Our Team

Bishop Mark Tanner was born in Canada in 1970. He went to Loughborough Grammar School and has a degree in mathematics from Oxford, a degree in theology and ministry from Durham, and a Master’s degree in applied theology from Liverpool. Before ordination in 1998, he was a youth worker at Holy Trinity, Coventry. He trained for the ministry at Cranmer Hall.

Bishop Mark was ordained deacon in Chester Cathedral and served his title at St Mary’s, Upton, on the Wirral, before moving to Doncaster as Vicar of St Mary’s and thence to Holy Trinity, Ripon, where he also served as Area Dean and as an army chaplain. He was also an honorary canon of Durham Cathedral until his appointment to Berwick in 2016, and is a member of the Ministry Council.

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The Rt. Rev. Julian attended Radley college in Oxford and read for his MA in Theology at Keble College Oxford. He trained for the priesthood at Ridley Hall in Cambridge and was ordained deacon in 1979.

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Bishop Paul was educated at Kingston Grammar School and received a BA in English and history with honours from Nottingham University in 1977. Bishop Paul became the Bishop of Durham in the Diocese of Durham in January 2014. He was previously Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham.

Bishop Paul also acts as an “Advocate for Children” amongst the bishops of the Church of England and regularly visits Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.

Bishop Paul is married to Rosemary and they have four grown-up children (Caroline, David, Andrew & Sarah).

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Sir Mark Hedley is a former barrister and High Court Judge who made legal history in 2010 by being the first judge to allow journalists into the Court of Protection. Sir Mark was involved in adoption issues for more than 40 years and his own family also both fostered and adopted. Sir Mark is also the Diocese of Liverpool Chancellor, a role he has had since 2002. He retired from his long legal career in 2013 and we are delighted that he brings his wealth of experience to Adoption Matters as our charity Patron.

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Carolyn is a practising family barrister at Cobden House Chambers in Manchester specialising in all aspects of Children’s proceedings. This includes representing Local Authorities, parents, grandparents, Guardians, Children and the Police in public  Care and Adoption cases and private law disputes. Carolyn was elected to the General Synod in November 2015 and is a member of the Legal Aid committee as well as being director of CIDARI the Blackburn Diocese Multi –Academy Trust and Chairman of its Our People Committee.

As Chair of Adoption Matters Board of Trustees, Carolyn is very passionate about the vision and achievements of Adoption Matters.

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David is former Director of Education in Cheshire who was awarded a OBE in 2014 for his ‘contributions to education’ over his long career. David worked in several local authorities and was Director of Education for 15 years. David had a long involvement in the promotion of education partnerships, chairing partnerships of schools and colleges in Blackburn with Darwen and Oldham.

David is also actively involved in charity work as well as Vice-Chair of Board of Trustees at Adoption Matters, David also sits on the board of  a voluntary organisation promoting creativity in learning and his local church.

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Joe is Registered Nurse who now works at the University of Chester following a 26 year career in the NHS. An adoptive parent of two girls for which he is eternally grateful to Adoption Matters.

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David is a retired qualified accountant finishing his long career as Departmental Finance Manager, Cheshire West and Chester Council Children’s Services.

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Annesley was Managing Director of two large  manufacturing subsidiaries of International Companies for thirty years. Now retired, he currently holds many board positions in charities and not for profit organisations to assist with Compliance, Governance and Probity.

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Dave is the Diocese of Blackburn Vision Coordinator and Deputy Diocesan Secretary and a member of the Bishop’s Leadership Team. Prior to joining the Diocese in early 2016, Dave spent twenty-four years in various senior strategic planning and asset management leadership roles at United Utilities and Manchester Airport Group. He is an adoptive father of two teenage children and spent nine years as a trustee on the board and finance sub-group of another voluntary adoption agency until his retirement in summer 2017.

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Elizabeth is an applied social scientist and qualified, registered social worker. With experience in practice, particularly with children and families, she went on to gain her doctorate. She has also studied group analysis with Group Analysis North (accredited by the Institute of Group Analysis) and holds a Certificate in Coaching for Leadership and Professional Development awarded by the Tavistock Institute for Human Relations. In addition to lecturing, she has led social work qualifying programmes of study at the University of Bradford. She was a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Salford and joined the University of Chester as a Professor of Social Work in 2010. With an interest in human relations, particularly as they relate to the organization, management and delivery of services to children and families, she has facilitated organizational developments, conducted theoretical and evaluative research, and published her work in a variety of professional and academic outlets.

