Meet The Team

Meet our team of Safeguarding Consultants and Trainers

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Experience Means Everything

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Rachael Bishop
RLB Managing Director

Managing director Rachael Bishop, founded RLB safeguarding ltd in 2020 with the main aim to support businesses and organisations to understand their duty of care towards keeping people of all ages safe. The company was created after Rachael spent many years working in the local authority in front line child and adult protection services and in many other public service roles, leading on to corporate management positions. Rachael has worked with people and organisations in a variety of settings and industries to understand risk, impact, and challenges.
Rachael has over 20 years of experience in the safeguarding field including child and adult social care, local authorities, human resources, apprenticeships, higher and further education, primary and secondary education, the NHS, mental health services, the prison service, the police, substance misuse services, domestic abuse services, charities, commercial work spaces, and the youth offending service.
“My dream is to empower workplaces, organisations, and all industries to understand their duty of care to keep people of all ages safe. At rlb we help create inclusive, aware, and caring cultures where people can thrive in both life and their work.”

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Tina Pokuaah
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Tina is a seasoned professional with a diverse background spanning education, social care, charity, and the private sectors across the UK, and Africa. Tina has dedicated herself to reducing risks, addressing inequalities, and empowering girls and women. Tina's expertise extends to enhancing service delivery for children with special educational needs and developing specialised programs for looked-after children, including young asylum seekers and refugees. In particular, her knowledge shines in the domain of domestic abuse, where she has authored the interactive journal "teach me how to be happy."
Tina is driven by a deep commitment to global impact. She co-founded 5girlsproject, a non-profit organisation that invests in the education, skills, and training of young women in Ghana.
Tina's humanitarian efforts have garnered recognition, including a nomination for the Humanitarian Awards Global in 2021 and acknowledgement as a next-generation trailblazer by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2020.
Recently, she has been nominated as a True Honour Recipient for 2023 by Ikwro in recognition of her outstanding work in preventing 'honour-based abuse', safeguarding victims and survivors, and bringing perpetrators to justice.

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Emily Mitchell
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Emily has over 20 years of experience working with Adult, Children, and Families in the charity, public, and private sectors. She has been a qualified social worker for 12 years in a variety of roles, from in Child Protection, Children with Disabilities and working for the Family Court, representing the view of the child during proceedings.
Emily has supported vulnerable individuals at Gatwick Airport fleeing from FGM or seeking refuge. She worked alongside the British and American Military, demonstrating her ability to build rapport across diverse backgrounds. As a former Safeguarding Lead at the Priory Hospital overseeing 3 CAMHS units and 5 Adult wards, she has supported people directly when they have experienced a Mental Health Crisis. When she was a Service Manager for a charity that supports care-experienced young people, she led change management initiatives, developed risk assessments and undertook audits.
Emily specialises in Safeguarding, contextual Safeguarding, and Mental Health First Aid training. As a member of the British Association of Social Workers and participant in a Thematic Mental Health Group that continues to drive and support positive change in the field. She is dedicated to being a change maker, with the hope to create a more equitable and compassionate society for all.

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Karen Agar
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Karen is a qualified registered general nurse, sick children’s nurse, and health visitor and has worked for the NHS since 1980 having held many different positions, including working in safeguarding since 2005.
Working as a named nurse for safeguarding children and Karen’s most recent post was as an associate director of nursing (safeguarding) in a large mental health and learning disability NHS trust.
Karen has recently retired from the NHS and joined RLB as an associate consultant and trainer and leads on our Level 5 and Supervision accredited courses.
Karen has a wealth of experience acting as a member of safeguarding adult boards, safeguarding children boards, an active part as a relevant agency member in safeguarding children partnerships, domestic abuse strategic partnerships and MAPPA boards.

