safeguarding expertise: Audits; governance reviews; complex case reviews; professional supervision; managing allegations
Qualifications: Accredited Safer Recruitment Trainer; CEOP Ambassador; experienced Safeguarding Lead

KIRSTY FINDLAY
Specialist areas: Multi-agency safeguarding; high-risk case management; statutory reviews
Professional background: Social work; legal training; university-level social work education
Review expertise: Safeguarding Adult Reviews; Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews
Qualifications: Home Office trained in DHR Chairing; SCIE-accredited SAR Reviewer
Additional expertise: MARAC, safeguarding legislation; case law; systems improvement

LIZ ANSELL
Specialist areas: Adult safeguarding; older people; quality assurance; compliance
Experience: Over 17 years in the charity sector, including 13 years working predominantly with older people
Safeguarding: Identifying and responding to concerns and supporting people through safeguarding processes
Audit expertise: Independent quality audits; policy and procedure review; compliance
Additional role: Safeguarding Officer within the voluntary sector

DR LOVEDEEP RAI
Specialist areas: Safeguarding; clinical psychology; harmful sexual behaviour; trauma & complex risk
Experience: Principal Clinical Psychologist working across statutory and specialist services
Safeguarding expertise: Harmful Sexual Behaviour; AIM3 assessments; sexual risk formulation; safety & risk management planning; Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews
Qualifications: Doctorate in Clinical Psychology; MSc Psychological Research; BSc Psychology & Cognitive Neuroscience
Additional expertise: Neurodevelopment; CAMHS; Youth Justice; cultural competency; multi-agency working

NADIA HAJAT
Specialist areas: Adult safeguarding; Artificial Intelligence; Mental Capacity; professional recording
Professional background: Adult Social Worker and doctoral researcher specialising in AI and social work
AI expertise: Ethical & safe use of generative AI within social work & safeguarding practice
Training: Mental Capacity Act; case recording; AI literacy for social work & safeguarding professionals
Additional expertise: Emerging technology; risk; evidence; professional decision-making

RACHAEL CUTHBERT
Specialist areas: Education; safeguarding; SEND; school improvement; quality assurance
Experience: Senior leadership across schools & Multi Academy Trusts
Safeguarding expertise: Recording; monitoring; compliance; multi-agency working; safeguarding culture
Consultancy: Safeguarding audits; training; CPD development; school improvement
Additional expertise: Working with children & families; reporting at Trust Board level

ROWAN HILLIER
Specialist areas: Safeguarding; older adults; leadership; organisational culture
Experience: Over 10 years across the charity sector, from frontline practice to senior leadership & board level
Safeguarding expertise: Safeguarding older adults; whole life course safeguarding; dedicated safeguarding lead roles; trauma-informed practice
Training: Therapeutic Psychology; Trauma-Informed Practice
Additional expertise: Health; education; substance misuse; ageing well; organisational development; mentoring

SAMANTHA GORDON
Specialist areas: Children’s Social Care; safeguarding; corporate parenting; systemic practice
Experience: Senior leadership across Local Authority Children’s Services, NHS CAMHS & frontline social work
Safeguarding expertise: Children in Care & Care Leavers; Quality Assurance; Rapid Reviews; partnership audits; multi-agency safeguarding
Qualifications: MA Advanced Social Work; Foundation Systemic Practice; Frontline Firstline Leadership; Head of Service Pathways 3
Additional expertise: Fostering & adoption; reunification; service transformation; SEND; policy & strategy; Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

SHERRI COSFORD
Specialist areas: Safeguarding; Early Years; children & families; training
Experience: Over 28 years working with children, young people and families
Safeguarding expertise: Multi-agency working; Early Help; Team Around the Family; Child Sexual Exploitation
Training: Qualified Adult Community Education Tutor
Additional expertise: Youth work; residential settings; HENRY; Freedom Programme

SONIA LOWE
Specialist areas: Safeguarding; Early Years; family support; children with additional needs
Experience: Over 30 years across schools; children’s centres; family support; local authority safeguarding services
Safeguarding expertise: Front-door safeguarding; referral triage; strategy discussions; multi-agency working
Qualifications: NNEB qualified & Adult Community Education Tutor
Training: Safeguarding & Child Sexual Exploitation training for professionals, including Early Years practitioners

SOPHIE BAKER
Specialist areas: Child protection; safeguarding; quality assurance; practice development
Experience: Qualified Social Worker with over 20 years’ safeguarding experience
Consultancy: Safeguarding reviews; policy development; governance; organisational improvement
Training: Experienced safeguarding facilitator & trainer
Qualifications: Master’s Degree in Advanced Child Protection

DR STACEY MAHER
Specialist areas: Safeguarding; child sexual abuse & exploitation; children & families; research
Experience: Over 20 years across the voluntary sector, including family support and specialist safeguarding roles
Safeguarding expertise: Child sexual abuse & exploitation; sexual abuse & exploitation of boys; Safeguarding Lead; Children’s Independent Sexual Violence Advocacy
Qualifications: PhD focused on the experiences of men who experienced child sexual abuse/exploitation; qualified Children’s Independent Sexual Violence Advocate
Additional expertise: Qualitative research; gendered social narratives; safeguarding policy & procedures; supporting professionals to identify and respond to child abuse

TAMARA ELVIN
Specialist areas: Primary education, safeguarding, school improvement and leadership
Experience: Over 30 years across teaching and senior leadership in primary education
Leadership: Former Headteacher and Deputy CEO of a nine-school Multi Academy Trust
School improvement: Extensive experience of reviews, monitoring, inspections and supporting school leaders
Additional expertise: Behaviour and safety, safeguarding, teaching and learning and vulnerable pupils

TELISHA JENKINSON
Specialist areas: Safeguarding children; health; supervision; quality assurance
Experience: Qualified nurse of 17 years with over 10 years in senior safeguarding leadership
Professional role: Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children within an NHS Trust
Safeguarding expertise: Safeguarding supervision; extra-familial harm; service design; policy; audit & process improvement
Additional expertise: Technical Assessor for UKAS supporting assessment of Sexual Assault Referral Centres

TRACEY WINN
Specialist areas: Safeguarding in education, school improvement and quality assurance
Professional role: Trust Safeguarding Lead for a Multi Academy Trust of 29 primary schools
Safeguarding expertise: KCSIE, Prevent, auditing, policy development and complex case consultation
Leadership: Experienced SENDCO, Inclusion Lead and Assistant Head Teacher
Additional expertise: Child protection, attendance, SEND, inclusion and multi-agency working