Who we are – about Kites Children’s Services

Founder/Director

I began my career during 1985 as a founder member of the Accommodation Project, which was set up to respond to the closures of Psychiatric Institutions. The tasks include identifying alternative placements for clients who had been living in these hospitals receiving long term care.

After qualifying as a social worker in 1992, I was employed as a Deputy Manager at a Local Authority Project specialising in working with adolescents which consisted of a Residential Service and Field Work Provisions. I became Project Manager for the residential component in 1993 and was involved with two other Residential Homes in advisory, development and supportive capacities. Also during this time I worked as a College Lecturer.

In 1995 I created Kites Children’s Services. This private company provides residential, outreach, training and consultation services to young people, placement providers and agencies working with adolescents and their families. I pioneered the development of the specialism – working with adolescents who display harmful sexual behaviour in 2000.

During 2005, I founded a Fostering Service within Kites Children’s Services which integrated with the Residential, Education and Therapeutic provisions to provide alternatives for users. In 2009 myself and Andre started Mosaic Foster Care to complement Kites fostering service by offering long term foster placements utilising the same tried and tested integrated treatment methodology for a wider client group.

Director

I qualified as a social worker in 1997 after a career in the private sector. I worked within a children’s assessment team and then as a senior practitioner within child protection for Essex County Council. In 2000 I became a Child Protection Officer with the NSPCC and later acted as manager of a specialist unit working with children and families.

I hold an MA in Applied Systemic Theory from the Tavistock Centre, a BA in Professional Social Work Practice, a PQ Award in Childcare and an Advanced Award in Social Work. In 2002 I became Manager of therapeutic services at Kites Children’s Services and in 2008 I became a Director and co-owner of the organisation.

In 2004 I jointly founded WillisPalmer an independent organisation which provides an a national network of independent social workers, consultant psychologists and qualified therapists. Then in 2009 Roz and myself started Mosaic Foster Care to complement Kites fostering service by offering long term foster placements utilising the same tried and tested integrated treatment methodology for a wider client group.

Head of Children’s’ Services
I have been part of Kites since June 2021 and was appointed Head of Children’s’ Services and Responsible Individual in July 2021.

I have over 35 years’ experience of working with children and young people in various settings and I have an unswerving passion for ensuring they receive the best possible care and education and achieve their outcomes. My role at Kites is to ensure the continued integration of care, education and therapy through regular liaison with the teams and weekly Case Discussion/Safeguarding Meetings (CDSMs).

I have a Diploma in Social Work, Diploma in Education and a PGCert in Autism. As a SWE registered social worker, I like to continue to develop professionally through reflective practice, training and keeping up to date with latest research and changes to legislation.

My proudest moments have been the achievements of all the children and young people that I have had the privilege of working with over the years.

Office and Referrals Manager

I have been an Office/HR Manager for various design, finance and technology companies. I have extensive experience in Human Resources, EA Duties, finance, facilities, site management and general office management skills.

I joined Kites in April 2020 having moved from London to Essex. In my last role I worked for the UK Council for Psychotherapy as Office and HR Manager and was an active member of the Senior Management Team.

My role at Kites so far has been to update the referral system and company website. Alongside this I work very closely with the Head of Therapy, Residential Managers of both Estuary and Brook House and also the Head Teacher at Estuary High, making the transition for the young person coming to Kites as happy as possible.

I also work alongside the directors of the company and oversee the facilities and technology side of the business, implementing procedures and processes for the company.

Registered Manager at Estuary House

Hi, my name is Jo and I have been employed as a Registered Manager at
Estuary House. I have a varied work background, from being a Police Community Support
Officer for the MET Police, a Bank Manager working in Financial Services
and finally qualifying as a Driving Instructor before embarking on a career
that changed my life.

In 2013 I began my career within the Care and Support industry. Since
then, I have worked with many vulnerable children, young people and
their families. I have worked in various positions supporting children with
complex care needs, young people within a supported housing setting and
recently children and young people with ASD and PMLD in an inspirational
SEN Educational Residential setting.

Over the last 9 years I have developed a passion for supporting young
people and encouraging them to live their best lives.
Young people continue to teach me something new every day and seeing
the achievements they make continues to amaze me.

I have worked at Kites for nearly 10 years. During this time, I have worked within both homes and supported within our school. Prior to Kites I worked at a local homeless charity supporting people of all ages and walks of life in securing appropriate housing.  I have also worked within various local volunteering schemes, including the YMCA and Southend Borough Council, all aimed at supporting young people and families experiencing difficulties.

During my time at Kites I have created, facilitated, and became the Lead Practitioner of our activity programme, named ‘The Challenge.’ I went on to manage the Outreach Service, which aims to present our young people with the opportunity to gain a developing understanding of societal values and expectations as well as discover new experiences and take part in meaningful activities within the local community.

I have since progressed my career further with Kites by taking on the exciting role of manager at Brook House. My vision is to create a homely, nurturing, active and fun environment for our young people to thrive within.

We use a holistic approach to supporting our young people, which includes working closely with education, therapy, and other external social care agencies; in addition, we work closely with other agencies to ensure the best possible outcome for our young people.

Head of Therapy and Clinical Lead

As Head of Therapy, my primary function is to ensure that the young people benefit from a high standard of therapy during their placement at Kites. I do this by liaising with all disciplines on a general basis and via participation in weekly Case Discussion Groups.

It is also part of my role keep myself informed about contemporary research findings in relation to this specific area of work and consider these with regard to the overall development and provision of therapeutic services.

In addition, I provide therapy for young people and I oversee the development of Kites therapeutic support plans.

Head Teacher, Estuary High

I was appointed Headteacher at Estuary High School in September 2024. I have over 30 years teaching experience, including roles such as Assistant Headteacher, Interim Deputy Headteacher and Head of Curriculum & Qualifications.

I am extremely proud of my track record of successfully managing initiatives and teams to improve the educational outcomes for pupils across a wide variety of settings, such as Mainstream Secondary, Primary Pupil Referral Unit, Secondary Alternative Provision, Special Schools, and Specialist Independent Secondary Schools.

I have a Masters in Education and my passion is working with our most vulnerable and traumatised young people in society, to ensure they go on to lead happy and successful lives.

Finance Manager

I have been working in accounts for over 20 years, working mainly for large corporations, but have worked in several different fields and sizes of businesses more recently to gain a more all-round experience. I chose to work for Kites Children’s Services as I wanted to work for a company that makes a difference and one, I could be proud of.

HR Advisor

I have worked at Kites since 2008 and started as the first Office Manager to the company overseeing the implementation of new systems to the administration department. During my time at Kites, I have been responsible for Office Management, HR, Marketing, Recruitment, Health and Safety, Finance and Director Support.

I have over 25 years of administration experience and pride myself on being extremely organised, efficient and happy to help anyone who needs me.  My career to date has been in different sectors such as car dealerships, the fitness industry and retail. I have worked for big corporate companies as well as small not-for-profit organisations.

I now work alongside the Head of Children’s Services for all HR and Recruitment needs.