What I do...   

     Core Assessment     Community Care   Poor practice     Dispute resolution    Training     Publications     Complaints
 
...I am an independent social work consultant, having extensive experience in 'mainstream' practice, and also as a legal practitioner in social welfare law.  Until the end of January 2010, I worked, on a part-time basis, in the Public Law Team at Ridley & Hall, a leading and innovative law firm in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.    I have experience, acquired during my thirty years in social work practice, in working on complex cases which require decisive but highly-sensitive decision-making at the conclusion of the assessment or intervention process.   Having lived in various locations in Yorkshire all my life, I moved to Bristol in early August 2010.

In addition to my social work expertise, I hold post-graduate qualifications in Education Law.  This background means that I am extremely well placed to understand the implications of, for example, the workings of the Lower-Tier Tribunal for Special Educational Needs and Disability.   In addition, I am frequently asked to consider the implications for post-school provision for disabled teenagers and young adults.  

I also deliver training on a range of issues concerning professional practice, especially in relation to professional social work and service organisation duties to clients.  I run workshops for parents and/or service users, with "problem solving" as a key element in such sessions.  I undertake assessments of 'children in need' in a wide variety of circumstances.

I am frequently asked to present seminars and workshops, locally and regionally. 

The work I am asked to undertake, especially by instructing solicitors often concerns  seemingly intractable problems - I am particularly interested in work which involves 'problem solving', in order to effect as positive an outcome as possible for each of the parties.

 
In terms of my social work practice, I am regularly instructed by solicitors and others to:

∙ conduct Core Assessments of Children in Need

∙ conduct Assessments of Disabled Adults

∙ “problem-solve” in complex disputes, often between local authorities and clients

∙ analyse alleged poor practice in social work services, including abuse within the care system

I am willing to accept instructions as a Single Joint Expert, and am familiar with the range of implications that arise in the giving of written and oral evidence before the High Court and its associated Courts.  I accept instructions currently from leading firms of solicitors in England, Scotland and Wales.

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