Introducing our new Safeguarding Lead

In our latest blog, we are delighted to introduce Katie Dorrian, our new Safeguarding Lead at Aspris Children’s Services.  

Here you will discover more about Katie and learn about her motivations for the role, as well as what drives Katie to want to achieve the best for children and young people.

Please can you tell us a bit about your experience and career history? 

Having worked within the Police service for 21 years, very early on in my career I wanted to work within child protection, and it was here that I became acutely aware of children that were at risk of being exploited – this area of work became a passion. 

I began working within a specialist team carrying out direct work with children who were or could be at risk of being exploited. I worked closely with individual children, building a professional relationship, offering support, guidance and educating them regarding exploitation and the risks posed. Following on from this, I became the Police representative in a multi-agency team dedicated to looking at children that go missing. The team was partly funded by the National Lottery and the only multi-agency team targeting missing children within Europe. This team supported an educational framework to professionals, identifying exploited and trafficked children, and placed risk assessments around each missing child. 

What made you choose to work in safeguarding? 

I wanted to safeguard children and investigate children abuse, as I believe that children are some of the most vulnerable people in society and I want to protect them, by making the people who cause them harm to be accountable for their actions. I also wanted children to be heard and provide them with support and compassion when making disclosures. 

Why are you excited to work for Aspris Children’s Services? 

I am most excited about working as part of the team, making a positive difference in the lives of children and young people, who are part of the Aspris community.　 

Please can you tell us a bit more about your role here at Aspris Children’s Services? 

As the Safeguarding Lead, my role is to provide professional leadership and promote good safeguarding practices across the division, supporting regional safeguarding leads with their concerns. I also monitor and evaluate safeguarding policies, procedures and training programs, making sure they are current and in-line with national guidance. 

What are your main aims for the safeguarding role here at Aspris Children’s Services? 

Within my short space of time working within Aspris Children Services, I have witnessed excellent working practices around safeguarding our children and young people. My aim is to develop this practice throughout all sites by making sure our staff have the highest quality training, guidance and support, to identify and deal with safeguarding. 

I would like to also take this opportunity to thank all of the staff here at Aspris Children’s Services, who have made me feel so welcome. It has been so reassuring to witness some great practices and everybody has the same vision to make sure we have a child-centred approach in safeguarding children and young people.