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Stuart Meredith
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Stuart Meredith is a dynamic and dedicated leader with extensive experience across Further Education, Youth Work, Safeguarding, plus Sports Coaching and Development. Currently a Team Manager, who oversees Short Breaks activities for young people with SEND, leading a diverse team while serving as the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Alongside this, Stuart jointly directs a Community Interest Company, Youth Empowering Services CIC (YES CIC) which drives initiatives that empower youth, reduce anti-social behaviour, and create meaningful opportunities for development. His expertise in leadership, communication, and organisation is complemented by a passion for unlocking potential in individuals of all backgrounds.
Stuart’s impact extends to national training and development, having managed multi-million-pound contract for national training provider along side being DSL and securing an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating in safeguarding. His ability to foster strong partnerships with employers, training providers, and support agencies underscores his commitment to improving employment pathways and well-being. Stuart has shared his insights on developing a ESOL traineeship programme with industry leaders, reinforcing his reputation as an advocate for education, inclusion, and social mobility.
Stuart loves dogs! He has 2 rescue dogs, Maya and Spud who keep him entertained with their little quirks.

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Klaudia Ratajczak
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Klaudia Ratajczak is a highly experienced safeguarding specialist with a proven record of strengthening safeguarding culture, governance, and frontline practice across a wide range of sectors. She has held senior leadership roles, including Head of Safeguarding in complex, multi-site organisations, and is also Director and Co-Founder of Patronus Safeguarding, where she plays a key role in developing one of the most innovative digital safeguarding platforms for Designated Safeguarding Leads.
Passionate about transforming organisations so they can excel in safeguarding, Klaudia combines strategic insight with practical expertise. Her work includes developing and embedding robust policy and governance frameworks, leading safeguarding audits and risk reviews, delivering DSL supervision and complex case consultations, and creating and delivering training for staff and leaders. She also supports boards and senior leaders to drive cultural change and embed accountability at every level.
Klaudia has advised organisations across sport, outdoor and residential activity providers, further education and apprenticeships, charities, out of school settings and early years, corporate settings, events and festivals, and faith-based groups. She is well-versed in national frameworks including Keeping Children Safe in Education, Working Together to Safeguard Children, Ofsted frameworks, and Charity Commission guidance.
Alongside her consultancy work, Klaudia is Safeguarding Governor for HBVC and a Case Management Panel Member for UK Athletics and Basketball England. She is currently supporting Scottish Rugby Union with a long-term safeguarding strategy as a Strategic Safeguarding Advisor to strengthen adult safeguarding, governance, leadership accountability, and organisational culture.

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Narinder Sidhu
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Narinder has a wealth of experience policing communities for over 30 years in Thames Valley Police and has a demonstrated a history of operational policing with considerable knowledge and experience of the criminal justice system.
Narinder was a specialist domestic abuse officer within the public protection unit where she investigated cases of murder, attempted murder, rape and sexual assaults. She was instrumental in pioneering the force’s response to harmful practices specifically in honour based abuse and female genital mutilation. Narinder has an outstanding record of inspiring confidence and engaging in diverse settings to increase the understanding, reporting, investigation of hate crimes, domestic abuse and honour based abuse. Her work was recognised as being best practice and was shared with other UK police services.
Narinder has a passion for opening doors for communities and professionals surrounding domestic abuse, honour based violence and abuse, female genital mutiliation, safeguarding and mentoring.

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Bianca Sawle
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Bianca is an experienced safeguarding and business improvement professional with a proven track record in leadership roles across education, charity, and public sectors.
Highly skilled in implementing strategic safeguarding frameworks, leading cultural change initiatives, and enhancing organisational performance through innovative solutions.
Recognised for elevating safeguarding standards, driving continuous improvement through audits and consultancy, and fostering collaborative environments that prioritise safety and well-being.
A passionate advocate for safeguarding excellence, delivering impactful training, safeguarding investigations, and empowering teams to achieve transformational results.

