I am an Independent Social Worker based in Newcastle upon Tyne. I have completed over 225 court-quality assessments for the Family Court, and I have given oral evidence more than a hundred times. The North East is where I live, where my children go to school, and where my career as a social worker began. For families and solicitors in the region, that means an experienced ISW who knows the local services, the local courts, and the local social care landscape from the inside.
I spent thirteen years inside North East children's services, including senior roles at Sunderland, Stockton-on-Tees, and Middlesbrough, before moving into independent practice in 2020. That history shapes how I approach assessments in the region. I know the post-proceedings support services that are actually available locally, the listing patterns at the regional courts, and the practitioners who work the cases day to day. When I write a recommendation, I can be confident the support I am pointing to is real and reachable.
Areas I cover
For families in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham, and Tees Valley, I can usually offer the first assessment session within seven to ten days of receiving the bundle. I take instructions for assessments in Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Northumberland, County Durham, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool, and Darlington. Where the family lives in a more rural part of the region I am happy to travel to them rather than expecting them to travel to me, which is particularly important when contact arrangements or work commitments make the journey difficult.
Local courts
I appear regularly at the Family Courts in Newcastle, North Shields, Sunderland, Teesside, and Durham, and I am familiar with the local listing patterns, the regional Designated Family Judges, and the way each court tends to manage care and private law proceedings. I also attend hearings across England and Wales for instructions outside the area, and I have given oral evidence in courts from Truro to Carlisle.
Local authorities I have worked with
Before going independent I held senior practice roles at Together for Children in Sunderland, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, and Middlesbrough Council. I also spent time as a Children's Guardian with CAFCASS, working private law cases across the region. That background means I understand how local authority assessments are produced, where the pressure points are, and how to engage constructively with allocated social workers and team managers when an independent view is needed. I take instructions from across the region, including from solicitors representing parents, kinship carers, Children's Guardians, and local authorities themselves.
What a local base brings to a regional instruction
For families and instructing parties in the North East, a Newcastle-based ISW means quicker first-session dates, a more flexible visit schedule, and an assessor who can arrange a follow-up visit at short notice when the assessment needs it. I can usually get to a home in Tyne and Wear, County Durham, or Northumberland the same week, and the timetable can be built around the family's commitments and adjusted as the assessment unfolds.
For any case, wherever it is in the country, I research the local support services as part of the assessment so my recommendations are realistic on the ground. For North East cases that knowledge is already built in from years of working in those services rather than reading about them, which can help when a tight timetable leaves less room for desk research. The same standard of analysis goes into every instruction.
The assessments I provide
I am trained, experienced, and registered to deliver the full range of social work assessments used in Family Court proceedings. That includes parenting assessments under the ParentAssess framework, Special Guardianship Order and connected persons assessments under the Form C and Form K templates, CASP-R capacity to protect assessments (Advanced Masterclass certified), forensic risk assessments covering domestic abuse, substance misuse, sexual harm, and neglect, Section 7 and Section 37 reports under the Children Act 1989, Together or Apart sibling assessments, viability assessments including Regulation 24 placements, Re W analyses, and DVRIM domestic violence risk assessments through Barnardo's accreditation. I am also a qualified Best Interest Assessor under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, having completed the postgraduate qualification at Teesside University in 2025.
For a fuller breakdown of each assessment type, the services page sets out what each one covers, who tends to use it, and what the report looks like. The guides section goes into more depth on individual assessment types, with plain-language explanations for both professionals and families.
National coverage
Although this page focuses on the North East, the truth is that most of my instructions come from outside the region. I work regularly in Yorkshire, the North West, the Midlands, Wales, and London, and I have completed international placement assessments by arrangement. Geography rarely gets in the way of a good instruction. If you are based outside the North East and looking for an ISW, the same standards apply: a quote within one business day, an assessment plan within two, and a report filed five days before the court deadline as standard.
How to instruct
The quickest way to start a conversation is the referral form, or by emailing referrals@socialworkassessment.com. I respond to every enquiry within one business day with a quote, an availability check, and any clarifying questions about scope. If you would prefer to talk things through before committing to an instruction, I am always happy to take a call on 0191 716 5069. There is no charge for an initial scoping conversation, and a five-minute call before the letter of instruction is finalised often saves weeks of avoidable work later. The detailed guide for solicitors sets out what to include in the LOI, what to send with the bundle, and how the assessment runs from start to finish.