Meet Danielle

I am Experienced Children’s Social Worker and Senior Practitioner with over eight years of statutory children’s social care experience, alongside earlier experience working within children’s residential homes and parenting assessment centres.

My career has given me experience of working with children and families across a wide range of circumstances and at different stages of their involvement with children’s services. This includes children and families undergoing assessment, children subject to child protection planning, families involved in pre-proceedings and court proceedings, and children in the care of the local authority.

This breadth of experience has shaped my understanding of safeguarding, parenting capacity, family relationships and risk, while reinforcing the importance of keeping the child’s lived experience at the centre of assessment, planning and professional decision-making.

Senior Practice, Supervision & Professional Development

In my role as a Senior Practitioner, I have combined complex frontline practice with responsibilities for supporting the wider team and maintaining high standards of professional practice.

I regularly provide case consultation, professional guidance and reflective supervision, supporting social workers to analyse risk, develop plans and make defensible, child-centred decisions. I have supervised and supported Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) and am ASYE Assessor trained, with experience supporting practitioners through their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment.

As a senior member of the team, I have also regularly stepped in for the Team Manager when required, providing day-to-day oversight and leadership. This has included supporting practitioners with complex and high-risk cases, overseeing decision-making, providing management direction, responding to emerging safeguarding concerns and helping to maintain the effective functioning of the service.

These responsibilities have strengthened my experience of looking beyond an individual case and considering quality of practice, professional accountability, risk management and the reasoning underpinning professional decisions.

I particularly value reflective supervision as an opportunity for practitioners to think critically about their work, consider alternative perspectives and understand how their own thinking and professional judgement influence decision-making.

My experience of supervision, practice leadership and developing other professionals also informs Edorien’s approach to safeguarding training and professional development. I believe learning is most effective when professionals can explore realistic situations, discuss difficult decisions and understand not simply what guidance requires, but how to apply it confidently and thoughtfully in practice.

Assessment & Safeguarding Experience

Within statutory children’s social care, I have worked as part of an assessment service, undertaking complex assessments where there have been concerns regarding children’s safety and wellbeing.

My experience includes child and family assessments, Section 47 child protection enquiries, strategy discussions, child protection planning, risk assessment and safety planning, alongside direct work with children and families.

I have extensive experience of multi-agency safeguarding, working alongside professionals from education, health, police, early help, domestic abuse services and other agencies. This has involved gathering and analysing information from multiple sources, contributing to professional meetings and decision-making, and using professional curiosity and respectful challenge where necessary to ensure that the needs and safety of children remain central.

Children in Care & Care Planning

I have worked extensively with children in care, including children with complex safeguarding histories and children for whom significant decisions were being made about their longer-term care.

My work has involved care planning, statutory visits, direct work with children, reviewing progress and placement stability, working with parents and wider family networks, liaising with carers and professionals, and contributing to plans for children’s short and longer-term care.

This experience has given me a strong understanding of the importance of ensuring that care plans are not simply procedural documents, but clearly reflect the child’s needs, relationships, identity, wishes and feelings, risks, strengths and plans for their future.

Family Court Experience

I have substantial experience of working within pre-proceedings and Family Court proceedings, including cases involving complex safeguarding concerns and significant decisions about where and with whom children should live.

My experience includes preparing initial statements, evidence and analytical reports for the Family Court, care plans and other court documentation, as well as giving oral evidence and responding to professional challenge.

I have undertaken parenting assessments, pre-birth assessments, risk assessments and Special Guardianship assessments, and have experience preparing Section 7 welfare reports and contributing to Section 37 investigations and reporting within statutory practice.

I am trained in ParentAssess and CUBAS, providing additional frameworks through which parenting capacity, individual needs, strengths, risk and capacity for change can be explored.

Earlier Practice Experience

Before progressing within statutory children’s social care, I gained experience working within children’s residential homes and parenting assessment centres.

These roles provided valuable experience of observing children, parents and relationships within everyday environments and strengthened my understanding of the importance of direct observation alongside formal assessment.

They continue to influence my practice today. Understanding a family often requires looking beyond what can be described within an interview and considering how parenting, relationships and a child’s experiences are demonstrated in everyday life.

My Approach

My practice is child-centred, analytical and relationship-based.

I believe families should be treated with dignity and respect while professionals remain appropriately curious about risk. Good assessment should identify strengths as well as concerns, understand the barriers that may prevent change and consider not only whether change can be achieved, but whether it can be safely and sustainably maintained for the child.

Whether undertaking an independent assessment, observing family time or supporting professional development, my aim is to provide work that is balanced, evidence-informed, professionally curious and useful to those making decisions about children and families.

This philosophy sits at the heart of Edorien Family Services:

Understanding families. Supporting progress. Sustaining change.