Eugene O’Reilly
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Eugene was a career teacher with over 40 years of experience teaching science at all levels from 11-19. He spent the last 22 years of his career teaching as a deputy head teacher in a large London Academy. Eugene also spent a year in New Brunswick, Canada teaching science.
Eugene is a former DSL with more than 20 year’s experience; he is well-versed in a wide range of pastoral matters, including attendance related issues, leading pastoral staff, whole school behaviour concerns and policy writing. Eugene has experience of working at Trust Level and Governor Level advising on pastoral and safeguarding matters.

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Chris Hawkins
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Chris has worked at the sharp end of medical and safety for over 25 years from frontline Prehospital emergency care and air ambulance critical care, to managing and leading medical teams and safeguarding operations at some of the UK’s highest-profile motorsport and live events.
Chris has led medical and circuit safety teams at Silverstone Circuits Ltd, serving as the DSL and CQC registered manager and supported organisations through inspections, strategic advisory groups, licensing, risk assessments, and real-world emergencies. He currently practices as as Senior Safeguarding Event Manager and Safeguarding Officer for two major music and sporting venues in the North of England and the matchday Safety Officer for Gloucester Rugby.
Chris maintains his paramedic registration through regular clinical work, primarily in live event and motorsport settings as well as being a NEBOSH qualified Consultant Safety Advisor holding Level 4 and 5 crowd management and spectator safety qualifications.
His approach is grounded in real-world experience and focuses on what works in practice, not just what looks good on paper. Whether it’s a fast-moving show day or a licensing meeting, Chris brings a calm, professional, steady presence that helps teams stay focused, meet their responsibilities and keep people safe.

Andy Briercliffe
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Andy is a Global Online Harms Consultant, with decades of expertise in the wide variety of Online Harms, with a high level knowledge of Child Sexual Exploitation & Abuse (CSEA). He is also heavily involved in all areas of online harms and abuse activities, understanding the treats, the dangers, the whole global landscape. He understands how society utilises today's technology to benefit our lives, but with that, come issues and problems. He liaises and works with a wide range of people, organisations, including Law Enforcement, charities, Government Depts, Platforms and many other key stakeholders involved in making the online world a safer environment
“I have worked for various UK Government Agencies in fighting organised crime and child sexual crimes, in addition to 3 years at Twitter. Most recently I was Head of a dedicated Online Child Safety team focussed on key threat intelligence concerning online CSEA activities across the whole reach of the ‘Internet’. Although my main focus is on Online CSEA. I possess high level knowledge of the industry of Trust and Safety, and how this is, and must be incorporated by any company who have a online presence.”
Andy is also regularly requested to talk, present and participate in key conferences, events and webinars, and is a member of several global, UK and EU associations involved with tackling the various aspects of Online Harms. He is well known for having the knowledge of what’s going on where, by who and how in the various aspects of tackling these issues.

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Charlotte
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Charlotte is an associate consultant, with a specialism in contextual safeguarding and Child Protection. Her experience is deep rooted in family safeguarding and contextual safeguarding through a lens of motivational interviewing, systemic practice and trauma informed practice, allowing her to embed an ethos of compassion and strengths based approaches into practice and the work she delivers.
Her skill set includes collaborating with practitioners, leaders and partnerships to drive forward improvement planning, service design and delivery and practice improvement , ensuring that practices meet the complex needs of vulnerable groups within the community. Partnering with diverse stakeholders, she is dedicated to delivering outcomes that ensure the safety and well-being of children and young people.
Her strengths are in developing a contextual safeguarding pathway and fostering robust community responses to serious youth violence. The competencies gained from over a decade of frontline Social Work experience, including independent social work and service management, empower her to craft innovative solutions and enhance service design as well as robust safeguarding policies, practices and audit.
Charlotte’s passion lies within adolescent and family safeguarding informed by her own lived experience, growing up within a family that fosters children. She is passionate about practice development from a child centered approach and promoting this within organisations and authorities. Charlotte has a wealth of skills and experience in designing bespoke projects and training packages for clients across the UK include NRM, contextual approaches to social work, contextual safeguarding through the social work reform lens, safety planning, risk assessment and planning around contextual risk and harm (solo agency and partner agency).

