Practical Strategies for Safeguarding in Education - Speakers

Will Gardner, CEO, Childnet

Will Gardner is the CEO of Childnet, a children’s charity working with others to help make the internet a great and safe place for children. Will has been at Childnet since 2000 and has been the CEO since 2009. He is a Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre, in which Childnet is a partner alongside two other charities, the Internet Watch Foundation and the South West Grid for Learning, and in this role Childnet organises Safer Internet Day in the UK.

Caroline Hounsell, Director of Partnerships, Product Development and Training

Caroline was one of the first MHFA England Instructors to be trained and joined the national MHFA England training team in 2007. In 2015 she was appointed into a new role as MHFA England’s Director of Partnerships and Business. Caroline runs MHFA Instructor refresher workshops, is a regular speaker at conferences and is an all-round advocate of MHFA.

Russell Symons, Founder, Impressionable Minds

Russell has been publicly recognised for his ground-breaking work as founder of Impressionable Minds, an extension on his passion for educating young people about crime and working with them to identify and explore associated risk. Key to his success is the drive to divert pupils from school exclusion and further risky behaviours through collaborative interventions developed for pupils to examine, reflect on and challenge their own ideas about crime and anti-social behaviour.

Ella Savell-Boss, Director of Safeguarding, Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust

For the past decade, Ella has worked in the ever changing and complex field of safeguarding and is currently the Director of Safeguarding at Shireland Collegiate Academy in the West Midlands. She is also founding Director of Aspirational, Bespoke, Creative Training Ltd where as of 2014 they have offered bespoke training courses relating to all aspects of safeguarding work, and staff development.

Charlotte Robertson, Co-founded, Digital Awareness UK

With a background in digital marketing, YouTuber and Co-founder of the online safety organisation Digital Awareness UK Charlotte Robertson has represented global brands, and her videos have been viewed and shared by over 100,000 fans. This allows her to thrive in the digital world, but most importantly it helps her to understand and share her insights around how young people are engaging with social media.

David Marshall, Headteacher, Cale Green Primary School

With almost 30 years’ experience in primary education, David has been headteacher at Cale Green Primary School in Stockport for 17 years. Cale Green is a truly comprehensive school with children coming from a wide range of socio-economic, cultural and faith backgrounds. Under David’s leadership, Cale Green’s work in PSHE has been recognised nationally and there is a published Ofsted case study on the school’s successful approach to Relationships and Sex Education. PSHE is seen as an integral part of the school’s broad and balanced curriculum. David has spoken at national conferences on areas such as PSHE and Inclusion. David is also a Local Leader of Education, a Pupil Premium Grant reviewer, a headteacher mentor and has held various roles including that of Chair of the Stockport Excellence Cluster.

Helen Corteen, Head of Education and Participation, Brook

Helen Corteen is a qualified teacher and youth and community worker with extensive experience working with young people and community groups in the statutory and voluntary sectors as a practitioner, manager and service leader across the UK . Helen is an experienced and innovative service developer with a particular interest in sexual, emotional and mental health and wellbeing. She is currently Head of Education and Participation and Counselling managing  education, health and wellbeing services throughout the UK and Channel Islands. Over the past 18 months Helen has developed Brook’s range of 1-1 and group programmes ( face to face and/or online), which aim to facilitate young people to improve their own health and wellbeing.

Mark Donkersley, Managing Director, eSafe

Mark Donkersley is Managing Director of eSafe Global, an international behaviour monitoring service working within the education sector.  

eSafe currently monitors around 700,000 students and staff in the UK - to provide schools and college leaders with the early warning of safeguarding risk.

The unique insight into the behaviour and ‘health’ of young people means that Mark is a regular speaker on the subject of safeguarding. He has provided evidence to HM Government Select Committees in the Commons and Lords on the identification of mental health in young people and the benefits of the digital environment as a source of safeguarding markers. He has delivered briefing sessions on monitoring behaviour in schools to Federal and State politicians, senior Police and the e-safety Commissioners Office in Australia.