The Secure Start® Podcast
The Secure Start® Podcast
Podcast Description
In the same way that a secure base is the springboard for the growth of the child, knowledge of past endeavours and lessons learnt are the springboard for growth in current and future endeavours.If we do not revisit the lessons of the past we are doomed to relearning them over and over again, with the result that we may never really achieve a greater potential.In keeping with the idea we are encouraged to be the person we wished we knew when we were starting out, it is my vision for the podcast that it is a place where those who work in child protection and out-of-home care can access what is/was already known, spring-boarding them to even greater insights.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores critical themes in child protection, including effective therapeutic practices, family reunification, and historical lessons in out-of-home care. Episodes feature discussions on specific topics such as the impact of trauma on children and innovative approaches to foster care, illustrated through the experiences shared by guests like John Whitwell and Sally Rhodes.
In the same way that a secure base is the springboard for the growth of the child, knowledge of past endeavours and lessons learnt are the springboard for growth in current and future endeavours.
If we do not revisit the lessons of the past we are doomed to relearning them over and over again, with the result that we may never really achieve a greater potential.
In keeping with the idea we are encouraged to be the person we wished we knew when we were starting out, it is my vision for the podcast that it is a place where those who work in child protection and out-of-home care can access what is/was already known, spring-boarding them to even greater insights.
A child can walk into a house with a full fridge and a clean bed and still feel terrified. That’s the gap we’re trying to close, and it’s why this conversation matters.
I’m joined by Mary-anne Hodd, founder of Journeys That Care, a CPD accredited training and consultancy that blends lived experience with psychology, teaching, and therapeutic practice. Mary-anne grew up in the care system and now supports the adults around care experienced children across fostering, residential care, local authorities and schools. Together we dig into what actually changes outcomes: not perfect plans or flawless paperwork, but relationships that hold steady over time. We talk about the adults who keep showing up, the “fresh start” that helps a young person risk trust again, and why hope often takes years to bloom after leaving care.
We also go deep on language in social care. What do labels like “challenging behaviour” and “hard to engage” really do to a child’s story, especially when those words end up in files a young person might read as an adult? Mary-anne shares her experience of requesting her records, the long wait, the emotional hit, and the one simple line that brought her identity back to life. We unpack how to write case notes with compassion and curiosity while staying professional, and how understanding rights and entitlements can lift aspiration instead of shrinking it.
If you work in trauma-informed care, child protection, out-of-home care, education, or youth mental health, you’ll take away practical ways to centre the child’s voice and create everyday moments of safety. Subscribe, share this episode with someone in the sector, and leave a review so more carers and professionals can find it.
Mary-anne's Bio
Mary-anne Hodd is the founder of Journeys That Care, a CPD-accredited training, consultancy, and speaking organisation that combines lived experience with professional insight. Care-experienced herself, she draws on a background in psychology, teaching, and therapeutic practice to support the adults who work with and around children and young people in care, right across the UK.
Her work is about bridging the gap between policy, practice, and lived experience, supporting the adults around children and young people to build and sustain relationships in which both they and the children they care for feel safe, hopeful, and able to thrive. She is passionate about amplifying lived experience, challenging assumptions, and supporting professionals to create environments where children and young people feel understood, valued, and able to thrive.
Links:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheSecureStartPodcast
Podcast Blog Site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.com/
Disclaimer: Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce. Finally, all references to case examples are anonymised to the extent that the actual case could not be identified, or are fictional but based on real-life examples for illustrative purposes.
Disclaimer
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