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.
If you’ve ever watched a care team get dragged into chaos and wondered why “good practice” disappears under pressure, this conversation gives you a clearer answer than blame or burnout. We sit down with Simon Benjamin, founder of Blue Skies Independent Consulting, to unpack a hard truth from trauma informed therapeutic care: great outcomes for children are built on organisational health, not just individual skill or good intentions.
We talk leadership from the inside out, including what Simon learned moving from frontline residential care to CEO, and why coaching can be the difference between reacting all day and leading with purpose. We dig into Patrick Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team and the idea of vulnerability based trust: the ability to say “I don’t know”, challenge decisions early, and create psychological safety that makes honest conflict possible. In therapeutic organisations, that culture isn’t optional, because we ask children to take emotional risks and we need leaders to model the same courage.
We also get practical about what “therapeutic” should mean in residential child care and other out-of-home care settings. Simon explains the “therapeutic level” idea using a medical dose analogy and outlines what it takes to reach it: consistent repairing experiences, ongoing training, reflective practice, and structured debriefs that help shift teams stay aligned. We finish by tackling cost, funding levers, ROI, and the outcomes that actually matter when defining success.
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Simon's Bio:
Simon Benjamin is the Principal Consultant and founder of Blue Skies Independent Consulting. Simon works across two worlds — trauma-informed therapeutic care and organisational health. He brings over twenty years of experience from frontline residential care through to CEO level, in therapeutic care.
Simon's Website: https://blueskies.net.au/
Our Links:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheSecureStartPodcast.
Podcast Blog Site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.com/
Disclaimer:
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, or have client consent to talk about in an educative context.
Disclaimer
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