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Catherine is a practicing solicitor at Anthony Collins Solicitors in Manchester specialising in the commercial and governance aspects of charity law. Prior to qualification Catherine gained degrees in English Literature, Human Rights and Law and now mentors students aspiring to be lawyers.

Catherine is passionate about children and families charities and spent 6 years as a volunteer supervisor of a child contact centre in Chester before joining the board of Adoption Matters. As an adopted child herself, Catherine is delighted to be assisting Adoption Matters  in realising its vision.

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Lynn has over 30 years’ vast experience working in Financial Services, specialising in the not for profit sector. Lynn has a maths degree and is a chartered management accountant holding both the ACMA and CGMA credentials

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Jamie is a senior sales consultant at a FTSE 250 IT services firm, and has a degree in Politics & Sociology from the University of Warwick. Jamie was adopted through Adoption Matters and is therefore extremely passionate about the success of the charity.

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Barry practised as a solicitor in Newcastle upon Tyne for 50 years until early 2020 when he retired as a consultant. He had been senior partner of his firm for 25 years. An expert in Medical Law and Ethics, he was Trust Solicitor of Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust from its creation.

Barry has specialised in family and child care law, fostering and adoption. He was a founder member of the Law Society Children Panel and continues as an Interviewer and Assessor of the Panel. He sat as a Deputy District Judge for 10 years and has been sitting as an Employment Judge in Newcastle and London since 1991.

He was Panel Solicitor of DFW for over 20 years as well as solicitor for two other adoption and fostering agencies.

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Paul has worked in the field of children’s services since 1995. He qualified as a social worker in 1999 and following a short ‘apprenticeship’ in child protection, moved to work in Adoption. He worked as a social worker and manager in a number of local authority adoption teams before joining Adoption Matters in early 2012. Paul has worked with both adopters and children requiring adoptive placements extensively during this time.

Paul manages the teams covering an area from Warrington/Wigan across to Yorkshire and the North East region. He is a panel adviser to the Blackburn and Durham adoption panels, and the lead for the agency’s post qualifying training programme.

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Jacqui has a Diploma and an MA in Social work has worked with children and families for over 20 years. Since 2004 she has worked specifically in adoption, recruiting, assessing and supporting adoptive families; and family finding for children who need adoptive families. Prior to joining Adoption Matters in 2015, Jacqui, managed a local authority Adoption Team. She is the Panel Advisor for our Chester Panel and as one of the Service Managers for our mainstream adoption services, she oversees social work practice in the South of the Agency’s coverage which includes Wirral, Cheshire, South Manchester, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Wales.

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Susy is a qualified accountant with ACCA and worked in practice before joining Adoption Matters in 2004.

Susy is part of the Strategic Management Team and is also responsible for the Business Section of the organisation which includes Finance, HR, adoption admin & IT.

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Karen is completing her CIMA qualification and joined Adoption Matters in 2010.

Karen is part of the Strategic Management  Team and is also responsible for the Business Section of the organisation which includes Finance, HR, adoption admin and IT.

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Gaynor has over 15 years experience in Business Development roles, previously working in in the Higher Education sector where she secured significant funding for and managed a number of projects, programmes and new initiatives. She is a member of the Strategic Managers Team and has an active role in developing the agency’s Business Plan and Strategy.

Since starting work at Adoption Matters in 2012, she has adapted her skills for a different sector and the benefit of the agency, successfully bidding for Government funding to support the work, particularly in the areas of Adoption Support and bespoke family finding. She is fully involved in the agencies partnership activities and in exploring ways to develop and grow these collaborative ventures. Gaynor also manages the Marketing and Fundraising Team and has overseen developments and improvements in the agency’s external communications and customer care, challenging processes and procedures to ensure the best possible service to our families.

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Anne has been privileged to work in the field of adoption and adoption support since 1994. Anne has worked as an outreach worker, social work practitioner, and as practice manager for a highly regarded Local Authority in Cheshire before moving to join the Centre for Adoption Support (CFAS) in 2015. The CFAS reputation for excellence was a key factor in Anne’s decision to join and help develop the service.

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Amanda is a Senior Adoption Practitioner in our Blackburn team.

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Amy has been a social worker since 2005, and has spent the majority of my working life in the adoption field. She has worked assessing families, placing children and within an adoption support team. Amy has also managed different teams within local authorities before joining Adoption Matters. She Adoption matters in 2017 and is currently working as a Team manager within the domestic mainstream adoption service

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Amreen qualified as a social worker in 2000 with a Post-graduate Diploma in Social Work. Amreen previously worked in a generic Children and Families Team for a Local Authority before specialising in working with Looked After Children with a plan for adoption. Amreen joined the agency in 2004 as an Adoption Practitioner recruiting, assessing and supporting adoptive families.

