National Advisory Board member
Who am I?
I live in Swansea with my young son. My background is as a family and childcare solicitor; starting out in high-street private practice in the south of England representing parents, then returning home to work for a local authority on care proceedings and adoption cases. I’m a Welsh speaker (well, an advanced learner anyway!) and enjoy walks, baking and playing the piano to relax.
What do I do?
I am Head of Policy and Public Affairs for the Children’s Commissioner for Wales. I’ve worked for CCfW since 2015, starting as a Policy Advisor on Social Services, Communities and Justice. I led the office’s projects on children’s experiences of residential care in Wales, which produced a report entitled The Right Care, and support for care leavers during their transition to adulthood, resulting in the Hidden Ambitions report. I also led on the formal review of WG around home education and independent schools policy in 2021.
My areas of interest and/or experience
- Legal basis of decision making for children in receipt of care and support services
- Reviewing and advising on policy and guidance
- Working with children and representing their views and experiences
- Children’s human rights
- Interpreting legislation and guidance in practical circumstances, and translating this into straightforward language.
What’s important to me
- Involving children and young people in work in a meaningful way
- Providing clear and accessible information for children and families, including recognition of language preferences
- Joining up areas of work across sectors, from our viewpoint as a national, multi sector organisation
- Proactively acting in compliance with children’s rights and taking a rights based approach to service delivery.