Our Family

Naomi Ebanks-Simpson
Responsible Individual and Operations Director Sarah Corsi
Registered Manager Michelle Morris
Team Manager Ian Taylor
Therapeutic Lead Alicia Savage
Supervising Social Worker Simone O’Keeffe
Supervising Social Worker Amanda Fox
Supervising Social Worker Wendy Porter-Clark
Supervising Social Worker Saran John
Supervising Social Worker Jess Barnett
Finance Officer Heather May
Training and Team Administrator Sarah Schindler
Panel and Team Administrator Abigail Mardell
Team Administrator Katie Doherty
Referrals Officer Zoë Williams
Senior Family Support Worker Elinor Smith
Family Support Worker Helen Eadon
Education Support Practitioner

Naomi Ebanks-Simpson | Responsible Individual and Operations Director

Hi I am Naomi, the Responsible Individual and Operations Director. I have worked within the independent sector for over 20 years in a variety of management positions. I joined Foundation Fostering in 2020. One of the key aims when I joined was to ensure that Foundation Fostering keeps the carers and children at the heart of everything that the agency does. I am proud and feel honoured to be a part of such an amazing team and having the opportunity to work alongside our foster carers and watching the children flourish.

Sarah Corsi | Registered Manager

Hi, I’m Sarah, the Registered Manager at Foundation Fostering. I am extremely proud to be the manager here at Foundation Fostering. I love my job and feel privileged to work with foster carers and children every day. I have worked in the area of fostering for 10 years now, prior to that I worked in Local Authority in safeguarding teams. As a social worker and a manager, I have a clear vision of what we should be achieving with children and foster carers and here at Foundation Fostering we all share this vision.

I love spending time with the children and young people and being part of their journey in life.

Michelle Morris | Team Manager

Hi, I’m Michelle, team manager at Foundation fostering. My career has almost entirely consisted of working with children. This has always been my passion and what I have enjoyed the most. I have worked within fostering for over 18 years. I consider it an absolute pleasure to work with the team here at Foundation Fostering and with our foster carers to support them in caring for the children in their care, guiding and helping them to grow, experience love and safety and ultimately strive to reach their full potential.

Ian Taylor | Therapeutic Lead

Hello, I am Ian Taylor, the dedicated Therapeutic Lead. As well as taking a lead in the agency therapeutic programme, I oversee the training and development within the agency. Working alongside and in support of the children and young people and fostering families that share their lives within our community is a deeply rewarding experience and privilege. I have over thirty years’ experience in social work, Therapeutic communities, and Adolescent forensic services. I am a trauma-informed and therapeutic practitioner with extensive direct practice experience, training and grounding in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), and Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS).

Alicia Savage | Supervising Social Worker

Hi, my name is Alicia and I am one of the Supervising Social Workers within the team at Foundation Fostering. I have worked in social care since 2007 and feel privileged to have met so many remarkable children, families and foster carers during this time.

I qualified as a social worker in 2009 and began working in a local authority leaving care team, supporting children and young adults from 16 – 21 years, before transitioning into a looked after children’s team.

In 2015, I moved to an independent fostering agency as a supervising social worker, where I remained until joining the team at Foundation Fostering. I am passionate about working in foster care and having the opportunity to build positive working relationships with children and foster families.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I have a very energetic 5-year-old who likes to keep me very busy! We enjoy spending time outdoors together going for walks and exploring different places. I love the sun and being by the sea. I also enjoy listening to music and when I get the chance, reading a good book.

Simone O’Keeffe | Supervising Social Worker

Hello, my name is Simone and I am one of the Supervising Social Worker’s from Foundation Fostering. I have been a qualified Social Worker for 12 years; I have experience of working as a Social Worker within a Looked After Children’s Team in the Local Authority and within other fostering agencies. I love my job and building relationships with foster carers and children. I am especially passionate about therapeutic parenting and supporting carers to build relationships and attachments with children to enable them to heal from the traumas they have experienced. I have recently completed my Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Level One and I enjoy being able to use these principles in supporting children and carers. Out of work I love to spend time with my family and friends.

Amanda Fox | Supervising Social Worker

Hello, my name is Amanda and I am a Supervising Social Worker at Foundation Fostering. I have worked in fostering for over 10 years and have enjoyed various roles within fostering agencies. I couldn’t be more excited to be where I am now.

I am passionate about the work we all do. I am particularly passionate about therapeutic parenting.

As well as being a Supervising Social Worker, I am a Mom to my two children and I also have a beautiful Cavapoo dog. When I’m not working I love to be at home with my family, spend time outdoors and love new adventures.

I hope this offers some insight into me as a person and a member of the Foundation Fostering team.

Wendy Porter-Clark | Supervising Social Worker

Hi, I’m Wendy, one of the Supervising Social Worker’s at Foundation Fostering. One of the things I love about Foundation Fostering is the dedication of the entire team to provide foster carers and children with outstanding care, support, and guidance 24 hrs a day.

I have many years’ experience of working in social care including in the local authority and fostering. I have supported families and children in schools, colleges, in birth families’ home and in fostering homes. I work with and alongside foster carers to bring about positive change and outcomes for the children and young people in their care. I do not underestimate the hard work and commitment of fostering and I respect foster carers dedication and commitment to the profession.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, paddleboarding, camping, and walking our 8-year-old Labrador Rolo. I prefer summer to winter, although I do like listening to the rain when I’m dry, cosy, and warm at home.

