consult yo
Lancaster
I am passionate about delivering useful, relevant legal training for busy
practitioners to support them in developing legally literate good practice in
adult social care. I am trusted and valued by a lengthy list of local
authorities to provide high quality, excellent value bespoke training to their
staff which engages and empowers them as practitioners. A subject expert with
specialisms in adult social care and health law and in autism, my genuine
commitment and enthusiasm for improving legal literacy and best practice in
adult social care is evident to those attending my training. I am able to create
a supportive learning atmosphere in which practitioners with a range of levels
of experience feel confident to express themselves and have the space to develop
their skills and reflect on their practice. My training is very popular with
staff because of the relevant content and support they receive in applying the
law to practice. I am readily able to answer questions at all levels and give
realistic examples to support participants in applying the law to the realities
of practice. In addition to my extensive experience in developing and delivering
training for the public sector, I have a particular skill at explaining complex
legal topics in an accessible and engaging way. I create and deliver training on
all aspects of the Care Act; Adult Safeguarding law and practice from
Safeguarding Enquiries to advanced legal options for complex case work; Mental
Capacity law including CoP and BIA Refresher; DOLS and LPS; aspects of Mental
Health Law including s.117 and nearest relative; Transitions; Human Rights and
broad Legal Literacy training for Adult Social Care. I always deliver all legal
training personally. Please see my current courses page for a more detailed
list. I also develop bespoke, practically-focused training on all aspects of
autism. I specialise in advanced autism knowledge specifically for public sector
professionals: social care staff, teachers, health staff at all levels. I bring
together my extensive knowledge of autism and my familiarity with the social
care, health and education sectors to support practitioners with practical
knowledge such as: practical communication with autistic people across the
spectrum; supporting autistic people to cope with change. Many of these courses
are now delivered on my behalf by a small group of autistic trainers. I also
offer specialist autism training specifically for social work (including Care
Act and capacity assessment of autistic people & safeguarding autistic people.)
I am also able to provide specialist courses in autism for educational settings.
I offer a consultancy service in both of my fields of expertise providing
tailored support, research and specialist knowledge for a range of purposes.
This includes change management consultancy within the public sector aimed at
service improvement: around autism and/or improved compliance with legal
frameworks. In the autism field, this included a successful and extensive change
management project supporting an autism special school to become a Centre of
Excellence, consultancy work and outreach with a range of mainstream schools
across the area, local authority and health staff and a series of videos on
practical autism topics for the Scottish Government. Recent work on the legal
framework of social care has involved training for a variety of local
authorities, including bespoke courses and advanced training on Safeguarding,
the Care Act and in the area of Mental Capacity Law/DOLS/LPS. I am currently
project managing a substantial project on Inclusive Governance on behalf of the
National Autistic Taskforce (working in partnership with ARGH and AMASE) for
Scottish Autism. I am an experienced and well reviewed speaker and present
regularly at both autism and public sector conferences: Past presentations
Upcoming speaking appearances I also publish regularly in my fields of interest
including: My book, Social Work with Autistic People: A Guide to Essential
Knowledge, Skills and the Law for Working with Children and Adults (Jessica
Kingsley, 2020); ‘Safeguarding Liberty’ (Legal Commentary on the Liberty
Protection Safeguards) in Community Living (2019); ‘Safeguarding autistic adults
in England’, Autism and Intellectual Impairment Annual vol. 2 (2017), Pavilion
Publishing; ‘Most autism practice not supported by good evidence, finds study’,
Community Care (2017); Chapter on The impact of the Care Act for adults with
autism and learning disabilities in England, in Autism and Intellectual
Disability in Adults; Article on school improvement, formerly published on
Network Autism (2015); Article on autism training for social workers in
Community Care (2015); Chapter on educational policy in Handbook of Interpretive
Methods in Educational Research, Springer (2015); Guest blogger on social care
law and autism issues at Schwehr on Care and of course my blog here. I am
currently Strategic Lead of the National Autistic Taskforce, led the publication
of the NAT Independent Guide to Quality Care for Autistic People (April 2019)
and gave a plenary presentation at the NAT Forum 2021. I represent NAT on the
Workforce for Autism Group England (WAGE) co-ordinated by Skills for
Health/Skills for Care and was involved with the development of the Core
Capabilities Framework for supporting autistic people. Prior to my involvement
with NAT, I acted as legal and policy consultant for the National Autism Project
and was the company secretary of Autscape for many years.
