Voice of the Child Conference 2025

Jahnine was appointed to the Child Safeguarding Review Panel November 2021 and became the National Kinship Care Ambassador in September 2024.

Jahnine is a care-experienced professional who started her career in children’s rights and participation and has over 20 years practice experience working in both charity and statutory sectors. In addition, she is the appointed safeguarding lead for the BBC’s independent review into Tim Westwood.

Notably, Jahnine is recognised as the UK’s foremost researcher and thought leader in adultification bias in child protection. A specialist in the safeguarding of Black children, Jahnine’s PhD research explores decision making processes in the safeguarding of Black children when harm is outside of the home.

Jacky Tiotto joined Cafcass from the London Borough of Bexley where she held the position of Director of Children’s Services for four and a half years. With statutory responsibility for all services to children, young people, schools, families and carers, she oversaw the directorate in its implementation of family and child-focused help, protection and care, which was judged ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in July 2018.

Jacky has previously held senior positions with Ofsted, the Department for Education, where she was the Senior Deputy Director for safeguarding and child protection, and as the Director for Children and Learners at Government Office London before its abolition in 2011. Jacky was the lead professional adviser for both the Laming and Munro reviews of child protection in England in 2007 and 2011 respectively.

Starting her career as a social worker in 1989, Jacky worked for London local authorities before becoming national adviser for children and adult services for the local government association and senior specialist for social care, education and health at the Audit Commission.

Nigel is a qualified social worker and has over 20 years experience of working for local authority children services departments where he held a range of posts including that of Assistant Director of Social Services. Nigel was appointed as Assistant Chief Inspector with Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) in April 2013, before joining Cafcass Cymru in April 2016 as Deputy Chief Executive. In November 2016, he was appointed Chief Executive of Cafcass Cymru. Nigel is a member of the Family Justice Board and the Wales Family Justice Network.

A civil servant with over 25 years’ experience, primarily working on social policy and programme delivery. For the last 7 years in Department for Education, and prior to that in DWP. Currently Interim Director for Children’s Social Care, covering strategy, funding, including policy and delivery of support for children in care, markets & capital, fostering, kinship, adoption and care leavers. In my last role I led the development of the Families First for Children pathfinder, co-designing reforms with 10 local areas. This incorporated the development of Family Help policy, and the integration of child protection and family networks. I also had the oversight of the Supporting Families programme, following its transfer from MHCLG. Previous work in DfE includes the design, piloting and national roll out of the Holiday Activities & Food programme, the wider school food and free school meals agenda, and pupil premium policy. I am based in Sheffield and support the Sheffield Policy Campus work, and I am a champion of Social Mobility having been the DfE Network Chair for 2 years. 

Neal is the Deputy Director for Family Justice Policy in the Ministry of Justice and has been in that role for the last six years.  His teams look after the policy and legal framework for private family law, public family law as well as marriage, cohabitation and divorce.   That work has included the publication of the Harm Panel report on domestic abuse, the design and creation of Pathfinder courts, measures to better support separating parents and legislation to raise the age of marriage and the introduction of no fault divorce.  

“Ms Justice Harris, appointed Justice of the High Court (Family Division) on 30 September 2024, combines her extensive academic background with a distinguished judicial career. Called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1998, she began her academic career as a Senior Lecturer at Durham University, before moving to the University of Birmingham School of Law, where she served as Reader and then Professor of Family Law & Policy. At Birmingham, she directed the LLM programme, led the Centre for Employability, Professional Legal Education and Research, was an honorary door tenant at St Philips Chambers, and advised the House of Lords Select Committee on Adoption in 2012. She also spent early 2010 as a visiting scholar at Stockholm University and remains an Honorary Professor at Birmingham.

Her judicial trajectory began in 2010 as Deputy District Judge, then District Judge in 2014, and Circuit Judge in 2018—when she also obtained authorisation to sit as a High Court Judge in the Family Division. In April 2024 she was appointed Senior Circuit Judge and Designated Family Judge at Wolverhampton Combined Court Centre, and she has served as Designated Family Judge for Stoke‑on‑Trent and Staffordshire since 2019.

Throughout her career, Ms Justice Harris has authored influential papers—including works on Aboriginal child welfare and family law pedagogy—and participated in national advisory initiatives such as the Children’s Rights Judgement project, while holding membership in the UK Association of Women Judges and the International Association of Women Judges.

Following her elevation to the High Court (Family Division) in late September 2024, she has now been appointed Family Presiding Judge for the Midland Circuit, a role she will begin on 1 October 2025, succeeding Mrs Justice Lieven.”

Emma is Head of Practice and Policy at Nuffield FJO and works to ensure our programmes and projects create impact for children and families.

Emma comes to us from Research in Practice where she was Assistant Director for Innovation, responsible for a wide range of national programmes and partnerships. She led the Learning and Capability Project for the Children’s Safeguarding Practice Review Panel which aimed to identify better ways to generate learning from serious incidents and local safeguarding practice reviews.

Passionate about convening people from different systems and practices, Emma has recently focused on enabling learning and collaboration to generate systems change. She helped to bring about the ‘Staying Close’ pilots, supported accommodation options for young people leaving residential care, contributed to the development of transitional safeguarding and has written about the effectiveness of public inquiries into the protection of children.

Emma was previously Head of Policy and Research for Action for Children, Head of Research and Children’s Social Care for the Social Care Institute for Excellence and a Senior Associate for the Innovation Unit. Emma is a trustee for the Family Rights Group.