Amreen is now a Team Manager and also runs our Bespoke Family Finding Service for children with a range of needs.

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Bernadette is a qualified children’s social worker with experience in safeguarding, disability and fostering services. She has been working within adoption for the last twelve years and have experience in assessment, family finding , early permanence and adoption support.

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Charlotte is one of our Adoption Enquiry Advisers based in Chester. Charlotte handles all of our adoption enquiries speaking to lots of individuals and couples who are interested in adoption or just have some queries. Charlotte, together with her colleague Joanna, also host and coordinates all of our online adoption events. If you are enquiring with us, you are sure to speak to either Charlotte or Joanna.

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Clive has worked as a qualified social worker since 1987, initially for 11 years in the field of child protection and then moved into adoption in 1998. Clive has experience of all aspects of adoption work as both a practitioner and as a manager; recruitment, assessment, family finding and adoption support. Clive joined the agency in 2014 having spent the previous 4 years as a team manager and agency advisor for a local authority adoption service.

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Carmel joined the Adoption Matters Concurrent Planning team as a social worker in February 2018. She has always had an interest in Concurrent Planning. Carmel was fortunate to have worked on the Goodman C P team some years back before it folded in 2009, so was delighted to be reunited with former colleagues who were on the Adoption Matters Concurrent Planning team.

Carmel believes it is a joy and at times humbling to work with families who choose to adopt via the Concurrent planning route, in order to provide a stable nurturing start for young children.

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Claire is an Adoption Practitioner in our Chester team.

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Charlotte is a Social Work Assistant in our Concurrent Planning team.

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Catherine is an Adoption Practitioner at Adoption Matters, she joined the organisation in April 2021. Before this, Catherine worked for Local Authorities for 10 years in various social work roles, working with children and families and latterly in a fostering team and then an adoption team. Catherine also sits on an adoption panel. She is very passionate about supporting adoptive parents to be as prepared as possible for the challenges adoption brings, particularly issues around Therapeutic Parenting, identity and contact. She is married with two children and enjoys singing and yoga in her spare time.

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Diane started to work for Adoption Matters in September 2020 in the Concurrent Planning team as a social worker. She loves to spend time outdoors with her daughter and puppy on adventures such as camping.

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Elizabeth has been a qualified social worker since 1996 and has worked as an adoption practitioner since 2013 and is now an Adoption Team Manager. She currently works within our Yorkshire team and is very experienced in the assessment of adopters as well as in family finding and supporting matches. Elizabeth is also the lead presenter of preparation courses in the Yorkshire area.

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Elaine is an Adoption Practitioner in our Chester team.

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Fiona started at Adoption Matters in the Summer of 2012 as a Senior Practitioner, but she is now one of our Adoption Team Managers with several lead responsibilities. Fiona is also a member of the Adoption Panel which she really enjoys contributing too. Her background is working in safeguarding and family placement.

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Gemma joined Adoption Matters as an Adoption Social Worker in March 2018. Prior to this, Gemma worked for a voluntary organisation as a school social worker and for an Independent Fostering Agency as a supervising social worker. Gemma has also worked as a social worker for Wakefield and Bradford Local Authorities in the Children and Families’ Teams and in the Adoption Team as a Family Finder. Gemma has been qualified for 19 years and has always worked with children and families.

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Gethin worked for DFW Adoption for eight years before joining Adoption Matters, when the agencies merged in 2019. Before that he worked in a local authority adoption team. Gethin has been an adoptive parent for 32 years and an adoption social worker for 18 years and continues to get satisfaction in helping new adopters find the joy in becoming parents, often for the first time, and supporting them to provide all the love, nurture and understanding that adopted children need to develop and grow.

Gethin is also a social work representative on panel and enjoys delivering preparation training to new applicants where he can share a little of his own experience of some of the challenges adoption brings, but also how rewarding becoming an adoptive parent can be.

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Gemma is an Adoption Practitioner in our Durham team.

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Helen is a Social Worker with the Concurrent Planning Team. She joined Adoption Matters in March 2017. Prior to working for Adoption Matters, she worked in a Local Authority as a Family Finder for an Adoption Team and as a Social Worker in a Children with Disabilities Team for a different Local Authority. Prior to qualifying in 2008, Helen worked and volunteered with older people and children and adults with disabilities.

