As a safeguarding consultant, speaker and author, Ann Marie inspires and motivates organisations in keeping children and adults safer by bringing safeguarding to the front line and embedded in their daily practice.
Qualifying in 1996 and worked in children and families child protection teams then promoted to management in 2003. Ann Marie was a school based social worker from 1999 to 2003 and worked alongside education welfare, behaviour teachers and mentors in a government pilot project.
In 2003 she started a unique role as the team manager of the Vulnerable Children Team and managed teachers working with LAC, advised schools in child protection and delivered child protection training to schools and heads. This role evolved and Ann Marie worked as a LADO in Education, Safeguarding advisor, DSL Local Authority coordinator, LSCB Trainer and School Improvement Advisor and managed a team of social workers allocated to set schools within the local authority.
Unfortunately, when austerity started in social care she was taken away from the proactive work and called back to manage child protection teams in 2010. Ann Marie found this reactive, punitive and not helpful to families. She resigned and returned as an independent safeguarding consultant and registered Child 1st Consultancy Limited.
The welfare of the child is paramount and this name was chosen to champion their rights.
In collaboration with TTS
As a contributor to the TTS Talking Early Years podcast series, Ann Marie covers the important topic of safeguarding in the Early Years.
To learn more about Ann Marie’s work, visit annmariechristian.com/