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Daniel Whyne
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Daniel is a seasoned safeguarding and pastoral care specialist with over 16 years of experience working across education, elite sport, and government-affiliated services. With deep expertise in safeguarding and child protection, he brings a compassionate, informed, and practical approach to his work, underpinned by a strong foundation in multi-agency collaboration and systemic practice. Daniel’s practice is grounded in trauma-informed methodologies, child-centred approaches, and a relentless focus on well-being and aspiration. His previous roles include Safeguarding Manager at Professional Football Club and Regional Head of Safeguarding working with asylum-seeking, where he was responsible for safeguarding strategy, complex case management, and staff training.
Daniel is passionate about creating safe environments for young people and Adults at risk, especially those navigating structural vulnerabilities or high-pressure settings. He has developed and delivered tailored safeguarding training packages across the UK, covering areas such as safeguarding in sport, risk and safety planning, contextual harm, and staff development. His hands-on experience enables him to design policies and interventions that reflect real-world challenges while aligning with statutory guidance. Having spent a significant portion of his career supporting young people from diverse backgrounds, Daniel is known for building strong relationships with children, families, professionals, and communities. His leadership in policy development, safeguarding audits, and professional training continues to drive service improvement and influence safeguarding cultures across sectors.
Daniel’s passion stems from a personal commitment to child welfare, which continues to guide his work with individuals, teams, and organisations aiming to strengthen safeguarding outcomes and promote positive youth development.

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James Mageka
RLB Consultant and Trainer

James is an experienced human rights attorney with a demonstrated history of working in civic and social organisations. He is particularly skilled in Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and the Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH).
James currently works as PRSEAH Expert/Consultant at the World Health Organization- South East Asia Regional Office (WHO-SEARO), EVAW / Gender Expert (UN Trust Fund - EVAWG) at UN WOMEN, Safeguarding Consultant at Raynor Safeguarding and Safeguarding/PSEA Investigator at the OSACO Group Limited. He was also an independent external Safeguarding Investigator at the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
James holds a Bachelors of Law degree from the Kenyatta University and a Masters of Laws from the University of Southern California.

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Tamzin Hall
RLB Consultant and Trainer

RLB has partnered with Tamzin Hall, an expert in neurodiversity, working as a consultant, trainer, and coach, and is the founder of The Neurodiversity Academy. As a proud dyslexic and #1 best-selling author, Tamzin brings a deeply personal perspective to her work.
With decades of experience in leadership and learning development, a Level 7 qualification in Coaching and Mentoring, and PCC certification, she is committed to advancing the inclusion of neurodivergent individuals in the workplace.
Tamzin helps leaders understand and support their neurodivergent employees, guiding businesses to implement inclusive practices that recognise and celebrate neurodiversity.
Her expert advice enables organisations to develop the next generation of neurodivergent leaders, ensuring teams are diverse, agile, resilient, and capable of thriving in any environment.

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Eyvonne Wood
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Eyvonne has over 25 years’ experience in the education and skills sector working with public and private organisation including the child protection unit (CPU).
Eyvonne specialises in supporting organisations such as nursery settings, schools, colleges, independent training providers and prison education units.
In her career, Eyvonne has worked as an additional inspector during Ofsted inspections or visits, and supports organisations before, during and or after their inspection or monitoring visits. Eyvonne supports organisation’s to understand and embed relevant quality standards throughout their organisation such as the matrix accreditation, safeguarding standards, committed to equality, and the European foundation for quality management (EFQM).
Eyvonne is passionate about supporting people and organisations ensuring they have the knowledge, skills and confidence to thrive and be successful. She enjoys spending time with her beautiful family and friends and loves to bake.