Outside of work Helen is married with two lovely girls. She loves reading, doing puzzles, musicals and spa days. On her bucket list is to visit every European capital city and to read the top 100 books! Helen also loves animals, and has a grumpy cat. One day she would love to have a chow chow! She is passionate about adoption, and has personal experience.

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Hazel has been a qualified social worker for over 30 years, mostly working in children’s services. She joined Adoption Matters in 2002. Hazel has worked in adoption, safeguarding, and has been a children’s guardian. She is a Team Manager with Adoption Matters, Vice Chair of the Chester Panel, and takes lead within the agency for the Attachment Style Interview and Preparation Groups.

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Hazell has been a qualified social worker since 2014. She has previously worked in safeguarding and joined Adoption Matters in 2018. Hazell is an Adoption Practitioner in the domestic team.

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Irene has been a social worker for many years qualifying in 2004. Irene worked in child protection for 2 years before moving to the adoption service in the LA where she stayed for 5 years. After completing the child care award in 2011, Irene became a senior practitioner at DFW Adoption and in 2014 a team manager. Irene is also the panel advisor for the Durham Adoption Panel. Irene became a member of the social work management team following the merger of DFW Adoption with Adoption Matters on 1 March 2019.

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Julie Hogan qualified as a social worker in 1999 and has over 20 years experience of children and families social work ranging from safeguarding, family support and adoption.

Julie has prior experience of concurrent planning; having previously been employed by Manchester Adoption Society within the Goodman Team (Concurrent Planning). Julie has always been passionate about concurrent planning and achieving early permanence for children and as a result joined the agency to work within Concurrent Planning Service in January 2015. Julie became a Team Manager within the Concurrent Planning Service in March 2016.

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Joanna is one of our Adoption Enquiry Advisers based in Chester. Joanna handles all of our adoption enquiries speaking to lots of individuals and couples who are interested in adoption or just have some queries. Joanna, together with her colleague Charlotte, also host and coordinates all of our online adoption events. If you are enquiring with us, you are sure to speak to either Joanna or Charlotte.

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John is part of our Concurrent Planning service.

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Since Julie completed her Masters degree in Social Work in 2007, she has worked in the field of Children’s Services. Julie’s roles have included working in Safeguarding, Children with Disabilities and a therapeutic residential unit. She has been privileged to worked in the area of adoption since 2013 and her present role is an Adoption Practitioner in the Blackburn team.

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Jan is based in the Durham office and previously worked for DFW Adoption before they merged with Adoption Matters. Jan was on the Business Administration Team for 18 years and is now a Social Work Assistant. Jan’s main role is helping adopted adults to access their birth records and also to help prospective adopters to get through the first stage of the adoption process, working alongside their allocated social worker. Jan also helps to prepare children already in the family for adoption and to help them with the process of welcoming a new family member.

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Joanne is a Senior Adoption Practitioner with the Blackburn team.

Joanne qualified as a social worker in 1997, initially working within child protection, before moving to work in fostering and adoption in 2001.

Joining Adoption Matters in 2015, Joanne has had experience of many aspects of fostering and adoption. This includes three years as a fostering panel member and independent chair of fostering annual review panel. Joanne has experience in both fields in recruitment and assessment, supporting placements, delivering training and supporting adoptees accessing their adoption records. Joanne has specialised in adoption since 2012 and is a preparation training group leader.

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Katie qualified as a Social Worker in 2014 following which she completed several years working within the local authority in Child Protection Teams, Court Teams and Looked After Children services. She joined Adoption Matters in February 2018 where she works as a Concurrent Planning Social Worker assessing and supporting adopters on their Concurrent Planning journey.

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Kate is an Adoption Practitioner in our Durham team.

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Kelly is a Senior Adoption Practitioner in our Blackburn team.

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Lisa has been a qualified social worker since 2010 and has spent the majority of her working life in the adoption field. Lisa has worked at Adoption Matters for over 10 years as a social worker and her main areas of work include delivering preparation groups, assessing families, placing children and support families post placement.

work on the Manchester team. I qualified as a social worker in 2007 and have previously worked in safeguarding and more recently in assessing and supporting foster carers. I joined adoption matters in April 2021.

work on the Manchester team. I qualified as a social worker in 2007 and have previously worked in safeguarding and more recently in assessing and supporting foster carers. I joined adoption matters in April 2021.

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Lisa works within our Manchester team. Lisa qualified as a social worker in 2007 and has previously worked in safeguarding and more recently in assessing and supporting Foster Carers. Lisa joined adoption matters in April 2021.

