Leading Safeguarding 2024 - London - Speakers

Dai Durbridge, Partner, Browne Jacobson LLP (Chair)

Dai is an expert education lawyer at Browne Jacobson and heads up the North West team.  He advises schools, academies and MATs on frontline education matters, including admissions and exclusions, parental complaints, GDPR and all safeguarding issues. Dai supports schools with employment related safeguarding issues, including the single central record, overseas checks, positive DBS disclosures and complex investigations following allegations against staff.  Dai works closely with the expert HR advisors and specialist employment lawyers at Browne Jacobson on a range of issues for schools where safeguarding and/or GDPR is a complicating factor.  Dai also carries our MAT safeguarding audits to support trusts with improving safeguarding practices at each academy and developing consistent approaches and structures that support best practice trust-wide safeguarding. He is also a recognised expert in GDPR and data protection for schools, supporting schools with all aspects of data protection and has devised and delivered DPO training to over 400 school DPOs to support them in their role.

Jahnine Davis, Panel Member: National Child Safeguarding Practice Review and Director of Listen Up

Jahnine is a care-experienced professional who started her career in children’s rights and participation and has over 20 years practice experience working in both charity and statutory safeguarding arenas. She is the UK’s foremost researcher and thought leader in adultification bias in child protection and safeguarding. A specialist in the safeguarding of Black children, Jahnine’s PhD research explores safeguarding responses to Black children when harm is outside of the home. Jahnine was appointed to the Child Safeguarding Review Panel in November 2021 for a period of 4 years, she is also the appointed safeguarding lead for the BBC's independent review into Tim Westwood.

Nicola Law, Director of Safeguarding, Liberty Academy Trust

Nic has worked as a senior leader in education for 14 years, initially as a family support worker and DSL for one school and then becoming a specialist leader in education in 2013. She has worked across a number of partnerships and trusts overseeing strategic safeguarding. In 2016 Nic was recruited as a regional safeguarding lead for a large primary-only academy trust and from 2017 Nic went on to be deputy director for safeguarding in a start-up trust that grew to 27 schools, spanning primary, secondary mainstream and special schools. In 2022, Nic was recruited by Liberty Academy Trust as director of safeguarding.

Cleo Lawrence, Safeguarding Consultant and Director of Safeguarding

Cleo Lawrence is a highly motivated safeguarding consultant at SC Safeguarding, specialising in reflective supervision, training, audits, and investigations. As director of safeguarding at an independent school in London, she leads the development of safeguarding culture, overseeing policies, training, practice, and strategic plans. With over 20 years of experience in children's social care, including tiered family support and statutory frameworks, Cleo excels in complex cases. She holds qualifications as a social worker, practice educator, and is a trainee systemic family therapist, promoting trauma-informed and inclusive practices. Her expertise spans various sectors, including state and independent schools, MASH, youth justice, and mental health.

Lirette Mill, Head of HR Advisory, HR Connect

Lirette has more than ten years of HR expertise in the educational sector and is currently the head of the HR Advisory Service for HR Connect where her division supports over 500 schools. Lirette began her legal career in 2003 while employed by a sizable private law firm in Kent before joining HR Connect in 2010. Lirette is an accredited safer recruitment trainer with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and works closely with Kent LADO and safeguarding teams. She presently serves as a governor at an infant school that is controlled by the Church of England. Lirette is the policy committee chair, co-chair of the quality of education committee and is also the lead safeguarding governor as part of her governor duties.

Laura Nott, Schools Project Manager, Lucy Faithfull Foundation

After working as a probation officer in the West Midlands, Laura was seconded to a local charity to develop a therapeutic group work programme for young men affected by domestic abuse, helping them to understand healthy relationships. She then set up a training and consultancy business, training teachers, social workers and police officers in protective behaviours, safeguarding and family therapy. After managing several voluntary sector projects and organisations, Laura now leads LFF’s Schools team, working alongside researchers from the University of Surrey on a three-year action research project to support schools to respond to and prevent harmful sexual behaviour.

Jason Tait, Co-Founder, The Student Voice

Jason is a director of pastoral care and DSL at a leading all-through school in the UK and a trustee of the charity Kidscape. In addition to having specific responsibilities for all aspects of pastoral care and safeguarding across the school, his particular interests and expertise lie in positive psychology and contextual safeguarding. Jason is co-founder of The Student Voice, a contextual safeguarding tool that seeks to create brave spaces that empower young voices and overcome extra-familial harm that can take place in any aspect of a young person's life – at school, in the community, and online.

Oliver Welsby, Mental Health and Safeguarding Consultant, Brightcore Consultancy

Oliver has extensive experience as a senior leader; both as DSL and a senior mental health lead. He has a Master’s degree in educational leadership; a qualification in which he specialised in the management of safeguarding with a specific focus on the development of effective mental health strategies within education settings, and regularly speaks at sector conferences on this topic, having now worked with, and supported, over 800 schools and colleges, across all sectors, to improve their mental health and safeguarding provision. Student and staff wellbeing have always been at the heart of Oliver’s approach to education. He is known for his dynamic, authentic and non-judgemental approach to all aspects of his delivery. He is both an advanced safeguarding trainer and senior mental health lead trainer, (training DSLs & DSMHLs for a number of different local authorities, MATs and individual settings across all sectors), and regularly writes and delivers highly-acclaimed, bespoke training programmes to support settings in these areas.