Trustees
Our Board of Trustees have years of experience within the world of nurture, and are an invaluable source of knowledge around issues facing nurture practitioners.
The Board is currently 12 strong, and is headed up by Marian Evans as Chair.
Marian Evans, Chair
Marian's ‘day job’ is as Coordinator with the Educational and Child Psychology Service in Rhondda Cynon Taff and Merthyr Tydfil but it was attendance at a SEBDA conference in Birmingham that changed the direction of her beliefs and practice when it came to supporting pupils who had massive barriers to accessing education. Marian says, "Convinced I was going to hear ‘two old biddies’ try to sell me the book they had just written, I met Marion Bennathan who has become a marvellous mentor and friend. She was like a missionary and I quickly became converted."
Marian has helped to establish and support nurture groups, particularly those in Wales, for fifteen years through organising meetings and arranging conferences to help not only NGN members but those who want to know more about nurture groups. Convincing those who hold the purse strings that properly run nurture groups make school a more positive place, that parents grow in confidence as their child flourishes and that the family feels the benefit became and remains Marian's main aim.
Marian has been a member of the Board of Trustees since its inception and became chair three years ago, a post which she describes as "an incredible honour".
Together with our small number of diligent staff, the trustees look forward to consolidating what we have achieved so far and look to developing partnerships in new fields with additional agencies while ensuring the integrity of the six principles of nurture groups will not be lost. - Marian Evans, Chair
Caroline Hawkes, Trustee
Caroline has a rich history working and studying in the fields of psychology and education. After graduating in psychology, she moved to Aberystwyth to take a postgraduate teaching course, and started her teaching career in a Bedfordshire residential special school for 9 to 16 year olds.
Following some time working as Senior Development Officer for a national charity, Caroline moved back to teaching EBD students at a primary day school in Hillingdon. She then took a diploma in Special Needs, taking up deputy headship and later headship in primary schools. It was in this last position that she discovered nurture groups.
She describes nurture groups as being her “happiest work”, and was immediately struck by the immense positive change they can have on students. She has since worked to promote nurture work across her local authority, and has been a member of NGN since September 2001.
Caroline is highly dedicated to the cause of nurture, and equally dedicated to supporting members and promoting the effective work of the Network in these austere times.
Susan Reynolds, Trustee
Sue Reynolds has been a Principal Psychologist for Glasgow Psychological Service for sixteen years and was an Area Principal Psychologist in the South West of Glasgow.
She became involved with nurture when Glasgow City Council asked her to undertake an evaluation of nurture groups within the city. This evaluation, on which Sue was the lead author, became one of the largest scale studies of nurture groups in Britain and was published in the British Journal of Special Education in December 2009. The study demonstrated conclusively the improvements in children’s social and emotional functioning and academic attainment through attending a nurture group. Sue has recently co-edited a second article, examining the links between attainment and attachment, which will be published in a special edition of Educational and Child Psychology. This research, and the publicity around it, was instrumental in instigating the filming of a documentary around nurture groups, as well as The Nurture Room.
Sue’s close involvement with the Nurture Group Network has helped to keep Glasgow City Council focused on a nurturing agenda, with nurture groups being protected from anticipated funding cuts in the area. Sue is also heavily involved in ongoing work supporting the development of nurture groups in Glasgow and rolling out nurture to early-years establishments, as well as building up a portfolio of nurturing and attachment based interventions to help build resilience and to improve the mental health of children and young people.
Wendy Roden, Trustee
Wendy has worked in a number of different educational phases and settings. As a Special Educational Needs co-ordinator and Social Inclusion coordinator in a secondary school she was responsible for developing and managing provision for pupils with a wide range of additional needs. It was during this time and through links with the first primary Nurture Group in Cumbria that she realised the potential of Nurture Groups.
Working as a Behaviour and Attendance Improvement Programme coordinator involved working with schools to develop innovative approaches targeted towards addressing some of the ‘barriers to learning’ experienced by children and young people. Aiming to raise aspirations and ‘narrow the gap’ to secure active engagement and positive outcomes. As part of this programme a number of schools developed Nurture Groups. She coordinated networking and professional development opportunities including an annual Nurture Group conference in Cumbria.
Ongoing research is aimed at developing and deepening understanding of the theory and practice associated with Nurture Groups. Her commitment to Nurture Groups is from experience in seeing the positive outcomes for children, young people, parents and carers and schools.
Dr Mark Turner, Vice Chair
Mark values the preventative, intensive and non-stigmatising intervention that Nurture Groups provide. He has helped established two nurture groups in Medway. He has a longstanding professional interest in attachment theory and early intervention which he studied as part of his professional doctorate in educational and child psychology.