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Nikki Carter
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Nikki is a highly experienced safeguarding professional and registered nurse with over 30 years' experience across health, safeguarding, leadership, and multi-agency partnership working. Throughout her career, she has held senior roles within the NHS and Integrated Care Boards, developing a strong reputation for improving safeguarding practice, driving quality assurance, and supporting organisations to deliver safe, effective services.
Nikki has extensive expertise in safeguarding adults and children. She has designed, developed, and delivered a wide range of safeguarding training programmes for health professionals, primary care, dental services, and multi-agency partners, ensuring learning is practical, engaging, and grounded in current legislation, research, and best practice.
Nikki has led service development projects, implemented quality assurance frameworks, contributed to Safeguarding Adult Reviews and Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews, and translated learning into meaningful changes that improve frontline practice. Nikki is particularly passionate about transitional safeguarding, recognising the importance of bridging children's and adults' services to provide seamless, person-centred support for young people as they move into adulthood.
Nikki also has a keen professional interest in the Mental Capacity Act and executive functioning, helping practitioners understand how cognitive processes can influence decision-making, risk, engagement, and safeguarding outcomes.
Committed to empowering professionals with the knowledge, confidence, and skills to recognise risk, ask the right questions, and make informed safeguarding decisions, Nikki delivers training that is practical, thought-provoking, and focused on improving outcomes for vulnerable adults, children, young people, and their families.

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Hazel O’Halloran
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Hazel brings over 25 years of frontline and strategic safeguarding expertise, having worked across housing associations, local authorities, adult social care, and the charitable sector. Trained as a Specialist Practitioner in Safeguarding Adults and a certified Train the Trainer for both children and adult safeguarding, Hazel has led transformative safeguarding initiatives from Board level to community outreach.
Her deep-rooted knowledge of homelessness, domestic abuse, and safeguarding enables her to deliver training that is not only compliant and evidence-based, but also grounded in the lived realities of vulnerable individuals. As a National Housing Award winner for 'Campaign of the Year', Hazel is recognised for her ability to raise awareness and drive sector-wide change.
Hazel's work spans commissioning safeguarding audits, managing governance and risk indicators, and embedding safeguarding into learning and development strategies. A respected speaker and contributor to national forums, podcasts, and university lecturing, Hazel also serves as a Non-Executive Director for Brighter Futures, an Associate for Safeguarding Associates For Excellence (SAFE), a WISH (Women in Social Housing) Board member, facilitator for the Board Development Agency, and mentor for the Housing Diversity Network (HDN). Her approach blends strategic expertise with personal empathy, ensuring safeguarding solutions are both impactful and inclusive.

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Sean Monaghan
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Sean is an experienced safeguarding specialist with over 15 years’ experience across health, policing, social care, education, youth justice and the voluntary sector.
Sean has extensive frontline and strategic experience supporting responses to exploitation and serious youth violence. He established and led hospital-based youth violence intervention programmes across three Birmingham hospitals, working with young people at the point of crisis alongside clinical, police and social care colleagues.
As a Service Safeguarding Lead, Sean held responsibility for safeguarding practice standards, risk management and multi-agency escalation. He has also advised Violence Reduction Units and Police and Crime Commissioner panels on approaches to exploitation and serious violence.
Sean specialises in extra-familial harm and harm outside the home, child criminal and sexual exploitation, serious youth violence, and violence against women and girls. Through intelligence-gathering and partnership work with policing, he has contributed to the disruption of organised crime groups and county lines networks involved in the recruitment, exploitation and trafficking of children.
He brings this practical understanding into his training and consultancy work, helping professionals recognise exploitation earlier, strengthen safety planning and risk assessment, and develop responses that focus on those causing harm rather than the children being exploited.
Sean’s wider work includes implementing learning following practice reviews and quality-assuring safeguarding practice, including within commercial settings such as the night-time economy. His approach is also informed by training in Systemic Theory and Therapy at the Tavistock and Portman, Motivational Interviewing and Forensic Gun Crime Intelligence.

