Send us a text This is a recap of the first 33 episodes of The Secure Start Podcast, all released in 2025. It has been an incredible honour to host them and I am looking forward to 2026! If you take something inspirational from the video, please consider liking and subscribing to this channel and related platforms. Links: Podcast Blog Site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.com/ Podcast site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.buzzsprout.com Secure Start Site: https://securestart.com.au/ Dis...

Send us a text What happens when belief meets opportunity and doesn’t let go? We sit down with Surja—care‑experienced leader, LIFT alum, and global advocate—to trace a path from a village in Uttar Pradesh to a seat at international tables, and to unpack what real aftercare looks like when lived experience leads. With Dr Kiran Modi offering context on Udayan Care’s model, we explore how mentoring, peer networks, and co‑creation turn care leavers into care leaders. Across the conversation, we ...

Send us a text What if lasting change for young people in care comes not from a single attachment, but from a web of “many good adults” who open doors to the wider world? We sit down with Emeritus Professor Robbie Gilligan to trace how schools, mentors, hobbies, and work links create belonging that survives the transition out of care. Drawing on four decades of research and vivid stories—from a nun buying Sinead O’Connor’s first guitar to a baker mentoring a teen before dawn—we map an outward...

Send us a text Some conversations burn slowly and then glow for days. Sitting down with Louise Allen, we trace a line from a childhood rewritten by others to a life spent restoring names, dignity, and futures. Louise grew up in care, became a long‑term foster carer, and now writes bestsellers that refuse to look away. She talks candidly about forced adoption, the quiet children who go unseen, and the neighbour who saved her by offering what the system couldn’t: warmth without conditions and a...

Send us a text In this in-depth conversation with John Turberville, CEO of The Mulberry Bush, we explore how therapeutic residential care transforms the lives of children who have experienced trauma, relational ruptures, and multiple placement breakdowns. John reflects on the organisation’s 75-year legacy, the central role of relationships, family work, trust, innovation, and reflective practice, and why high-quality residential care must be seen as a placement of choice—not a last resort—in ...

Send us a text 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 steady fuel of hope, and the life‑changing mix of compassion and boundaries. Haley speaks openly about ...

Send us a text 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 explore what actually moves the needle on safety and wellbeing. We dig into the socioecological model ...

Send us a text 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 consistently. His answer is both bold and practical: define the primary task, align everyone to it, and u...

Send us a text 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 than forcing a linear “turnaround,” Adriana’s team embraced non‑linear change: testing new strategie...

Send us a text 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 out a clear path: support adults, stabilise culture, and simple, universal practices will start doing...

Send us a text 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 how containment, supervision, and shared language turn trauma-informed care from a training buzzwor...

Send us a text 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 research analysis, Professor Henderson challenges the notion that residential care should be a "last resort" option....

Send us a text 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 itself. His candid reflections reveal how sophisticated practice develops through mentorship, theoretical u...

Send us a text 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 our assumptions. Having worked in both the United States and Scotland, she offers a refreshing perspectiv...

Send us a text 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 involvement and street life—to becoming a global leader in child protection at the United Nations. The...

Send us a text 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 training at the Anna Freud Centre in London during the late 1960s represented a turning point in his life. Working directly with...

Send us a text 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 to relationship-based approaches that prioritise connection over control. Drawing from neurobiology and deca...

Send us a text 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: stability isn't simply about remaining in one placement for a long time. As Dr Bollinger explains, ...

Send us a text 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 encounter in Sri Lanka, where she witnessed a severely malnourished baby covered in abscesses and flies. That moment ...

Send us a text 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 as a small residential school has blossomed into the Moore House Group – encompassing residential education...