After beginning my career as an Early Years Practitioner, I qualified as a Social Worker, graduating from the University of Hertfordshire in July 2000.
Over the past 25 years, I have had the privilege of working with thousands of children, young people and families across health, education and social care. Throughout my career, I have specialised in three key areas: safeguarding children, supporting children with disabilities, and improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.
My career has included working within Children’s Services, Child Protection, Family Support, Disability Services and NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), supporting children experiencing a wide range of social, emotional and psychological difficulties. I have also worked extensively with schools, multi-agency teams, health professionals and the Family Courts, always with the belief that children achieve the best outcomes when professionals work collaboratively.
Learning has always been central to my practice. Alongside my professional experience, I have completed extensive postgraduate training including Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) coaching, childhood trauma, neurodevelopment, domestic abuse, substance misuse, Achieving Best Evidence (ABE) interviewing, the Strengthening Families Programme, Kidscape anti-bullying training and a wide range of safeguarding and child development programmes. I remain committed to continual professional development and ensuring my practice is grounded in current research and evidence.
Over the years, one question continued to stay with me.
Why do we wait until children are in crisis before we teach them about their emotions, their brains and the skills they need to navigate life’s challenges?
Time and again, I met children whose difficulties had escalated to the point where education, relationships and everyday life had become overwhelming. While specialist intervention is vital, I increasingly believed that many children could be better supported if emotional resilience and psychoeducation became part of everyday education rather than something introduced only after problems had developed.
That belief led me to establish The Parachute Project.
Today, I lead an experienced multidisciplinary team of qualified professionals from social work, education and mental health. Together, we provide counselling, therapeutic interventions, specialist Alternative Provision, professional consultation and results-led Emotional Resilience and Psychoeducation programmes designed to equip children with lifelong skills, not just short-term solutions.
Although The Parachute Project is still in its early years, I am incredibly proud of what has already been achieved. Every school and professional who has participated in our Emotional Resilience and Psychoeducation Programme has said they would recommend it, reinforcing our belief that children benefit when emotional wellbeing is viewed as a foundation for learning rather than an optional extra.
I remain passionate about collaboration and innovation. I believe meaningful change happens when families, schools, professionals, researchers and communities work together with children at the centre of every decision.
My ambition is simple: to help build a future where every child is taught not only academic knowledge, but also how to understand their own mind, develop emotional resilience and thrive throughout education and beyond.
