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Maxine Harris

Profile

After qualifying as a social worker in 1998 I worked in a local authority children and families team mainly in child protection. I commenced independent work in 2003 working initially as a Childrens’ Guardian representing children in public law proceedings. I presently do independent work with local authorities and private fostering agencies. I have prepared numerous reports for court and have acted as an expert witness in family proceedings. I have knowledge of the Islamic culture, dual and mixed heritage families, lesbian and gay partnerships, family assessments, sibling relationships and family contacts. I have chaired child protection and family group conferences and fostering panels.

Gill Timmis

Profile

I am an independent social worker with over 25 years experience of children and families social work. My expertise is in the following areas: independent parenting and risk assessments; assessments of prospective adopters and kinship assessments; representation of children as CAFCASS Children’s Guardian and in private law disputes concerning contact, residence and removal from the jurisdiction, appointed by the National Youth Advocacy Service. I have trained social workers and CAFCASS practitioners in child care legislation and practice, adoption and children’s rights and participation. I have published research and professional articles. I have worked in Bulgaria and Ethiopia running workshops in child care practice and legislation. I have knowledge of practice and have social work and legal contacts in Bulgaria and Ethiopia to enable me to provide advice in relation to international cases.

Surinder Kumari

Profile

I have considerable experience of court processes and have undertaken numerous assessments for the courts on different aspects including Parenting, Friends and Family Assessments, Sibling attachment, Core Assessments, Social Work Assessments, Contact and Risk Assessments. Some of these have been complex pieces of work with families where there have been child deaths/torture, surrogacy and forced marriages. I am trained to undertake Parenting assessments using the PAMS assessment tool parents with learning difficulties and undertaken the teachings. I am passionate about working with families and presenting good quality assessments to assist the decision making process for children and their families.

Angella Wells

Profile

I am involved in all aspects of court related family work, undertaking safeguarding/parenting assessments, report writing, delivering training and case file auditing. I am competent in PAMs assessments and have an interest in evidence-based intervention models of assessment/teaching such as Triple P parenting and various strengthening families’ models. I have previously worked as a Child’s Guardian/IRO advocating and supporting children and young people. More recently I have been involved in strategic management with oversight of a range of quality assurance functions, including policies/procedures, performance management, inspection preparation, contextual safeguarding of vulnerable adolescents and serious case review learning.

Fareena Shaheed

Profile

I qualified as a Social Worker in 1996 and commenced work in a local authority, undertaking the full range of statutory intervention. After working with an Independent Fostering Provider I joined Cafcass as a Family Court Adviser, then progressing to Service Manager. I later returned to local authority practice in a QA and Practice Development role. As an Independent Practitioner I provide a broad range of high quality assessments. In addition, I have IRO experience, and contributed the OU SW degree course as an Associate Lecturer. I regularly design and deliver training for practitioners. Find out more or contact me at fareena@fareenashaheed.com or http://fareenashaheed.com/

Angela Adams

Profile

I am an Independent Social Worker and expert witness with over 30 years’ post-qualifying experience in Cafcass, the Probation Service, and independent practice. I specialise in family law proceedings, safeguarding, and domestic abuse, with extensive High Court and international expertise. My background includes adoption, fostering, Special Guardianship, and complex risk assessments. A former Service Manager and High Court Team member with Cafcass, I bring nationally recognised expertise, including award-winning work with children and families. I provide clear, evidence-based assessments and oral evidence, underpinned by a relational, trauma-informed approach that ensures children’s voices and safety remain central.

Margaret Henry

Profile

I specialize in Cultural Assessments for the African Caribbean Community. I am, PAMS trained and will be undertaking Parent Assessments. I have twenty-one years of post qualified experience undertaking child protection investigation and am available to undertake complaints and investigations.

Angela Russo

Profile

As a bilingual (Italian/English) social worker registered in UK and Italy, I bring over 25 years of experience in social and criminal justice. I specialize in cross-border assessments between the UK and Italy, including Special Guardianship & Connected Person, Kinship, Viability, and Parenting Assessments. My experience covers navigating complex issues and be-spoke support in cross-border kinship care. With a background as a Family Court Advisor for Cafcass and a Probation Officer (in the UK and equivalent in Italy), I have developed particular interest and strength in addressing challenges related to alcohol/drug misuse, mental health, domestic violence, parental conflict, alienation allegations, sexual abuse, and Immigration/asylum. Based primarily in Italy, I collaborate with UK Local Authorities and Italian Social Services to facilitate transitions from the UK to Italy, arrange post-placement support, and secure legal permanency for children with kinship carers in Italy. Additionally, I work as a court expert with high-conflict bilingual families, in the Italian family courts and participate in conferences and training, that contribute to social work education in Italy.

Naomi Ruben

Profile

Naomi qualified in 2007, after completing the Graduate Training Scheme with Barnet Council. She worked for the Local Authority for a total of 13 years, covering a range of roles from frontline assessments to child protection and children in foster and kinship care. Having focused on Court Proceedings for several years, Naomi became an ISW in 2017. Since that time, she has completed a wide range of assessments, specialising in Parenting Assessments and SGO reports. Naomi also completes Private Law assessments where there are issues around residence and contact. Naomi is trained in completing Parent Assess assessments where there are known or suspected learning difficulties

Charles Plummer

Profile

I have 35 years’ experience of social work practice with children and families in a variety of settings, encompassing statutory children & families work within local authorities, residential work, family counselling, education, and latterly fostering and adoption. I have held the positions of Senior Practitioner, Practice Supervisor, and Team Manager, and have worked as a Children’s Guardian since 2005. I can undertake assessment of parents who have additional needs/challenges/vulnerabilities, for example, mental health issues, substance misuse issues and learning disabilities. (Parent Assess trained) Section 7, Section 37, & Specific Issues Reports Special Guardianship/Kinship/Connected Carers Reports Sibling Together & Apart assessments