Speaker

1
Speaker Biographies
Professor Caroline Victoria Gipps Vice-Chancellor
, University of Wolverhampton PhD, MSc,
BSc,AcSS Caroline Gipps trained as a primary
school teacher and psychometrician before
entering a career in research. She worked at the
National Childrens Bureau, the National
Foundation for Educational Research and at the
University of British Columbia, Canada before
joining the Institute of Education, University of
London (IoE). As a researcher, Professor of
Education and then Dean of Research, Caroline
spent 19 years at the IoE. She moved to Kingston
University in 1999. As Deputy Vice-Chancellor
she had responsibility for the strategic
management of the academic profile of the
University, links with St Georges Hospital
Medical School and the developing three-way
strategic alliance including Royal Holloway
University of London. She moved to be
Vice-Chancellor of the University of
Wolverhampton in 2005. Professor Carl Chinn
MBE FRSA PhD Professor of Community History and
Director of the Birmingham Lives project at the
University of Birmingham. A social historian with
a national profile, he is also a broadcaster,
newspaper columnist, public speaker, writer and
campaigner for the rights of working-class
people. Professor Chinn is the author of 28 books
that include studies of working-class housing,
urban working class life, working-class womens
lives, manufacturing, Birmingham, the Black
Country, and ethnic minorities. He has appeared
as an expert on various television programmes,
including Channel 4s History Hunters with Tony
Robinson, and most recently on BBC 4s Edwardian
Larder. In the Midlands he is a long-running
columnist on local history for the Express and
Star and the Birmingham Mail he has a weekly
local history show on BBC WM and regular history
slots on BBC Midlands Today and he is the expert
on ITVs The Way We Were series. Professor
Chinn has appeared on numerous Radio 4
programmes, including those presented by Libby
Purvess and Laurie Taylor, and has recently
presented Centre of Our World, looking at
various ethnic minorities in Birmingham.
Professor Chinns broadcasting and writing on
housing, working-class life, poverty, women and
ethnic minorities is deeply affected by his
familys working-class background and life in the
back-to-backs of Birmingham. This affinity led
him to take a prominent role in the campaign to
save the last back to backs in Birmingham and
turn them into a National Trust Museum. In 2001
he was awarded the MBE for his services to local
history and to local charities.
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Louise Hughes Assistant Director, Childrens
Services, Universal Services Louise plays a key
role as Assistant Director of Childrens services
within Walsall MBC . She is an inspiring champion
for the development of world class childrens
services to support the ECM agenda. She is known
locally and nationally for her drive and
determination to create the best possible
outcomes for children, young people and families.
Her previous role before Walsall MBC was Sandwell
Local Authority. Christina Enright Integrative
Child Adolescent Psychotherapist Clinical
Development Manager Kids Company The Urban
Academy. Integrative Child Psychotherapy draws on
a broad range of theoretical and practice based
approaches in working with trauma and emotional
distress. With roots in psychoanalytic,
humanistic and phemonological ideology, an
integrative approach utilises the most recent
neurobiological research findings in working with
children whose emotional developmental trajectory
has been derailed. Following 18 years
experience as a nurse in the NHS, Christina
completed a BSc in Psychology before going on to
complete a year in family therapy training and
subsequently a four years MA in Integrative Child
Psychotherapy. She has worked with children,
adolescents and parents in a variety of
therapeutic settings, including mainstream
schools and PRUs for over seven years. With a
special interest in the impact of complex trauma
on emotional development, Christina currently
works with Kids Company developing and managing
a psychotherapy and mental healthcare service for
extremely vulnerable and marginalized children
and young people at Street Level. This is
supported by her commitment to the creation of an
all encompassing therapeutic environment within
the service, as well sharing learning and
insights from her experience of working with the
client group to inform policy and practice in
other settings responsible for the wellbeing of
children.
3
Graham Simpson, BA (Hons), MA SW, SQSW Senior
lecturer, social work at the University of
Wolverhampton since 1997 previously social work
practitioner and manager in child care for nearly
20 years. Been involved in a number of research
projects at local and national level evaluating
child care practices, and now working on
post-qualifying and CPD courses and a key member
of the ECM group at the university.  Strong
international links in Germany and The
Netherlands and currently working on comparisons
in child care between Germany England. Recent
published work includes Transforming
Society? Social work and sociology (with Vicky
Price), which explores (among other themes) the
impact of poverty upon the lives of children and
families. Maggie Leese, RGN, BA (Hons),MA/Dip
SW Maggie is senior lecturer and Course Leader
in Early Childhood Studies and is doing doctoral
research focusing on socially excluded children
and families accessing services. She has
experience of working with children and families
within both healthcare as a nurse and social care
as a social worker. Maggie has recently collected
qualitative case study research within two Sure
Start Childrens Centres 2006 2007 focusing on
outreach family support services. Maggie has
previously been involved in a working party
evaluating the impact of Inter-agency working
within a community setting and is a member of the
University ECM Group. Phil Dearden, BSc (Hons),
MBA, MSc, (MCMI), (CIM) Philip has over 25 years
of experience in education and training and
project management work. He has
undertaken consultancy work in Europe, Africa,
Central and Latin America and Asia. In 1997 he
was responsible for the introduction of Project
Cycle Management and Logical Framework Analysis
to the UK s Health Action Zones (HAZs). He then
led CIDTs national UK programme of training
support for the HAZs and the many other service
providers who have adopted the use of Project
Cycle Management techniques and the use of
Logical Frameworks. He has recently worked
with the 0 -19 Partnership (now called the Every
Child Matters team) in Sheffield where he
developed the An Introduction to Multi Agency
Planning using the Logical Framework Approach.
0-19 Partnerships and Centre for International
Development and Training, University of
Wolverhampton. http//www.everychildmatters.gov.u
k/resources-and-practice/search/EP00025/
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Kay Child Head of Service Safeguarding
Children, Walsall M.B.C.   Qualified as a social
worker in 1985, advanced award in Social Work in
1995, Also holds post graduate Diploma In
Management Studies. 25 year experience in local
authority Childrens Services. Early career
worked in various fieldwork locations across
Birmingham, including two years working in a risk
assessment unit. Moved to Walsall in 1995 to
manage the child protection investigation team.
Promoted to Principal Officer for Child
Protection in 1997 and Head of Safeguarding in
2006. In addition to her core role she has a
portfolio of responsibilities including lead on
Domestic Abuse and Safer Recruitment. Also acts
as Local Authority lead officer for
CAMHS. Bridgette Pugh Head of service
Strategic Planning and Projects, Wolverhampton
City Council Bridgette has a wide range of
teaching experience across secondary school and
further education. She joined Wolverhampton City
Council as a dance teacher. Bridgette has also
been a Regional arts Advisor, Ofsted Inspector
and External Examiner for Glasgow University. She
is currently employed by Wolverhampton City
Council as Head of Service for Planning and
Projects in which she led the preparation for the
Joint Area Review in 2007. Carole Ferron-Smith,
BA (Hons), DipSW Programme Manager Sure Start
Childrens Centre, Blakenell Born in the UK,
Carol lived in Toronto Canada for 26 years
returning in 1990. In Canada one of her key roles
was a family therapist. Carol has had a varied
career working within local and regional
authorities and the voluntary sector. These
include Womens Development Officer, Womens
Centre Manager, Community Links Officer and
Regeneration Officer for the West Midlands. Her
current role is to manage a range of Childrens
Services as part of Blakenell Sure Start
Childrens Centre.