Independent Social Worker
Neil recently retired from his full-time position as an Adoption and Fostering Social Worker, with a Local Authority in England, where his work also covered the assessment, approval, and support of Family, Friends, and Connected Persons (Kinship Carers). Before qualifying as a Social Worker, he had worked extensively with adolescents in residential care, parenting assessment, and family centre work, as well as in education welfare, and also as a welfare and family rights worker in London. He came into Social Work following a brief career in Engineering, and his career with children and families has spanned over 45 years, during which his experience covered working with families across the life cycle, in both the statutory and independent sectors. Over the course of his career, Neil’s major professional interest had developed to focus on child and adolescent mental health, post-adoption, and post-permanency support work, drawing on both psychodynamic and systemic approaches.
Following his decision to retire from his full-time Social Work role, Neil moved to Northern Ireland to be nearer to his family, and to pursue his other major interest in Sailing and regularly sails his own boat in Belfast Lough and Strangford Lough.
