The Secure Start® Podcast

Send us Fan Mail What does it really take to heal after trauma—and how do we help children do the same without causing more harm? I sit down with Dr Haley Lugassy, a senior educational psychologist whose lived journey from teenage trauma and isolation in Spain to rebuilding life and career in England reframes what recovery looks like. Her story is anchored by the power of one good adult, the stead...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine a world where we don’t just pull kids out of the river but walk upstream to stop them falling in. That’s the shift we make with Professor Julie Taylor, a leading nurse scientist whose work bridges health, social care, and the lived realities of families under pressure. Together we unpack child maltreatment as a public health challenge, not only a forensic problem, and expl...

Send us Fan Mail The work gets easier when the purpose gets clearer. I sit down with social care consultant and leadership trainer Tom Ellison to unpack how a simple, jargon-free primary task can reshape children’s residential care. Tom traces his path from frontline practice to boardrooms and back into coaching, explaining why so many teams know what “good” looks like yet struggle to do it consis...

Send us Fan Mail Some projects change direction without losing their purpose—and that’s where real growth happens. I sit down with Portuguese clinical psychologist Adriana Dias to explore Ravira Volta, a pilot that helped girls in residential care and their birth families build healthier relationships by widening choice, deepening respect, and keeping reflection at the centre of the work. Rather t...

Send us Fan Mail What if the most powerful lever for child healing sits with the adults who show up every day? I sat down with trauma-informed educator and Wagtail Institute founder Megan Corcoran to unpack how belonging transforms classrooms—and why staff wellbeing isn’t a “nice to have,” it’s the backbone of consistent care. Drawing on years in alternative education and leadership, Megan lays ou...

Send us Fan Mail What if the most transformative thing we can do for children is to care for the carers first? That’s the provocative starting point for a wide-ranging conversation with psychotherapist and clinical leader Richard Cross, whose work brings attachment theory out of the textbook and into daily practice across residential homes, foster services, schools and clinical teams. We explore h...

Send us Fan Mail What if we've been looking at residential care all wrong? Professor Bruce Henderson, author of "Challenging the Conventional Wisdom About Residential Care for Children and Youth," presents a compelling case for rethinking our approach to caring for vulnerable children. Drawing on over 35 years of experience with Black Mountain Home for Children and his extensive res...

Send us Fan Mail What does it really mean to provide therapeutic residential care to traumatised young people? Dr Kevin Gallagher draws from three decades of experience to challenge our assumptions about children's homes and how we use them. Kevin's journey from banking to social work, driven by his own experiences of exclusion and inequality, mirrors the evolution of UK residential care...

Send us Fan Mail What if everything we think we know about residential childcare is wrong? What if, for some children, it's not the dreaded last resort but actually the best option for healing and growth? Dr. Laura Steckley, who leads the MSc in Advanced Residential Child Care at the University of Strathclyde, brings three decades of practice, research, and teaching experience to challenge ou...

Send us Fan Mail What if child maltreatment wasn't an inevitable social problem, but something we could dramatically reduce within a generation? Benjamin Perks, Head of Campaigns and Advocacy at UNICEF, believes this is not only possible but within our grasp. In this compelling conversation, Ben shares his remarkable journey from the residential care system in the UK—where he experienced gang...

Send us Fan Mail A series of serendipities and the opportunity to play Winnicott's piano marked Peter Wilson's remarkable journey into child psychotherapy. In this captivating conversation, Peter reveals how a degree in industrial economics led unexpectedly to founding Young Minds, one of the UK's most influential children's mental health charities. Peter's four years trai...