Mark Turner has been helping the Nurture Group Network establish and grow since 2000. In April 2001 he established and ran the first Nurture Group Network website which helped develop the network and spread materials across the UK and Internationally. He ran the website for 5 years using interactive tools to help develop the community and strengthen the network. In September 2001 he co-lead, with Marion Bennathan, the first meeting of the first NGN nationwide meeting. He helped Marion Bennathan help the charity develop its independence from the parent charity the Association of Workers for Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. Paul Cooper, Marion Bennathan and Mark Turner signed the foundation documents lodged with the Charity Commission. Mark has been on the Executive / Board of Trustees ever since using his entrepreneurial instincts to help the organisation grow.
Mark also works as a Senior Educational Psychologist for Medway Council, the University of East London, and Real Group (Real Training, Real Psychology and Real Press).
Leo Barasi, Trustee
Leo is Communications Manager at the UK Drug Policy Commission, a non-campaigning charity that encourages better use of evidence in UK drug policy-making. As such, he works with government, politicians, professional groups, the media, and other charities to help promote policies for a system where fewer lives are disrupted by the harms caused by illicit drugs.
Previously he worked for the consultancy Penn Schoen Berland, where he helped corporate and political clients to better understand their audiences and develop effective communications strategies. His clients included European political parties, media services, governmental bodies, financial services, and consumer technology manufacturers. He has also worked at Oxfam GB and the Welsh Assembly.
Leo joined the Nurture Group Network board in 2011. In the context of financial austerity, concerns about social exclusion, and a move towards increasing local decision making, he considers it more important than ever that the Network makes the case for the impact of nurture groups on children and young people's lives, and the value for money that they can offer to society as a whole. He is delighted to be part of the Network and to have the opportunity to help ensure that more schools are able to offer nurture groups.
Louise Boothby, Trustee
Louise has worked in the City for 7 years, firstly within the banking industry and more recently as a Private Equity professional, and as such has a broad network across the City and beyond. Her day job is centred around undertaking quantitative and qualitative analysis of private investment opportunities, predicated on being able to quickly identify potential issues and opportunities and assess their likely impact.
Throughout her professional career Louise has had the opportunity to work with a number of for-profit companies within the care sector which ultimately fuelled her decision to seek a role within the charity sector. She was immediately attracted to NGN by the enthusiasm and commitment of the existing Trustees, and her genuine belief in the positive impact of nurture groups, demonstrable through solid empirical evidence.
She hopes to be able to use her existing skill set to the advantage of NGN, with a particular focus on the challenging financial and funding environment which now faces the organisation.
Jacqueline B Brooks, Trustee
Jacqueline joined the board in June 2011, having previously provided various services to NGN. Jacqueline was a Senior Manager in the NHS for the main part of her career, having overall responsibility for Primary & Community Health Services in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. She has an MA in Health Care Delivery with her special subject being the relationship between deprivation in children and health outcomes in later life. She has been a research fellow in the Health Services Management Centre at Birmingham University as well as a stint at Sorbonne University in Paris.
She then retrained in Law (for interest) and was called to The Bar (Gray's Inn) twelve years ago. As well as being a management advisor, Jacqueline also now specialises in Employment Law and advises a range of clients in the public, commercial and third sectors.
A Geordie by birth, she is well-travelled, having lived and worked in Croatia, Macedonia and Russia as well as the African bush.
She joined the board of NGN because of her continued interest in the relationship between children's early life experiences and their becoming effective citizens in adulthood - but also because she thought they needed more management and legal skills on the board.
She has a daughter and two grandchildren. Oliver (2) and Beatrice (1).
Huw Davies, Trustee
Huw is currently employed as a School Improvement Officer with specific responsibility for Inclusion and has been instrumental in developing nurture in Neath Port Talbot. His professional experiences span; social services, teaching in mainstream and specialist provision, lecturing in FE/HE and the management of PRUs and Behaviour Support Services.
His first foray into the world of Nurture started 6 years ago when he established, on a pilot basis, one nurture group. The impact of the provision for the children and staff was inspirational. He commissioned an interim evaluation of Nurture, so much so that 30 groups now exist in schools in the Authority. Training in nurture provides a sound framework on which all our interventions need to be based. For some, it reminds us of what we were trained in, for others it is a vital component to understanding behaviour and how our interactions impact on these.
Huw recognises that educational outcomes do not just depend on schools. They are influenced by a range of factors including poverty, family circumstances, housing and health. Social disadvantage is the single biggest obstacle to achievement in education. Nurture has a real role to play in tackling key national strategic priorities in reducing the educational attainment gap.