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Lesley is one of our Adoption Practitioners in our Chester team.

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Linda’s early working life was spent working as a nursery nurse and family support worker on the intake team for a local authority. She has been a social worker since 2003 with experience of working in children’s services assessment Teams safe guarding teams and adoption she has been working with the agency since 2013.

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Melissa joined Adoption Matters in 2018. She is the social work assistant for the Yorkshire team. Melissa’s role includes taking families through the stage one process, working with birth children and organising events for adoption matters families.

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Michelle is an Adoption Social Worker from Durham, she started at Adoption Matters in March 2021.

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Nikky Raistrick joined Adoption Matters in 2014 and has been working as a social work assistant since 2018. She works with prospective adopters through stage 1 and also completes our direct work (PCFA) with birth/adopted children of families wishing to adopt during stage 2, in order to be a voice for the child/ren.

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Rachael retrained as a social worker in 2007 and became a qualified social worker in 2010. Rachael has experience of working in safeguarding and fostering and adoption. She has been working within adoption since 2012 and has a experience in recruitment of adopters, assessment, family finding and early permanence. Rachael won Social Worker of the Year in 2017 after being nominated by adopters who she had previously worked with.

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Ruth is a Social Worker in the Yorkshire and Humber Team. She joined Adoption Matters in July 2018, originally working in the Concurrent Planning service for a year.

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Ruth joined Adoption Matters in 2012 after working in a Local Authority adoption team.  Prior to this she worked in a Care Management team for the same LA. Ruth is a senior practitioner and works in the areas of Chester, Merseyside and North Wales.  She is also an adopter of 3 children.

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Sally is a Social Work Assistant here at Adoption Matters. She joined the agency in April 1982.

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Sally has been a qualified social worker since 1994, specialising in the area of adoption for over 20 years. Sally is the Team Manager for the Blackburn team and a member of the adoption panel as well as co-ordinator of the agency’s intercountry adoption service. Sally is also the Chair of Blackburn with Darwen Council fostering panel.

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Sarah is a Senior Adoption Practitioner.

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Sue Spruce joined Adoption Matters in July 2017 and is based in Stoke-on-Trent as a Senior Adoption Practitioner, but Sue is classed as part of our Manchester Team. She has worked in Fostering and Adoption Teams in a number of local authorities in the North West over the past 30 years. Her main role involves preparation and assessment of prospective adopters, family finding and early support of placements.

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Tracy is one of the Practice Managers in our Yorkshire team.

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Zoe is an Adoption Practitioner on the Manchester Team. She qualified as a social worker in 2018 and joined Adoption Matters in September 2020. Zoe loves the variety of work that comes with this role and finding out about the different strengths that adopters can bring.

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About Me

I have been privileged to work in the field of adoption and adoption support since 1994. I have worked as an outreach worker, social work practitioner, and as practice manager for a highly regarded Local Authority in Cheshire before moving to join the Centre for Adoption Support (CFAS) in 2015. The CFAS reputation for excellence was a key factor in my decision to join and help develop the service.

Outside of work

I enjoy spending quality time with my family and friends. I enjoy socialising, dining out and going to live indoor and outdoor music events (when restrictions permit!). Over the past 10 years I have been blessed with the arrival of 6 beautiful grandchildren, I simply adore my role as Nannie Annie!

What do you love most about what you do?

It is a real privilege to work with such a strong and passionate adoption support team who are exceptionally dedicated and skilled. I also really value the opportunity to work alongside so many caring and committed families and being part of their support network. I enjoy working with skilled and experienced colleagues both within Adoption Matters and with commissioning local authorities/regional adoption agencies, working together to provide a comprehensive range of quality support services in order to deliver the best possible outcomes for our children and young people.

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About Me

I have a Masters degree in Education and a Masters in Social Work.

I worked as a lecturer and manager in further education for 20 years before adopting my two sons. My interest in adoption then grew, resulting in retraining to be a social worker. I spent my student placement with the Centre for Adoption Support before joining as an Adoption Practitioner and then Team Manager in 2019.

Outside of work

My leisure time is spent with my family and our dog and we spend a lot of time at our caravan on Anglesey.

What do you love most about what you do?

I enjoy meeting lots of people and no day is the same. The best part is being able to use my training and my experience as an adopter to help other parents and their children in a range of different ways.

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Nadine manages and supervises our sessional therapists as well as providing consultation to local authorities. Nadine is a clinical psychologist with over 30 years experience of working with children, young people and their families and joined the agency in 2014. Prior to that she was the clinical lead for  the therapeutic foster care team on the Wirral. Previous posts included work with adopted children and their families; CAMHS services and forensic services.

