Clare Scherer, CEO, Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund Expand After a career as a Lighting Engineer in the Theatre I moved to the Charity Sector in 2004. In 2005 I was approached by Julie Stokes, Clinical Psychologist and Founder and The Duchess of Richmond & Gordon, President of the child bereavement charity Winston’s Wish to help open a West Sussex branch of the charity. Winston’s Wish is a Charity for bereaved children founded in 1992 and was at that time offering direct support to families in Gloucestershire with National reach through its helpline. West Sussex health professionals, social services and other providers had identified a clear need within the County for support and thus the second County branch was formed. We were successful in opening the West Sussex branch and I became General Manager of Winston’s Wish in West Sussex, a member of the Senior Management Team of Winston’s Wish and Head of Major Donor Fundraising nationally. Until 2014 I was also a consultant to many other charities (including the Naval Children’s Charity: Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund) helping them to develop their strategic plans particularly, in the case of smaller charities, with regard to their fundraising strategies. In 2014 I joined the full-time staff at the Naval Children’s Charity: the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund and in May 2018 I was appointed as the Chief Executive. Having developed and consolidated the team in 2019 we carried out a Strategic Review of the Children’s Fund and in 2020 we announced our name change to Naval Children’s Charity and our plans for the future, particularly leading up to our 200th anniversary in 2025. I am delighted to join the board of Children England, particularly to give a voice to the needs of the Service Child.
David Holmes CBE, CEO, Family Action (Chair of trustees) David Holmes, CEO, Family Action (Chair of trustees) Expand David has senior leadership experience in services for children and families in the voluntary sector, local government and central government, and was Chief Executive of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering for 7 years from 2006 to 2013. He became Chief Executive of Family Action in March 2013. Before moving to local government as a Deputy Director of Children's Services, David directed the Child Protection, Adoption and Children’s Trusts divisions in the Department of Health and then the Looked After Children division in the Department for Education and Skills. He began his career as a solicitor in private practice and then worked for several years in NHS management. David was a member of the Government's Expert Working Groups on Child Protection and the Internet, on the Future of the Care Population, on Private Fostering and on Adoption. He has also served as an Adviser to the Local Government Association on Children's Services David is currently a member of the Advisory Group to the Children’s Commissioner for England. He is also currently Chair of Children England and Chair of Naomi House (a children's hospice group). He is a former Chair of the End Child Poverty coalition, the Connaught Group of children's charities and the Alliance for Children in Care. David was awarded a CBE for Services to Children and Families in the New Year Honours 2014. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Founding Fellow of the Society of Leadership Fellows at the College of St. George, Windsor Castle and a Member of the E3M Social Enterprise Leaders Business Club. He won CEO of the Year at the HR Distinction Awards 2016.
Katharine Sacks-Jones, CEO, Become Expand Katharine is the Chief Executive of Become, the charity for children in care and young care leavers. Become helps young people to heal, grow and unleash their potential. They do this through direct support, driving improvements in practice and campaigning for change. Katharine has a background in politics and campaigning and has worked in charity sector for over 10 years. She has worked on issues including homelessness, unemployment, mental health and domestic abuse. Before joining Become Katharine was the inaugural Chief Executive of Agenda, the alliance for women and girls at risk.
Lauren Seager-Smith, CEO, Kidscape Expand Lauren Seager-Smith FRSA is CEO of the UK based bullying prevention charity Kidscape. Lauren has worked in child advocacy and youth development for over twenty years previously working for the National Children's Bureau, Save the Children and global volunteering charity Lattitude. Lauren is a member of the Action for Children England Committee, UK Safer Internet Centre Board and Internet Matters Expert Advisory Panel. Lauren is a regular media spokesperson and campaigner, with a focus on child rights in education and the digital world.
Lucy Peake, CEO, Kinship Expand Lucy Peake joined Kinship (formerly Grandparents Plus) as Chief Executive in September 2015. Since then, she has led the charity’s work to raise awareness about kinship care, influence policy change and to transform support for kinship care families through an expansion of evidence-based programmes. During the covid-19 pandemic, Lucy focused the charity on understanding and responding to the specific needs of kinship care families. During the pandemic, Kinship grew significantly to develop and deliver new support services across England and Wales. Lucy is a member of the Adoption & Special Guardianship Leadership Board, the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory Stakeholder Advisory Council and the Kinship Care Alliance. She has been interviewed recently on Sky News, Channel 5 News, BBC World at One, BBC Five Live and Radio 4 Women’s Hour. In 2019 she was honoured to take part in a month-long kinship care knowledge exchange, meeting kinship carers and other kinship care experts across Australia. Previously she spent 11 years at The Fostering Network where she was Director of External Affairs and then Director of Development. Her team led the successful Staying Put campaign which means young people are now able to remain living with their former foster carers beyond the age of 18. She has a PhD in women’s political representation from Southampton University where she worked as a researcher on the British Representation Study 1997 and other projects focusing on gender politics.
