The work of Just Family CIC to deliver programmes, workshops and initiatives for young people, parents and families has been supported financially by the following organisations, to whom we extend our thanks for their generous support:
Julie is a qualified teacher with 20 years’ experience of teaching in local schools and a variety of community settings. She specialises in English, with a particular passion for developing children and young people’s love of writing.
In 2010, Julie founded a community tuition centre from a desire to provide affordable additional learning for local school children. The centre now provides support to hundreds of children and young people, aged 7-18, each year, with a dedicated team of staff who strive to boost skills, confidence, and help individuals reach their potential and realise their dreams.
In the same year, she also founded a community interest company which focuses on working with disadvantaged communities across the city to enhance key skills, self-belief, motivation to achieve and aspirations.
She has a strong entrepreneurial spirit and loves a new challenge!
For a number of years now, Julie has used her experience and skills to support other charities and community businesses with their development and growth, bringing skills in strategic planning, project management, training, bid writing and fundraising support, finance, and compliance.
She works with a number of notable local charities and not-for-profits, striving to help them maximise their impact on the local community. She is also an active member of the Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce.
Her experience of working with families has shown her the importance of early support and intervention and that’s why she is driven to support Just Family.
Nicola is a devoted mum to her adult daughter Alex and twins Jack and Phoebe born in 2010. As a family, they love spending time outdoors due to their love of horses. They own a foal called Bond which takes up most of their weekend, both Jack and Phoebe are avid horse riders so Nicola spends lots of time watching them with her heart in her throat.
Enabling families to make changes has always been the most important and rewarding part of Nicola’s job. Nicola feels it is a privilege and an honour to be welcomed by families to support them during some difficult and personal times.
Nicola completed her Degree in Social Work at Keele University in 2007. Following a degree, Nicola worked as a Children’s Service Practitioner at NSPCC, Crewe, where she gained 9 years’ invaluable experience, knowledge and skills working directly with children, young people and their families.
Nicola have extensive experience of developing and delivering bespoke interventions on a 1:1 basis focusing on various aspects of children’s emotional health and well-being, such as self-esteem, resilience, loss and separation, behaviour management, problem solving, understanding and managing feelings. Additionally, Nicola also has experience in delivering accredited group intervention programmes to children and young people facing multiple adversities including domestic abuse and substance misuse.
All the above interventions have been informed by evidence based holistic assessments. Nicola has demonstrated the ability to analytically assess all dynamics of family life and the child’s world to develop effective interventions which evidence positive outcomes.
In addition to her degree, Nicola completed a Graduate Certificate in Practice Education in 2015. As a Practice Educator, she has experience of supporting students and newly qualified social workers with their professional development and practice. She has also facilitated training packages and workshops at a regional and local level.
Since establishing as an Independent Social Worker in 2016 and later as a director of Just Family CIC, Nicola has specialised in Childhood Attachment, undertaking numerous training programmes. As an Early Years Attachment Practitioner, Nicola delivers Baby Bonding, Toddler Bonding, Heart to Heart and Parent Child Attachment Play. Furthermore, Nicola has also worked closely alongside and within the Creative Action Team CIC leading to a qualification in Level 1 in Animal Assisted Play Therapy.
Janine is the Founder, Director and Lead Practitioner for Parent Wellbeing and Early Years within Just Family… but most importantly, a mum to three girls.
Her professional qualifications include: PhD Social Policy Candidate, BA (Hons) Social Work, Accredited Early Attachment Practitioner, Open University – Health and Social Care (K100) and Diploma in Nursery Nursing NNEB. With 20+ years’ experience of supporting families in different settings and circumstances, Janine has developed many vital and transferable skills which she now uses to provide expert support and care to children, parents and carers.
She is able to communicate effectively with all ages, and with people from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. Her ability to be versatile and adaptable is evidenced by her being able to interact with adults, children and their parents/carers, as well as being equally self-confident in liaising and directing other professionals on sensitive matters.
The experiences outlined, a commitment to continuous training, learning and boundless enthusiasm, have provided her with a good understanding of the many requirements of supporting individuals and their families. This has allowed her to deliver results efficiently and effectively in a professional and caring manner.
Janine saw a need for support for families when she experienced first-hand the lack of support and service provision within her local area to assist her through a very difficult time of perinatal anxiety and depression during/after her pregnancy/birth of her second daughter. She saw the effect that it had not only on her, but also her family as a whole and how specialist support could have helped.
Her vision is for every family to live happy, healthy lives with positive relationships and a chance to reach their potential. Therefore, Janine has made it her mission to provide a range of quality support services, including peer support groups, parental workshops, 1-1 tailored support, advocacy, mentorship, signposting and accredited interventions, all run by trained practitioners and volunteers that help and promote emotional health and wellbeing and ensure a holistic whole family approach to make a genuine difference to families lives now and help them build brighter futures.