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About Me

I have worked within children’s services since 1995 and specifically in the field of adoption for the past 13 years. I joined the Centre for Adoption Support in 2015 and it has been a privilege to work alongside a highly skilled, knowledgeable and experienced team within such an innovative service.

Outside of work

Above all else I enjoy spending time with my family out and about having fun. Sport has always been a passion of mine and I love playing hockey. There’s nothing better to clear my head than whacking a hockey ball for my local club at the weekend!

What do you love most about what you do?

I enjoy the variety that comes with my role and I never get bored! I can be delivering a workshop one day, seeing families for consultations the next and supporting the fabulous CfAS choir the day after that. It’s incredibly rewarding to work alongside families who use the CfAS service, some of whom are experiencing real challenges. To even play a very small part in supporting children and families to deal with such challenges and witness their resilience is an honour and I believe I learn as much from them as they do from our service.

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About Me

I qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 2008 and have worked in various different settings over the years, more recently spending nearly 9 of those years working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). I am also a qualified yoga teacher, teen yoga and mindfulness teacher and have completed my training in yoga for children.

I am so excited to be part of the Centre for Adoption Support service. The team are so incredibly skilled and experienced. I feel extremely lucky to be a part of the service and uphold the ethos that every child is completely unique and has their own set of individual strengths and needs.

Outside of Work

I love to spend time with my family and friends. I have a love of the countryside and being outdoors, walking and exploring new places. Animals have always been a huge part of my life; from dogs to chickens, rats to guinea pigs, rabbits to horses and more. I practice yoga and meditation as part of my daily routine and love sharing yoga and movement practices with others. I am always up for adventures and trying new activities – most recently I have found a new love of paddle boarding.

What do you love most about what you do?

It is a privilege to work with every single child and their family, each being so beautifully unique. I would have to say that this is what I love most.

Over the course of my career, I have become passionate about sensory processing and understanding how this impacts upon how we can function and cope in a complex world. My other area of passion lies within body-based work such as yoga and movement, emotional freedom technique (tapping) and other practices that support us to re-connect our body and mind.

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About Me

I have been a children and families social worker for twenty five years and a qualified play therapist for eighteen years, working in numerous settings (Barnardo’s projects, community projects and working within schools).

I really value working alongside a multi-skilled and multi-disciplinary team within CFAS. I feel that we contribute and work closely and positively with all our colleagues within Adoption Matters, to try and provide the best possible range of services and support at differing parts of every adopter(s) unique adoption journey. I feel proud to be part of the post adoption support that we provide within CFAS, recognising the joys and challenges of this life long journey.

Outside of Work

I love going on walks, being in the outdoors, especially going to the beach, with my family and friends. I love reading and watching films. Unfortunately, chocolate is my downfall!

What do you love most about what you do?

Having worked with children and families who have experienced numerous losses and transitions, I endeavour to work from an attachment and trauma informed perspective in all the work I do with my families. I am also approach the post adoption support I provide from a strengths perspective, recognising the skills, qualities and resilience of children and their adoptive parent(s). I feel that it is a genuine privilege when people share their thoughts, experiences and perspective on their lived experience with me. We all have so much to learn from each other.

I feel that there is such a healing power to play. I try to integrate this wherever possible into the commissioned sessions, consultation sessions or webinars and discussions I have with families, helping children to meet in a moment with their loved ones, in a less resistant part of their brain. To enjoy moments of fun and reciprocal joy is so powerful, and crucial in building attunement and connectivity.

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About Me

Prior to studying for my Masters in Social Work I have been incredibly fortunate to have a diverse range of experience working with children and families with complex needs. My roles have been in a variety of settings in England and Australia. I have enjoyed working alongside families to identify their strengths and overcome challenges and finding creative ways of engaging with children of all ages.

Outside of work

I love spending a day out with my family. I also love coffee, Pilates and paddle boarding.

What do you love most about what you do?

Having completed my student placement at CFAS I could not believe my luck when I joined as an adoption practitioner. I am surrounded by a highly skilled team who are supportive too which is amazing.

The best parts of my job are getting to know families and hearing their story as well as carrying out Therapeutic Life story work with children, it is such a privilege to support them in making sense of their world.

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About Me

I qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1994 and have worked in a variety of clinical areas and organisational settings, but I have to admit that working in Post Adoption in the Centre for Adoption Support is my all time favourite role.