Mark Lee, CEO, The Together Trust Expand Mark has been CEO of The Together Trust since July 2013, having been Regional Director Northwest and Project Director at Barnardo's between 2007 and 2013. Prior to that he worked at The Children's Society in roles including Head of Social Work and Regional Director for the North. He has been a trustee of Children England since 2014 and also sits on the board of the Greater Manchester Council of Voluntary Organisations.
Noori Piperdy, Policy Officer, Clinks Expand Noori is a co-opted board member, after recently completing a successful internship at Children England in Policy and Communications. She is also a final year Politics and International Relations student at Queen Mary University of London and volunteers at 2020Change, a youth empowerment organisation. During her internship at Children England, Noori worked very closely on the ChildFair State Inquiry, which will help to inform the next Children England strategy. In addition, Noori is very supportive of our other initiatives such as Open to All and ChildrenatHeart. Noori is particularly interested in social issues, especially regarding youth justice reform and the state’s current failure to rehabilitate offenders efficiently, as well as equal treatment for children in education regardless of cultural heritage or economic background. In her spare time, Noori is invested in sport and fitness and plays netball, loves to cook and spends time with her nieces and nephews. Noori hopes to inspire by bringing a young and diverse voice to the charity sector and is looking forward to helping implement Children England’s new strategy in 2021.
Norman Goodwin CBE, CEO, Adoption Matters Expand Norman is a qualified social worker whose career in social work began in 1979 with Clwyd County Council before moving to Cheshire County Council. Norman joined voluntary adoption agency Adoption Matters in 1985, initially as a team manager moving up to Chief Executive in 1992. Since then, alongside leading the agency through significant growth and success, Norman has tirelessly campaigned to raise the profile of adoption and the status of the Voluntary/Independent Adoption sector. His involvement in a number of key national initiatives and working groups on adoption includes: - Tim Loughton’s Ministerial Advisory Group the Conservative Party Review of Adoption working party - the Adoption Stakeholder Group - the Prime Minister’s Expert Working Group on Adoption - and the Adoption Implementation Group which became the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board - an executive member and twice chair of CVAA, helping to drive developments and policy, such as the equalising of the Inter-agency fee - Formerly a member of the Board of Trustees of the British Association Adoption and Fostering (BAAF). - Contributing to several publications including: Barriers to Adoption? Variations In The Use of Adoption By Local Authorities; When Two Become One – A Guide To Merger For Voluntary Sector Organisations Working With Children And Families and No Place Like Home: Improving Adoption Services. He oversaw the successful merger between Adoption Matters and Blackburn Diocesan Adoption Agency and DFW Adoption. He now sits on the Boards of a number of Regional Adoption Agencies. He was awarded: - a CBE awarded in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours for, ‘recognition of his outstanding contribution and distinguished service to adoption services and the family’; and - an Honorary Degree from the University of Chester in 2012 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to social work, adoption services and the family.
Patricia Durr, Chief Executive, ECPAT UK Expand Patricia Durr is Chief Executive Officer at Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT UK). Patricia has over 25 years’ public service in the social justice, safeguarding and child rights sectors, leading high profile rights-based campaigning, advocacy and policy work. Patricia has particular expertise in trauma-informed and rights based approaches to social change, most recently at the charity One Small Thing, driving change in the justice system. Prior to One Small Thing, Patricia worked on the investigation into the Anglican Church by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. She has also managed safeguarding boards for the London borough of Haringey and has led external affairs for equality and diversity charity METRO and The Children’s Society where she led a number of coalitions working to secure legislative change including The Children Act 2004.
Rita Waters, Chief Executive, National Youth Advocacy Service Expand Rita Waters is currently the Chief Executive of NYAS (National Youth Advocacy Service). NYAS is a national charity, supporting and protecting the rights of children in care, on the fringes of care or care leavers to have their voices heard when decisions are being made about their lives. Under Rita’s direction are a team of over 800 people including staff, self-employed contractors and volunteers, all of whom make a difference to children’s lives on a daily basis. Rita is proud to be the Chief Exec, leading NYAS to deliver better outcomes and life chances for children in care and champions the rights of the child to have their voices heard when key decisions are being made about their future. Rita has been a Chief Executive for over 15 years in both the private and third sector, as well as holding senior leadership roles in the public sector. She is a highly skilled business regeneration expert with significant experience of working with the private sector, identifying and delivering major investment opportunities. She is also highly experienced in developing business and strengthening the third sector. Rita has extensive experience in public sector bid writing, fundraising and leading and contributing to multi-agency teams and projects. Prior to NYAS Rita has worked across the early years sector, youth and adult training providers and charities offering business, financial and marketing support in order to create and maintain sustainable businesses. Rita is trained in accountancy and holds an honours degree in Business and a post-grad in Management and Leadership. Rita is an established Board member and contributor to many Boards and organisations as well as Company Secretary and advisor to Boards. In 2019 Rita was awarded the Merseyside Business Leader of the Year at the Merseyside Woman of the Year awards. This was awarded on behalf of the Chief Exec of the Institute of Directors. Rita lives on the Wirral and travels extensively throughout the UK, sitting on Boards and representing NYAS in Westminster and on various other platforms.