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Alka Mistry
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Alka is an accomplished safeguarding professional with nearly three decades of experience spanning public safety, complex investigations, community empowerment and elite sport.
During her 28-year policing career, Alka served as a detective across a number of specialist and high-profile areas. Her experience includes working within the Child Abuse Investigation Unit, Serious and Complex Crime, Counter Corruption and the Regional Murder Team.
Alka now brings her extensive safeguarding experience into the world of elite sport, where she serves as the Designated Safeguarding Lead for Leicester City Women’s Football Club Academy. She is also an active member of the Women in Football community.
Alongside her work in sport, Alka delivers freelance domestic abuse intervention workshops, working to challenge and change harmful attitudes and behaviours. She is particularly passionate about ending violence against women and girls and supporting safer communities.
Alka’s commitment to empowering others also extends internationally, where she volunteers her time with non-governmental organisations supporting empowerment and sports-based initiatives.

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Charlotte Dickin
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Charlotte is an experienced education, mental health and wellbeing professional with more than 20 years’ experience across the UK and New Zealand. A qualified teacher and former Head of PSHE, she has held leadership roles spanning pastoral care, careers, learning support, Health Education, Physical Education and whole-school personal development.
Throughout her career, Charlotte has focused on helping young people and adults recognise concerns early, have safe and informed conversations and access appropriate support. She has worked closely with safeguarding leaders, pastoral teams, families and external agencies, connecting mental health education with effective safeguarding practice and early intervention.
Charlotte is an accredited Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor and an experienced presenter. She delivers Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid courses, shorter awareness and refresher programmes as well as Mental Health Skills for Managers, supporting leaders to place mental health and wellbeing at the heart of their approach, embedding best practice models and strategies.
Her delivery style is engaging, practical and sensitive. She creates psychologically safe learning environments where participants can build confidence, challenge stigma and develop clear approaches to listening, responding, signposting and escalation. She is experienced in delivering courses both face to face and online.
Charlotte also brings a strong understanding of elite sport and performance environments. A former Great Britain Under 23 400m hurdler, PE and Health Education specialist and athletics coach educator, she understands the pressures associated with performance, identity, resilience, transition and balancing wellbeing with high expectations.
Charlotte is passionate about connecting mental health, safeguarding and organisational culture, helping schools, workplaces and sporting organisations create environments where people feel safe, supported and able to thrive.

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Amanda
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Amanda is a highly skilled trainer with over 20 years’ experience and a proven track record of designing and delivering high quality training packages. Amanda has spent the past 9 years working within the charity, education and fostering sector and has a vast knowledge of delivering training around domestic abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation, radicalisation, addiction and safeguarding. This has included developing and working on projects to produce comprehensive school sessions to help children and young people identify risky behaviours and unsafe situations to implement safe practices, build resilience and provide a supportive network.
Amanda also works within the fostering sector to support people to understand the impact of crime on individuals and families, specialising in supporting and providing a safe environment for those involved to prevent them becoming victims of crime.
Using her own experiences along with a passion for these topics, Amanda enjoys delivering effective and engaging sessions, allowing for discussions and activities to ensure a clear understanding of the topics covered and to ensure participants leave motivated.
Throughout her career, Charlotte has focused on helping young people and adults recognise concerns early, have safe and informed conversations and access appropriate support. She has worked closely with safeguarding leaders, pastoral teams, families and external agencies, connecting mental health education with effective safeguarding practice and early intervention.
Charlotte is an accredited Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor and an experienced presenter. She delivers Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid courses, shorter awareness and refresher programmes as well as Mental Health Skills for Managers, supporting leaders to place mental health and wellbeing at the heart of their approach, embedding best practice models and strategies.
Her delivery style is engaging, practical and sensitive. She creates psychologically safe learning environments where participants can build confidence, challenge stigma and develop clear approaches to listening, responding, signposting and escalation. She is experienced in delivering courses both face to face and online.
Charlotte also brings a strong understanding of elite sport and performance environments. A former Great Britain Under 23 400m hurdler, PE and Health Education specialist and athletics coach educator, she understands the pressures associated with performance, identity, resilience, transition and balancing wellbeing with high expectations.
Charlotte is passionate about connecting mental health, safeguarding and organisational culture, helping schools, workplaces and sporting organisations create environments where people feel safe, supported and able to thrive.

