SPEAKER PROFILES

Chairperson - Helen Cavanagh

Transformational Change Lead, Children’s Services

Newcastle upon Tyne

Helen Cavanagh began working life as a teacher and progressed to become Headteacherof St Cuthbert's RC Primary School.

10 years ago Helen began work with Newcastle LEA as School Improvement Adviser and has had severalroles since then including Project Manager of EAZ/ICT Adviser/Senior School Improvement Adviser/Head ofEarly Years and Childcare.

Helen is at present the Transformational Change Lead for Children's Services.

In 2005 was the lead for developing the Newcastle Plan for Children and Young People and Helen now leadsthe development of the Transforming Outcomes Programme for Newcastle.

Catherine Fitt

Executive Director Children’s Services

Newcastle upon Tyne

Catherine Fitt did a degree in Educational Psychology at St Hugh’s College, OxfordUniversity and teacher training at Goldsmith’s College, University of London. After three years teaching in London she returned to education, doing a Masters Degree in Child Development and qualifying as a psychologist.

Catherine worked as an educational psychologist in Hampshire and Teesside. She then moved into management and administration, working for children’s services ever since, moving from the post of Change Leader of Children’s Services at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council in April 2005 to become the Executive Director of Children’s Services at Newcastle City Council.

DAVID BARTLETT

Co-founder of Fathers Direct and the Gender and Child Welfare Network

David worked as a social worker from 1987 until 2000, in a range of statutory and voluntary settings, working mainly with children leaving care, drug and alcohol users and their families, people with HIV/AIDS, lone parents, domestically violent men, and fathers and their families.

In 1997, he founded and managed NEWPIN’s Fathers Centre in London, a community-based service for dads and their families offering parenting education and support, advice and counselling, drop-in sessions, befriending etc.

In 1999, David co-founded Fathers Direct, the national information centre on fatherhood, which works towards a society that:

• gives all children a strong and positive relationship with their fathers;

• provides greater support for both mothers and fathers as carers and earners;

• prepares boys and girls for a future shared role in caring for children;

Fathers Direct helps Government, children’s services, employers and families themselves to adapt to the changing social roles of men and women. We are the lead provider of training, information and consultancy services to children’s services, to help them develop father-inclusive approaches to supporting families, and to base their work on the evidence from research on the impact of fathers on child welfare.

David manages Fathers Direct’s training and consultancy services, and advises on a range of national family policy issues.

He lives in Yorkshire with his partner and two children, a daughter aged 11 and a son aged 8.

Key Publications

Bartlett D. (1999) ‘NEWPIN Fathers Group 1997-98’. London: NEWPIN.

Bartlett, D. & Burgess, A (2003) ‘Fathers and Families. A Public Consultation concerning developing National Standards for Father-friendly Services’. Published online at:

Burgess, A. & Bartlett, D. (2004) ‘Working With Fathers’ London: Fathers Direct. Available from

Bartlett, D, Burgess, A & Jones, K (2007), ‘A Toolkit for Developing Father-Inclusive Practice’. London: Fathers Direct.

Roger Olley

Head of Service

Fatherwork Children North East

Roger Olley has over 25 years experience of working in health, social care and voluntary settings. He has extensive experience in developing parenting work on a multi agency basis. He is the Head of Service (Father work) of Children North East where he manages and supports a team of ‘dads workers’ who work into a number of projects and agencies. He is also responsible for the development of the North East ‘RegionalResourceCenter for Father work’.

Roger acts in a consultancy / advisory basis to many organisations, both regionally and nationally, who are seeking to develop or extend their working with men and fathers and he has delivered training to, and developed working with, men, fathers and professionals in a variety of settings including early years, youth offending teams, family centres, healthcare settings, prisons, Sure Starts and Contact Centers. He is the co creator of the accredited ‘Developing Men Friendly Organisations’ course.

Children North East are the oldest children's charity in the North East. Set up in 1891 the organisation runs a number of community based projects. The Fathers Plus project was established in 1997 to improve outcomes for children and young people by working with government and voluntary services to ensure that fathers and male carers are supported in their role as care givers. For more information, email , phone 0845 130 7225, or visit

Charlie Thompson,

Young Fathers Worker, B2b+ Project,

Sunderland.

See presentation.

Clare Roskill,

Consultant

Clare Roskill has a background in professional social work. Her career has concentrated on children and family work and on education and training, though she also has experience in mental health and the elderly. She has worked for three different London Social Services Departments, including at a teaching hospital where she specialised in work with sexually abused children and their families. She has held social work teaching posts in four universities. Her last university position was setting up a new post-qualifying childcare course working with a number of London local authorities.

Clare spent several years as head of childcare training at the Central Council for the Education and Training of Social Workers (CCETSW). She then spent five years in the voluntary sector at The Children’s Society, responsible for social work policy and practice standards for 130 varied projects across England and Wales. Her last full time post was in central government, working in family policy, first in the Home Office and then in the newly formed Children, Young People and Families Directorate in the Department for Education and Skills (now DCSF). A key part of her role there was to develop and implement national grant programmes for parenting support in the voluntary sector. This included funding a range of projects to develop work with fathers, including funding work by Fathers Direct.

Clare now works as a part time free-lance consultant. She has undertaken two recent projects for Family Rights Group on fathers, and written a guide for family and friends raising other people’s children. She is also a trustee of a number of voluntary organisations.