Saran John | Supervising Social Worker

Hi there, my name is Saran. Prior to becoming a social worker, I was a foster carer for many years. I have a foster son who will be 23 years old next month, a foster daughter who is 29 years old and is also mum to my 2 gorgeous grandsons. My birth daughter Rochelle is 26 years old and currently lives at home as does my 33 years old niece Natasha, so we have quite a lively household.

Fostering has always been very close to my heart and was the main reason I decided to study to become a social worker. As a mature student and single carer this was no easy feat but with the support of my children, I graduated in 2016.

I am an animal lover and in my spare time I provide a dog sitting service which also gets me out and about in the fresh air and for some much-needed exercise! When relaxing at home I like to read or watch a good film with my girl’s. I often have my 2 grandson’s stay over at the weekend. Giovannis is 6 years old and Enzo is 3 years old, so they really keep me on my toes. They like to roll their sleeves up to bake (and eat) lots of different cakes and enjoy getting involved in anything that is messy!

JESS BARNETT | FINANCE OFFICER

Hi, my name is Jess. I started working for Foundation Fostering in April as the Finance Officer. Previously I worked for a company that delivered on line procedures and training to the social care sector for 15 years. I started my career as the bookkeeper and progressed to become the Management Accountant.

I decided in 2021 that I wanted new opportunities to further develop my career, and at this point joined Foundation Fostering as the Finance Officer, a role I am thoroughly enjoying.

Heather May | Training and Team Administrator

Hi everyone, my name is Heather May and I am the Training and Team Administrator for Foundation Fostering. I have worked in the fostering sector for the past 4 years as a Team Administrator. I enjoy getting to know foster carers and their families and supporting them through their fostering journey. I have 3 adult children who still all live at home and we recently added to our family, a dog called Hugo who is a Belgian Malinois. I enjoy gardening and going for long country walks with Hugo. I begin my day early by swimming in the outside pool at my local gym; this sets me up for the day.

Sarah Schindler | Panel and Team Administrator

Hi, I am Sarah and I work as Panel Administrator here at Foundation Fostering. This means that I follow the complete process of instigating each Panel right the way through to its conclusion.

I previously worked as a general Administrator for another independent fostering agency for a period of almost 12 years.

I very much enjoy working with our fostering families and admire the work that they do with the children they look after.

I live locally and have two grown up daughters who now both live close by. When I am not at work, I enjoy walking (we often look after our daughter’s very lively dog).

As a family we enjoy sport (rowing, rugby, and cricket) and like to go and watch all of these.

We also enjoy weekends away and country events.

Abigail Mardell | Team Administrator

Hi, I’m Abi and I work as Team Administrator. I am new to the world of fostering, having previously worked in Marketing and Retail. I look forward to looking after and getting to know the Foster Carers and their families within my role. In my spare time I enjoy painting, listening to music, and spending time with my friends and family.

KATIE DOHERTY | REFERRALS OFFICER

Hi, my name is Katie and I am the Referrals Officer at Foundation Fostering. I have over 10 years’ experience working within an Independent Fostering Agency, where I’ve held many roles which include Panel Administrator, Recruitment and Placement Officer. I moved to Foundation Fostering in 2022 as the Referrals Officer, where my role is to receive and respond to placement requests on a day to day basis. This involves liaising closely with the Supervising Social Workers, carers and Local Authorities to ensure a suitable match is made.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my husband, two children and my dog. Between dog walks and taking the children to their hobbies of an evening and weekends, there’s not much time for relaxing! When I get the chance to relax, you will find me binge watching a box set on TV or going out for meals as we are a family of food lovers.

Zoë Williams | Senior Family Support Worker

Hello, my name is Zoë. I am one of the Family Support Workers from Foundation Fostering. I enjoy working alongside such dedicated professionals. I have 20 years of experience working with children and families in Local Authorities and recently moved to the field of fostering.

I enjoy building relationships with others and embrace the Foundation fostering team’s approach of trauma informed therapeutic support. When I am not working, I enjoy trying new crafts, using my creativity, and having fun!

Elinor Smith | Family Support Worker

Hello, my name is Elinor. I am one of the Family Support Workers at Foundation Fostering. I am new to the fostering community, so I am thoroughly excited to be joining you on your journey.

For the past several years I have worked in Education supporting individuals with additional needs. I am extremely passionate about supporting, promoting well-being and building relationships with those around me.

In my spare time I love spending quality time with friends, family and going on adventures with my little boy.

Helen Eadon | Education Support Practitioner

Hello, my name is Helen Eadon. I have been the Education Support Practitioner at Foundation Fostering for over 2 years and absolutely love my job. As an agency, we are proactive and dedicated to ensuring our children and young people have a settled and supported education provision to allow them to reach their full potential. I am here to support you as carers and the children and young people in your care in all things education.

I attend all education meetings and ensure that we monitor attendance, attainment and progress and promote achievement. We love to hear about all achievements, in or out of school, so that we can send out ‘well done’ certificates.

My career background with children started over 36 years ago working in Residential Children’s Homes. I then moved on to work in education, at first working with children with behavioural and learning needs and then in the statutory role as an Education Welfare Officer. I have delivered Anti -Bullying workshops and set up Mentoring systems in both Primary and Secondary Schools and delivered joint Child Protection Training with Social Care to whole school staff groups.

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