Our board of trustees is made up of a range of highly experienced professionals from practice and research, all of whom are volunteers and give their time to ensure the Association meets the needs of its members and beneficiaries, and is governed appropriately.
The constitution of the board is set by our governing document.
We believe that we have a board of trustees who together best represent the areas that we work in and the skills needed, but where particular input is required we may also co-opt additional members to the board.
Wendy Thorogood
Steve Myers
Ann Marie Christian
Mark Pearson
Vacancies for trustees and lay members are advertised on the website as well as via our newsletter and social media channels. Any correspondence for trustees should be sent to [email protected]
The Chair can be contacted directly and confidentially via [email protected]
Our trustees are:
Read more about our trustees below.
Ann Marie is a registered children & families’ social worker practicing over two decades with twelve years of social work management. She worked in a pilot project as a school based social worker in the late nineties for four years and experienced safeguarding of children pre:threshold intervention. Ann Marie evolved and managed cluster social workers in schools and provided safeguarding advice as a safeguarding advisor to schools and Headteachers. This role included a LADO role for education se Read more
Dr Sam Warner - Dr Sam Warner is a consultant clinical psychologist and holds an honorary lectureship at Salford University. Sam has specialised in sexual violence, child protection, domestic abuse and mental health for over thirty years and has written books and papers on sexual abuse and related issues. Sam works as an expert witness and has led a variety of specialist sexual violence therapy services in the third sector, mental health, child protection and safeguarding. Read more
Helen Richardson Foster is a Research Fellow in the School of Social Work, Care and Community at the University of Central Lancashire. She is a member of the Connect Centre for International Research on Interpersonal Violence and Harm and conducts research in the areas on domestic violence and abuse, child abuse and neglect and family support. Read more
Jane Appleton is Professor of Primary and Community Care at Oxford Brookes University. Jane is a registered nurse and health visitor. She has a long-standing research and professional practice interest in child protection and health visitors’ work with vulnerable children and families. At Oxford Brookes University, Jane leads the Children and Families Research Group, undertaking research studies on safeguarding children, children’s health issues and public health nursing. Read more
Mark Pearson. Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Excelsior Safeguarding a Community Interest Company (C.I.C.) Excelsior Safeguarding was established to provide effective help and support to vulnerable young people and adults affected by group violence, drugs and other forms of criminal exploitation. Read more
Prof Peter Sidebotham – Peter is emeritus professor of child health at Warwick Medical School, and formerly a consultant paediatrician and designated doctor for safeguarding children and for child death review. He has over 20 years’ experience as a practitioner and academic specialising in child protection. Peter has published extensively on serious and fatal child maltreatment and unexpected child deaths. He is a member of the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. Peter is co-edito Read more
Richard is a retired Detective Sergeant having served with Thames Valley Police specialising in Child Abuse Investigations. He is a qualified further education teacher and now runs a specialist training provider business Safeguarding Children Training. His training subject specialisms include; LSCB/SCP Child Protection courses (Levels 2 to 5), Multi-Agency Working, Safeguarding Children Allegation Management, Designated Safeguarding Children Lead, Child Sexual Abuse and Investigating Child Serio Read more
Simon is a retired Detective Inspector having served with Devon and Cornwall Police for 30 years. He specialised in the investigation of complex child abuse, including online offending. He is now a director of Safeguarding Associates for Excellence which specialises in delivering training and consultancy around safeguarding. He is also an associate trainer for the NSPCC, Barnardos and the South West Grid for Learning. Read more
Steve Myers is Director of Social Sciences at the University of Salford and a registered Social Worker with a background in child protection and youth justice. He has worked in both statutory and voluntary organisations and been involved with the training of social workers in Higher Education for the past 25 years. Steve has researched and written about strengths-based and solution focused practice, and has a interest in working with violent behaviour including sexual violence. Read more
Wendy is chair of the Association of Child Protection Professionals (formerly BASPCAN) and took up this three year post in November 2018. Wendy Thorogood is a retired Designated Nurse Consultant for children with NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) based in Dorchester and she trained at St Guy's hospital in London, specialising in child and adult nursing intensive care and cardiac and renal transplants. Read more