Having obtained an MSc in 2002, Huw was so impressed with the outcomes being achieved in Nurture that he secured a PGCE for his work on "adolescent risk taking behaviour and attachment". he is a trained Estyn Inspector and currently working on PGDip in Local Government Studies.
Married with two small boys Huw's vicarious interests include reading Paddington bear, Thomas the Tank Engine, Garfield, Top Cat (how refreshing and nostalgic) and Club Penguin (how times have changed!).
Every child deserves the best possible start in life. For some, this will be provided by Nurture experiences in school. It is our collective duty to ensure that where there are gaps in early childhood nurture, or where children need additional support in developing emotional resilience during periods of uncertainty or instability that this is provided within a safe environment by trained staff that are able to respond appropriately to the need.
Kelly Freeman, Trustee
Kelly Freeman was a member of the UK Government Communication Network for twenty five years and worked in four major governmental departments during that time. For eleven years, she worked in a variety of marketing and PR posts within the Central Office of Information, moving to the Inland Revenue where highlights included the hugely successful "Hector" campaign for the introduction of Self Assessment and delivering a number of other high profile campaigns including Working Families Tax Credits and Children's Tax Credit.
Kelly joined the newly created Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) in May 2001 where she led a major leadership and change management programme and developed the communication strategy for the department. From there, she moved to a major law enforcement agency as Head of Public Affairs before leaving government service in 2009 to study for a Masters in Strategic Communication at Leeds University. Since then, she has been working freelance both in the UK and Middle East, advising on developing communication strategy, assessing competency in communication skills, lecturing at universities and working with agencies on developing pitch proposals. She is an Immediate Past Master of the Guild of PR Practitioners which has involved representational activity within the City of London and externally and leading on major charitable projects.
She brings a wealth of experience to Nurture Group Network, particularly in developing communication strategy, engaging stakeholders, and lobbying both for funds and for influence in policy-making in government and beyond.
Jonathon Waterfield, Trustee
Jonathan currently works at the British Dental Association as their Finance Manager. He has been working in the charity/not-for-profit sector since 2002 and so has considerable experience in the financial issues faced by charities. Between 2002 and 2008 he worked at the National Autistic Society (a top 50 registered charity), fulfilling various roles in the Finance department through three internal promotions. Latterly he was a Regional Management Accountant; providing budgeting, forecasting, costings and analytical support to regional and operational directors, school principals and registered managers. Since early 2008 he has been the Finance Manager at the British Dental Association, a not-for-profit membership organisation and trade union that represents dentists in the UK. Here he leads the finance team, prepares the annual statutory accounts and is responsible for the production of monthly management accounts, quarterly forecasts and the successful running and completion of the annual budgeting process, as well as fulfilling various other statutory duties (e.g. HMRC, Certification Office, Charity Commission and Companies House returns) and managing the Association’s cash and payroll system. Across the organisation he has also sat on various project teams for tasks that include generating a new set of ‘brand values’ for the organisation and for creating a new staff appraisal system. He has a degree in Environmental Science and is an affiliate member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
He believes strongly in the need for early intervention for children with behavioural difficulties and so on hearing about NGN in March 2011, relished the opportunity to be allowed to join the Board and help NGN to grow and extend the reach of its important work. He lives in London with his wife and two daughters.
Charlotte Quince, Trustee
Charlotte has a wide range of experience in policy, politics, campaigning and fundraising. She is currently working at the department of health focussing on increasing the quality and efficiency of patient care. She is also an advisory board member of the Patient Information Forum. Previously she has worked on policy development and defining future strategic priorities within central government. This has included work on holistic health and wellbeing prevention, including youth offending and the effective targeting of interventions.
Having graduated in politics and economics Charlotte started her career in government affairs in the private sector before going on to manage three parliamentary groups: the Associate Parliamentary Health Group, the Chronic Pain Policy Coalition and the Mars and Pluto Forum. These networking awareness raising forums worked closely with both MPs and Peers to educate, campaign and facilitate discussion on both healthcare and financial services.
Charlotte has led a wide range of fundraising and campaigning initiatives for charities both here and abroad. She is especially interested in cross government working to improve the health, wellbeing and happiness of society. She is passionate about raising aspirations and increasing the opportunities and potential of all children and young people regardless of their backgrounds or starts in life.
Charlotte started working with NGN in 2011 because she believes that nurture groups are an integral and essential intervention that can improve the outcomes and life chances of our most vulnerable children and young people.
The main focus of Charlotte's work at NGN will be ensuring the potential impact of these groups is recognised by policy makers, parliamentarians and other key stakeholders.
The trustees may be contacted via the chair on marian@nurturegroups.org