Send us Fan Mail What if everything we thought we knew about helping traumatised children was backwards? In this profound conversation, Adela Holmes reveals the revolutionary approach that transformed lives at Hurstbridge Farm Therapeutic Residential Care Pilot in Victoria. At the heart of effective therapeutic care lies what Holmes calls "relentless kindness" – an unwavering commitment...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Jenna Bollinger takes us on a revealing journey into the heart of what makes residential care truly effective for vulnerable children and young people. Drawing from her doctoral research on stability in out-of-home care, she challenges conventional wisdom and offers a fresh perspective on how we measure success in these settings. The podcast opens with a powerful revelation: s...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when one person loves a child unconditionally? According to Susan Barton AM, founder of Lighthouse Foundation, "they'll usually make it through." This profound belief forms the backbone of an extraordinary organisation that has transformed the landscape of youth homelessness in Australia over the past 33 years. Susan's journey began with a shocking...

Send us Fan Mail Patricia Sheridan's remarkable journey from critical observer to pioneering founder reveals how one person's vision can transform an entire field. When she established Moore House School in 1988, Mrs Sheridan was swimming against the tide of conventional childcare practices in Scotland, where controlling children took precedence over nurturing their potential. What began...

Send us Fan Mail Richard Rowlandson draws from over five decades of experience at the Mulberry Bush School to share profound insights about therapeutic residential care for traumatised children. His journey from New York City to the English countryside led to a lifelong commitment to creating environments where troubled children can learn to live with themselves and others. At the heart of Richard...

Send us Fan Mail Andrew Isaac brings decades of leadership experience in children's social care to this eye-opening discussion about the state of foster care in the UK. As Chair of BSN Social Care and the Children's Services Development Group, Andrew offers rare insights into both the frontline challenges and policy considerations shaping outcomes for vulnerable young people. The convers...

Send us Fan Mail Colby Pearce connects with the core technical team of Livramento, a residential care home in Portugal with a remarkable 200-year history of supporting girls and young women from ages 6 to 25. • Tracing Livramento's journey from a closed orphanage during Napoleonic times to today's therapeutic community • Exploring how a revolutionary director in the 1970s transformed the...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when someone with lived experience of the care system becomes a leading voice in trauma-informed practice? Dr. Lisa Cherry's journey from writing complaints to the director of social services as a child in care to becoming an internationally recognised consultant offers profound insights into breaking intergenerational cycles of trauma. Drawing from her 35 years...

Send us Fan Mail What makes attachment so crucial for foster children, and how can carers build connection with young people who seem determined to push them away? In this illuminating conversation, clinical psychologist Colby reveals the profound impact of attachment on every aspect of child development. Attachment isn't just about emotional bonding—it shapes how children explore their world...

Send us Fan Mail A childhood moment of terror when separated from her parents for mere minutes sparked Dr. Kiran Modi's lifelong mission to transform care for vulnerable children across India.  What follows is the extraordinary story of Udayan Care, an organization Dr. Modi founded in 1994 after visiting over 150 childcare institutions. Rejecting the prevailing model of large, isolated orphan...

Send us Fan Mail What makes therapeutic care truly effective? Simon Benjamin takes us on a journey through his remarkable career—from cleaning houses as a support worker to leading the Lighthouse Foundation as CEO—to reveal the essential ingredients of healing environments for vulnerable children and young people. Drawing from his immersive experiences at the Mulberry Bush School in the UK and the...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when leadership falters in high-stakes environments? Children and families suffer. After managing social services during Northern Ireland's most volatile political period, Lynne Peyton discovered that exceptional leadership isn't just desirable—it's essential for transforming lives. "Culture flows downhill," Lynne explains, revealing why her C...

Send us Fan Mail When Graeme Kerridge first stepped into the Cotswold Community in 1977, he encountered a revolutionary approach to caring for deeply troubled young people. What he learned there would shape his understanding of human potential and systems thinking for decades to come. The Cotswold Community was no ordinary residential care setting. Under Richard Balbirnie's visionary leadersh...

Send us Fan Mail Adela Holmes brings over five decades of wisdom to this compelling conversation about healing our most vulnerable children. With a career spanning 52 years in child protection and therapeutic care, Adela shares the remarkable journey that led her from folk singing in coffee lounges to designing groundbreaking therapeutic programs for traumatized young people. Discover the story be...