Today’s guest blogger is Amy Glover.

A few years ago, I started a new job and went in as Amy’s manager. The role was mad, and the teams were in a transitional period (is the polite way to say it). I would say within the first day of meeting Amy, I knew that this was not the job for her. No way. I think I encouraged her to leave within the first week. Looking back, it may have come across like I didn’t want her there. That’s because I didn’t.

But let me explain.

I have worked with thousands of professionals in every single area you can think of. I personally started from the ground up. My first “real job” was as a part-time mentor in a school, and I had to work hard to get where I am today. I used to often wonder why no one really helped me to grow and move forward. A couple of people did, but not until deep into my career, but so many others could have made that journey easy. In fact, I would say that my peers and those above, for a long time deliberately did not help me progress. I never understood it. And I dont get it now.

So, I have always sworn that if I ever see a natural talent in safeguarding, I will do what I can to help that person.

Help them the way my peers should have helped me.

Which brings us to Amy

Over the past 22 years of my career, I have spotted 5 people who I rated enough to invest my time in. Amy is one of them.

She has a natural ability to safeguard and an understanding of risk and trauma . She is kind and nurturing but also not worried about having difficult conversations. I remember hearing her talk in a meeting for the first time and thinking, “Ok…this woman is on the next level,” and then my next thought was,...

She needs to leave…immediately.

Why?

Because she was too good for the role she was in, and it was pure wasted talent. It’s serious. I remember reading a response she sent to a social worker about a 10-year-old girl (Amy will know who I am talking about ), and I had to stand away from my desk and walk around clapping… all on my own in my house…..because Amy’s response was like a piece of art. I just stood there, slowly clapping with a little smile.

Did I tell her that? Hell no. I called her and said she would be able to respond even better if she did an MA…..

She didn’t seem to respond well, saying she was happy in her role and wanted to progress internally. That was mad to me because she had achieved all she could there. So….. I just went in hard and told her to do a MA

I remember the first time I said it. I explained how I had completed an MA with the University of Kent and wanted her to do the same. She said flat-out no. I asked why, and she made a face like I was mental and said she could not do an MA at that level.

I just nodded.

I think I mentioned the MA about once a week until she left. I would bring it into any conversation. Hi Amy…did you get the needs assessment done? Did I mention that I learned to add quality to needs assessments due to the MA I completed….. She rolled her eyes a few times. I didn’t care.

I had a world-class striker playing 5-aside football….It was too much for me to just leave her in her comfort zone.

I also stated being very hard on her with work. She said to me once, “Why are you making me do it like that? No one else is,” and I said, “Because you need to be the best.” And she was.

To be fair, I actually thought she hated me. This mad woman was making her rewrite things and telling her to leave and go do an MA.

And so, she left. That was about 2 years ago

And then a few weeks ago I received this…..

That message is why I have not yet stepped away from this sector. And I want to—trust me on that. But that message is a reminder that I know what I know….like sees like. I know people.

My mum used to tell me…. Kendra, always leave people better than how you found them.

But the truth is we can’t do that with everyone. We would be exhausted. So, I took my mum’s advice, but I applied it to the ones that I looked at and went, “Boom…that could have been me. What would have helped me?”

I mean, there is a downside. I will now have to do a PHD so that I can call Amy and start randomly talking about PHDs until she gives in and does one.

Anyway…can we all take a moment to celebrate the amazing Amy Glover and read her guest blog….

I’ve always said there is no book that will ever teach you about the child in front of you. And yet, ironically, here I am having just completed an MA in Child Protection.

I started working with young people at about 16, through a young leadership programme at my local youth club, guaranteed it was more about acting as an older sibling to some of the younger groups, but I loved every minute of it. I have since dedicated, 16 years to working with young people in a number of different settings – working with those with experience of care, to those impacted by violence and exploitation, those in estates, communities, schools, residential homes, sports and youth clubs. With a lack of official training in ‘youth work’ or ‘psychology’ I often felt this gave me the ability to engage completely with the young person in front of me, I believe I was able to listen, empathise and respect who they were, without a greater knowledge of a theory that might have led them to behave or present in a way. Every single young person I met taught me something, and for that I am forever grateful, they shaped, challenged and made me the youth worker I am today.

However, in 2021, when working with girls affected by sexual exploitation, I came to understand that it was not always just listening to the child’s voice, but that they also needed to be heard. As I sat in a professional meeting after a professional meeting, I became frustrated about not having the right ‘language’ or ‘creditability’ to advocate for the young people I was working with. I so desperately wanted other professionals to hear what I was hearing. I believe youth workers are an incredible resource, we’re able to meet young people where they’re at, often without funding or bureaucratic restrictions.It’s in the grassroots that change happens, the youth workers who are imbedded in their communities, can pick the call up at 9pm, can escort to the police station or the school meeting, can know peer groups and families and networks, can provide safe spaces and hot food, can provide residential and sports activities, can listen, mentor, advise, correct, care and journey for as long as it takes. And yet, we’re not always respected, seen as an addition to statutory services, rather than a driving force for change.

And so I started an MA in Child Protection, to gain a better understanding around the systems around the child, to learn how to better advocate for them in spaces that mattered, to be able to articulate myself and have the confidence to challenge other professionals when necessary, to work with others and to ensure the voice of the child is always paramount.

I graduate in about a month, in the past year I’ve become head of safeguarding at the charity I’m with. I’ve learnt a huge amount in the past 2 years, I’ve balanced studies and work. It wasn’t always easy, and the essays were hard work! However, life often isn’t easy for our young people and I owed it to them to keep going. My next aim is to develop more youth workers in to knowing their voice and the young people’s voice are important, I’m hoping everything I’ve learnt will better equip others.

Follow Amy on Linkedin here

If you think you would like to find out more about the MA in Advanced Child Protection then click HERE