My interest in post adoption support grew following becoming an adoptive parent over 10 years ago. I began working part time for the Centre for Adoption Support in 2018 and feel greatly privileged to have had the opportunity to support so many wonderful children and their amazing parents. Working for such an innovative service within such highly skilled and enthusiastic team is inspiring, not only within my work role but also my chosen and most valued role of adoptive parent.

Outside of work

I love spending most of my spare time with my family, often in the outdoors walking our dog. However, have recently been attempting to learn to play the Celtic Harp, although I think I am some way off from being ready for my first recital.

What do you love most about what you do?

As an Occupational Therapist, I enjoy using my knowledge and skills in Sensory Processing to be able help families identify their children’s sensory challenges and support them with helpful strategies, both during workshops and within Therapy Sessions. Using Theraplay Informed Practise enables me to help families build stronger attachments, building loving and trusting relationships within the enjoyment of a playful and fun setting. Being able to support people with needs that I have some personal insight into, is what makes this role so enjoyable and rewarding.

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About Me

I have been a qualified social worker for thirteen years, having worked as a social work assistant prior to this for a number of years. My previous experience has been mainly in local authority, working first with carers, then in an adults team, and a children with disabilities team. Prior to joining Adoption Matters, I was in a local authority adoption team; assessing adoptive parents, family finding and linking and matching children, as well as working with young people and their families in adoption support. I currently work in Post Adoption Support and Intermediary services. I found I wanted a new challenge; it had always been a dream of mine to work with adopted adults and birth families and hence, I happily took the opportunity of this fascinating role.

Outside of work

I love spending time with my family, I have two very fun and energetic young sons who keep me on my toes! We enjoy getting out into the countryside where we live and having family days out. I am a keen photographer, love to travel and I like to cook and bake and explore new places. I have recently discovered Pilates which I love; it is definitely harder than it looks!

What do you love most about what you do?

No day is the same! It is a very specialised role which can be emotional at times. I love the complexity of post-adoption work and am passionate about delivering high quality post-adoption services to adopted adults and birth families. I am keen to develop services further and the exciting opportunities this may present.

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About Me

I joined CFAS in November 2016 having previously worked in another Voluntary Adoption Agency. I have been a Social Worker for many years (too many to admit to) and have been fortunate to have had a varied career working both within the Local Authority, the Independent Sector and the Voluntary sector. The majority of my social work experience has been with children and families and mental health.

I totally embrace the CFAS statement “one size does not fit all” in adoption support.

Alongside being a working mum I am a parent of five adopted children ranging from 26 yrs to 13 yrs. As I am sure you can appreciate there is never a dull moment in our house.

Outside of work

I am a very keen tennis player. Last year I gave myself a tennis marathon challenge playing 54 matches across 4 leagues in the summer period. I am also a member of a book club and enjoy walking and visits to the theatre.

What do you love most about what you do?

Within my role I enjoy supporting adopted parents and being a strong advocate for their needs. From a practitioner point of view I have a passion for delivering Theraplay as a proven intervention with adopted families to build up attachment with their children.

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About Me

In 2005 I began my working career in adoption, working in the field of post adoption. In April 2018 I came to work for CFAS because of it’s fabulous reputation in adoption support.

Outside of work

I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I have three beautiful daughters, full of energy, who like to keep me on my toes!!!

I enjoy spending time in the great outdoors, walking and often getting lost in some fields as my children and husband haven’t noticed my lagging behind!!! I love to cook and sew, and thoroughly enjoyed making my children’s clothes when they were younger.

What do you love most about what you do?

I love meeting people and learning, everyone is so different and have lots of knowledge. It is so nice to work within adoption to see the commitment families have and the determination parent(s) have in wanting the best possible outcome for their children, who have come from a very difficult background. Prior to working at CFAS I worked in a Local Authority and was fortunate enough to support all those affected by adoption from birth parents, birth grandparents to adopters and last, but by no means the least, the children.

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About Me

I’m Ronnie and I’m one of the therapeutic social workers at CfAS. I have worked in adoption for over 20 years, both in assessment and post adoption support. I have particular interests in training, the impact of exercise on mental health, and the Nurtured Heart Approach.

Outside of work

I enjoy travelling, gardening, reading and spending time with my family.

What do you love most about what you do?

I really like talking about the Nurtured Heart Approach (ask my colleagues!) and meeting lots of our families at training when they first start planning to adopt as well as later on when they come to talk about their particular children.

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About me

I qualified as a Social worker in 2000 and have worked in both Local Authority and the Voluntary Sector . In 2017 joined CFAS team as one of the therapeutic Social workers . I work part time . I have a particular interest in Theraplay .

