From Chaos to Commitment: My Journey Into Safeguarding
Roots and Resilience
I was born in London in 1972, the eldest of four children. My childhood was shaped by both love and loss. At the age of nine, I lost my mother to a brain haemorrhage. Two years later, my father remarried, but his new wife’s violent alcoholism contributed to his fatal heart attack in 1985, when I was just 13.
Eight days later—on Christmas Eve—my siblings and I were taken into care after her arrest. Not long after, she tragically took her own life. Though we were initially fostered together, the placement broke down, and we were separated into different families.
Stability returned in July 1987 when I was welcomed into the home of the couple my children now call their grandparents. As lecturers, they gave me the gift of education, structure, and belief in hard work. With their encouragement, I graduated from Middlesex University with an Upper Second-Class Honours degree in Social Science.
Finding Purpose Through Volunteering
During university, I discovered my vocation through volunteering roles that opened my eyes to the challenges faced by vulnerable people:
Telephone counsellor and committee member for a confidential listening service
Support worker at a MIND drop-in centre for adults with mental health needs
Support worker at Centrepoint’s emergency shelter for homeless young people and adults
Mentor for Year 6 pupils preparing to move into high school
These experiences showed me the importance of empathy, patience, and consistency. They also cemented my determination to pursue a career dedicated to safeguarding and supporting others.
Building a Career in Residential Care
In 1996, after meeting my future wife at university, I moved to Lancashire and began my professional journey at Underley Schools in Cumbria. Over six years, I progressed from Care Worker to Homes Manager.
Supporting children with emotional and behavioural difficulties was challenging but deeply rewarding. I learned that effective care is built on trust, respect, and clear communication.
I later worked at Appletree Treatment Centre before joining Wings School in 2003 as Training & Development Officer. There, I discovered my passion for teaching staff as much as supporting children. In 2013, after completing my PGCE, I was honoured to receive Kendal College’s Award for Outstanding Teaching.
Expanding My Safeguarding Expertise
Alongside my work at Wings, I volunteered as:
Independent Member of Cumbria County Council’s Fostering & Adoption Panel
Foundation Governor at a local primary school
When Kedleston Schools acquired Wings in 2007, I was seconded to work across other schools and children’s homes, eventually becoming Group Safeguarding Lead in 2017. With responsibility for safeguarding across 15 services, I supervised and supported Designated Safeguarding Leads nationwide. Later, I became Positive Behaviour Support Lead while retaining deputy safeguarding duties.
Lifelong Learning and Growth
I have always believed in the power of education to transform lives. My qualifications reflect a commitment to continuous growth, including:
NSPCC Certificate of Competence in Safeguarding & Child Protection Training
NSPCC Training for Trainers in Safeguarding & Child Protection
Safer Recruitment Consortium Train the Trainer
Mental Health First Aider (MHFA)
NORVIC Rescue from Ligature Train the Trainer
CAPBS Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner & Coach
Education has been both my anchor and my ladder. From the encouragement of my foster parents to decades of professional development, learning has helped me—and those I train—change how we think, feel, and act.
Jingling Lane Training
In 2023, I founded Jingling Lane Training to deliver high-quality, affordable safeguarding and protection training across the UK.
My mission is not only to inform but to inspire. I work with schools, colleges, local authorities, children’s homes, sports clubs, charities, and any organisation supporting vulnerable children or adults.
My philosophy is simple: education saves lives. I combine my lived experience of trauma with professional safeguarding expertise to deliver training that is empathetic, practical, and impactful.
Core Values
Excellence – striving for the highest standards in every aspect of life
Education – committing to lifelong learning and growth
Respect – treating every individual with dignity and fairness
Honesty, Responsibility, Accountability – principles that guide my work and my life
Looking Ahead
My ambition is to become one of the UK’s leading safeguarding and child protection trainers. I am committed, open-minded, and always learning. I believe that my personal journey—rooted in resilience, shaped by experience, and strengthened through education—uniquely equips me to make a lasting impact on safeguarding practice across the country.
If you’d like to learn more about safeguarding training for your organisation, please get in touch. Contact Us
For more details about the sessions we offer, please visit our Services: Teaching, Training, and Course Evaluation page.