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Gilda Rughoobeer
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Gilda is a safeguarding specialist with over 16 years' experience, including eight in senior leadership, and currently serves as Group Director of Safeguarding & Wellbeing for a large regional college group.
Her expertise spans mainstream, further and higher education, apprenticeships, independent training providers and SEND provision. Gilda is recognised for strengthening safeguarding cultures, improving compliance and health and safety standards, developing high-performing teams, and helping leaders navigate complex safeguarding issues with clarity and confidence.
Organisations bring her in when they want more than compliance: they want assurance from someone who understands safeguarding in complex environments and can turn legislation and regulation into meaningful action.
Training is where Gilda particularly excels. Working with governors, senior leaders and frontline staff alike, she's known for sessions that are memorable, thought-provoking and grounded in real-life experience, challenging people to think differently and building the confidence to change practice.
Before safeguarding, Gilda spent seven years as a National Events Manager for one of Britain's largest national charities, leading strategy and operations for mass participation and high-net-worth events. That experience sharpened her leadership, risk management and crisis response skills, and left her with a lasting passion for sport and community.
Gilda believes safeguarding should never be reduced to a policy or a checklist. At its best, it's a culture, built through strong leadership, courageous conversations and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

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Kevin
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Kevin is an experienced strategic leader within the emergency services sector, with extensive experience delivering high-quality safeguarding, child protection and safer recruitment training across the UK.
He is Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Safeguarding Practitioner Group, where he provides strategic safeguarding guidance and supports the development of practice across UK Fire and Rescue Services.
Kevin is also a certified associate trainer for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). He specialises in translating complex safeguarding issues into clear, practical learning that builds practitioner confidence, strengthens organisational culture and supports sound, defensible decision-making.
Kevin contributes to five Local Authority Safeguarding Adult Boards and Safeguarding Children Partnerships, as well as Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs), Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (CSPRs) and Domestic Homicide Reviews. This gives him valuable strategic insight into emerging risks, learning from case reviews and the challenges organisations face in translating safeguarding learning into everyday practice.
His wider experience includes conducting organisational safeguarding reviews, audits and peer reviews, as well as developing safeguarding policies, procedures, toolkits and learning materials used nationally.
Kevin’s approach to training is trauma-informed, reflective and grounded in practice. He creates psychologically safe learning environments where practitioners can explore complex situations, strengthen professional curiosity and build confidence in recognising, responding to and managing safeguarding concerns.

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Sophie Baker
RLB Consultant and Trainer

Sophie is a qualified social worker with over 25 years' experience in child protection and safeguarding. She began her career supporting adults with learning disabilities in residential settings, qualifying in 2001, before moving into work with children in need, children in need of protection and looked-after children. In 2006 she was awarded a Kent Police Commendation for her work with victims of child sexual abuse, and in 2007 moved into team management, offering reflective and mindful supervision to front-line social workers and students.
After managing a network of children's centres focused on improving outcomes for under-5s, Sophie returned to statutory social work in a quality assurance and practice development role. Over ten years, she supported the development and delivery of high-quality integrated social care practice across Children's Services and the wider multi-disciplinary partnership, providing specialist advice, coaching and challenge on complex child protection casework to area managers and social care staff.
Sophie completed a Masters in Advanced Child Protection in 2019, deepening her knowledge of contemporary research, theory and policy.
In 2023, she launched a bespoke safeguarding training and consultancy business, offering training, audits and peer reviews, policy and procedure development, investigations and reflective DSL supervision. Her approach is trauma-informed and strengths-based, while maintaining professional challenge and a clear focus on the child's safety and lived experience. She is particularly passionate about helping organisations and practitioners think critically about safeguarding cultures and navigate complexity with a clear focus on children's lived experience.
Sophie is a regular columnist for Community Care magazine and recently appeared on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour discussing how to manage challenging conversations.