Outside of work

I enjoy spending with time with my family and being outside , whatever the weather ! I also like photography and gardening .

What do you love most about what you do?

It is such a privilege to work along side families to help promote connections and strengthen relationships from what Theraplay terms ‘The inside out ‘. I enjoy being part of a supportive , knowledgeable and skilled team and learning from those around me . I appreciate being in a team that promotes creativity and innovation striving to meet the needs of families and constantly evaluating the service to ensure that families feel they are supported.

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Alicia is an Adoption Administrator. Alicia joined Adoption Matters in September 2019.

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Andy has worked in an IT support role since 1994 in several private sector organisations, both in support and management roles. From 2013, Andy’s previous role with a third-party company provided IT support for Adoption Matters before joining the agency in 2019, where Andy is employed as their IT Specialist, providing IT infrastructure management and dedicated end user support.

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Working with our Centre for Adoption Support and Therapy services, Bev provides costings for support packages. Bev also liaises with local authorities and schools.

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Daniella joined Adoption Matters in January 2020 and is part of our Adoption Administration team.

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Debby joined Adoption Matters in May 2019, prior to this she spent over 30 years working in Insurance and Risk Management.

Debby manages the Finance Section and also oversees IT and facilities management

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Diane is a Chartered Member of the CIPD and has worked in a number different private sector organisations in both operational and HR management roles prior to joining Adoption Matters in 2010. Diane manages our HR Department.

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Dianne is our HR Advisor and is based at our Chester office.

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Emma joined Adoption Matters in 2003. Emma is responsible for managing the administration team and completing the agency’s statistics.

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Emily started working for Adoption Matters in May 2020 as one of our Adoption Administrators.

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Jackie has been part of the Adoption Matters team since 2014. Jackie is now one of our Administration Team Supervisors.

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Kathryn is an administrator for Adoption Matters and our Centre for Adoption Support. Kathryn has been supporting the team since April 2015. Kathryn holds a NVQ Level 4 in Business Management and enjoys creative writing, camping and spending time with her family.

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Loraine is one of our Senior Adoption Administrators. Loraine joined Adoption Matters in 1979.

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Lisa runs the monthly payroll for all of the staff here at Adoption Matters. Lisa also provides financial and administrative support for our Therapy Service which can range from dealing with our Therapists invoices, case allocations and case notes, to dealing with queries from Local Authorities and assisting with the recruitment of sessional workers.

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Lynn is part of our Administration Team, as one of our Administration Team Supervisors. Lynn joined the agency in 2014.

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Rebecca’s worked at Adoption Matters since 2017. Rebecca’s time is split between administration work, including writing up the minute for panel, and IT support.

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Rebecca is a Senior Adoption Administrator at Adoption Matters. Rebecca has been with the agency since 2014.

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Sarah has worked with the agency since 2017. Sarah is a Senior Administrator for the Centre for Adoption Support who provides a wide range of support for families. Simultaneously, Sarah works for the Post Adoption service which supports adopted adults and their birth relatives to access their historical records and facilitates an intermediary service.

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Sam is the PA/Secretary to the Chief Executive and is based in our Chester office.

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Daniel became part of Adoption Matters in 2018, following his graduation from the University of Chester with a Sports Journalism degree. Daniel reports to Jenny, and along with Jenny, he is responsible for marketing, social media and PR across the agency.

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Since starting work at Adoption Matters in 2012, she has adapted her skills for a different sector and the benefit of the agency, successfully bidding for Government funding to support the work, particularly in the areas of Adoption Support and bespoke family finding. She is fully involved in the agencies partnership activities and in exploring ways to develop and grow these collaborative ventures. Gaynor also manages the Marketing and Fundraising Team and has overseen developments and improvements in the agency’s external communications and customer care, challenging processes and procedures to ensure the best possible service to our families.

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Jenny is a Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) qualified marketing professional with over 23 years experience working in marketing roles in both the private and public sector. Passionate about using marketing skills to make a difference to vulnerable children’s lives, Jenny worked within local authority fostering, adoption services and corporate marketing/PR teams for over 14 years before joining Adoption Matters in January 2015. Jenny is responsible for all marketing, communication and PR functions.

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Sarah is an experienced Fundraiser and has worked in various roles in the sector for many years, before joining Adoption Matters at the end of 2018. Sarah has worked for national and local charities and her main focus is raising funds for Adoption Matters and the services it provides to ensure that we can continue to help and support as many children and families as possible.

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