Kathryn Vereycken – Panel Chair
Hello, may name is Kathryn Vereycken I am a Registered Social Worker who worked for 30+ years for Wigan Council in Children’s Services.
During my career with Wigan Council, I worked in Residential Care, After Care, as an Independent Reviewing Officer, moving on to manage the Independent Reviewing Officers Service including Child Protection Conference Chairs. Prior to retiring from Wigan Council, I worked in Safeguarding managing the Safeguarding Board, taking the lead in Serious Case Reviews, managing allegations in the role of the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), leading strategy and multi-agency teams working with children in custody and children at risk when going missing and at risk from sexual exploitation. I have over the years gained much knowledge around child development, attachment, safeguarding, child protection and resilience in children and of course fostering.
Since retiring, I have worked in Fostering, Chairing a number of Fostering Panels. I also work with the Rugby Football League regarding Safeguarding in the community game and am Chair of a Board of Governors for an alternative education provider.
In my spare time I enjoy watching live music, traveling, reading, watching Rugby League and spending time with my five grandchildren.
Imtiaz Kala – Panel Member
Hello, I’m Imtiaz. I live in the North West. I have two grown up children and have spent many years working in the education, school and voluntary sector as a youth worker, teacher and manager. I am currently a Safeguard trainer and support organisations with aspects of keeping children safe in education and other settings. As well as working as a teacher, I am also a qualified social worker and have worked with parents like yourselves when carrying out the foster care assessments so I understand the process. In previous roles I have sat on these types of panels as part of the assessment and review process.
Outside of work I like to walk in the countryside, spend time with family, and volunteer as a school safeguard governor at two local schools.
Christine McDonnell – Panel Member
Hello my name is Christine McDonnell. My background is in nursing with a varied experience in both physical and mental health. Prior to retiring I worked as a senior specialist nurse for children and young people within a variety of care settings, many of whom were in a foster homes, working to ensure their health needs were being met and advocating for and supporting them to access services, and also supporting foster carers to access services on their behalf. On a personal note I have four grown up sons, a cockapoo named Stanley and two cats one of whom is 23 years and still going.
Scott Roberts – Panel Member
Hi, my name is Scott and I feel I have a unique insight into the fostering system having been through it myself. I was taken into local authority care at the age of 8 and have lived with 3 families and a residential care home before I found my forever home. My final family took me in just before my 11th birthday and the security and steadiness they provided me helped me thrive getting me through high school, college and university officially leaving care age 24, even now I’m still integrated into the family and take part in all family activities and still receive support from them helping me navigate this, sometimes tricky world. As I am not in contact with my birth family this support is invaluable to me as I would probably be alone to deal with this. I like to think that my experiences help me see the best in people and maybe see how a perspective careers would support a looked after child.
My main line of work is in hospitality and currently I am the cook in a nursery and pre-school and enjoy working with the children and hearing their stories. In my spare time I like to go to the gym, hang out with friends or take long walks in the countryside.
Michelle Taylor – Panel Member
Hi my name is Michelle. I have been a respite foster carer for 15 years and a full time local authority foster carer for 11. I have fostered children aged from 0 – 18 and have experience in supporting rehabilitation plans to parents and long-term fostering plans. Each are very different but rewarding. I also have 3 birth children who are fully supportive of our fostering as a family. As a family we love to go out at the weekends for long walks with our 3 poodle dogs Bella, Bambi & Bodhi .
Having a big family might be challenging at times however nothing outweighs the memories and adventures we have.
Jo Beech – Panel Member
Hello, I’m Jo. I worked as a police officer in Greater Manchester for 30 years before retiring 7yrs ago. In addition to investigating and detecting crime, I worked as a family liaison officer during major crime investigations, working with vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including child victims of crime, victims of domestic abuse and Child sexual exploitation. Prior to retiring I was in a child protection team, working alongside and liaising with other professionals as part of a multi-agency approach aimed at providing the best protection possible for vulnerable children and young people.
Following my retirement, I began to sit on fostering panels and enjoys this immensely. I have a son and grandchildren and enjoy hill walking and exploring. I also enjoy sports in particular badminton and rounders which I play competitively.
Amanda Jackson – Panel Member
Hi, I am Amanda, an independent social worker with over thirty five years’ experience of working with children and their families in a variety of social care and educational settings. I have also worked extensively with unaccompanied asylum seeking and trafficked children. I have experience as a residential social worker, outreach worker, social worker, manager of a school based social work service, Children’s Right’s Advocate, child protection conference chair and Independent Reviewing Officer.
In addition to my panel work I also undertake fostering assessments and work directly with children supporting them to overcome a wide range of challenges. I am passionate about including the ‘Voice of the Child’ in all areas of safeguarding, fostering and education. Being a panel member enables me to bring all I have learnt from children living in foster care to the discussion and in this way I feel that I am contributing to the provision of quality fostering families for children in care to live with.
I am also mum to four adult children and have three grandchildren. They all help to keep be in touch with young people and children…..they let me know if I’m out of touch!
Nicola Hamer
My name is Nicola, I am a Supervising Social Worker specialising in the support and development of foster carers. I have a background in safeguarding, which brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of children in care.
Prior to embarking on my career as a social worker, I worked in early years and children’s nursery management. This experience provided me with a solid foundation in child development and early intervention, which continues to inform my practice today.
In my personal life, I enjoy spending quality time with my family, we often explore the outdoors with our dog and love to embark on new travel adventures. I am also passionate about weight lifting, finding strength and discipline in the sport. When I’m not at the gym or with my family, I love to immerse myself in a good book.