Our Team

Lucy Mwape

Managing Director of The Woodbridge Family Centre

Lucy is a widely respected Social Work Practitioner who prior to establishing The Woodbridge Family Centre; worked as a Senior Practitioner, Practice Manager, Parenting Assessment Team Case Manager, Independent Social Worker and Professional Educator.

Lucy’s qualifications include: Teaching diploma, BA Hons Health & Social Care, MA Social work, Developing & Planning a Practice, Learning Intervention, Implementing & Evaluating a Practice Learning Intervention. Lucy is qualified as a trainer in Reducing Parental Conflict and Physical Intervention (using therapeutic approaches).

Lucy is currently studying towards MA Advanced Social Work (Practice Education) focussing on ‘Developing the Learning Organisation, Working within & across Organisations. Lucy is also a Certified Freedom Programme Facilitator.

Joyce Mwape

Head of Risk and Finance

Joyce is a chartered accountant with over six years’ experience across internal and external audit, and financial accounting and reporting at Deloitte, Forterra PLC, The Financial Times and EY.
Joyce has a strong internal controls and financial reporting background gained from a variety of complex projects in both public and private sectors. She specialises in risk management, and the design and improvement of financial and internal control processes.

Sean Rafferty

Responsible Individual/ Service Manager

Sean has 20 years of post-qualifying social work experience. He specialises in children and family’s frontline child protection work. He has a wealth of safeguarding knowledge and skills. Sean’s specialist experience includes his most recent position working as a Family Court Adviser undertaking Section 7 reports with an outcome of advising the court of outcomes in private law applications, undertaking position statements and case analysis for the court to enable the judge to make informed decisions about the welfare of a child.

Sean has experience of fulfilling statutory duties and requirements such as those pertaining to section 7, 37 and 47 reports and he has extensive knowledge of case analysis relating to risk identification and relevant evidence recording. He has significant experience of  working with courts, reviewing Local Authority care plans, final statements, and applications to courts.

Sean’s previous roles include having worked as a Team Manager, Assistant Team Manager, Practice Manager, Children’s Guardian and more. He has experience of managing and overseeing staff performance, providing effective management support, practice education, undertaking individual supervisions and offering guidance to a team of social work staff.

Miti Mwape

Quality Assurance and Compliance Manager

Miti has worked within education and social care sectors, she has experience of working within varied systems, compliance standards and regulations. She holds a Joint degree in Education Studies and Social Care from the University of Northampton.

She is passionate about supporting children, young people and adults holistically through quality assuring our working practices and ensuring that we are compliant in all areas of our practice and service provision.

Pauline Mandigo

Senior Social Worker/ Case Manager

Pauline has 16 years of experience in social work and a sound knowledge of child protection, safeguarding, and family court proceedings. Pauline previously worked as a Social Worker within a safeguarding team and more recently, as a Social Worker within children’s services. Prior to this, Pauline worked in Zimbabwe covering a multitude of roles within the social work sector to include Head of Child Protection, Senior Social Worker, Child Protection Regional Case Management Coordinator, and Consultant Coordinator. 

 Pauline is dedicated to, and passionate about, working with parents to support them in improving their parenting skills and keeping their children safe. Pauline has a Bachelor of Science in Social Work and has experience in inter-agency working, maintaining good professional links and coordinating services for families.  

Rita Hashimi Salem

Early Years Practitioner

Rita qualified as a Medical Doctor in Afghanistan. She has more than 15-years’ experience in maternal and child health. In her different roles as Clinical Team Lead, Mother and Child Health Advisor, and Medical Doctor, she has focused on mothers and children’s health in particular; focusing on improving mothers’ abilities to provide best care and protect their children from any form of harm.

In addition, Rita has mentored various health care professionals including community health workers, gynaecologists, and community midwives regarding mother and child health, child safeguarding, adult safeguarding, and supporting vulnerable individuals.

Rita previously provided support to all health facilities in 5 regions within Afghanistan that provide services to the vulnerable within the population. Rita has extensive experience in building the capacity of health care providers, including assessing learning needs, and developing and overseeing a mentorship process to address needs and to ensure provision of quality services.

Jennifer Carby-Taylor

Social Worker/ Case Manager

Jennifer Carby-Taylor is a qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work of England and a member of the British Association of Social Worker. Jennifer completed her Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) training programme at the Woodbridge Family Centre.

Jennifer’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Art with Hons in Social Work, a Bachelor of Science with Hons in Health and Social Care, a Diploma in Managing Care and Parenting Assessment Manual (PAMS 4.0) and Parenting Assess training.

Yemi Olowoyo

Practice Educator

Yemisi (Yemi) is a multi-skilled qualified Social Worker/Manager with extensive experience and knowledge having worked with various client groups across different generations and cultures.  She has more than ten years’ experience of managing and supervising staff including QSW, NQSW and students on placement.

Yemi has previous experience as the Lead Social Worker in a parent and child Centre where she was responsible for leading social work practice. She has practical hands-on knowledge of human rights assessments. Yemi’s qualifications include a Master’s in Social Work, Level 1 Practice Teaching Programme, Level 2 Social Work Practice Education Training Award, and a Social Work Post Qualifying Certificate (Integrative: Practice Education/Leadership and Management – Ongoing) amongst others. In honour and acknowledgement of the scope and depth of Yemi’s contribution to the community and grass roots social work she was named as East Midland’s Family Heroes Award Winner in 2014 and in December 2018, she received a Noble People Award in London.

Lee Jackson

Business Support Manager

Lee has over 40 years of experience in property management services and processes that support the core business of an organisation. At the Woodbridge Lee is responsible for ensuring that the organisation has the most suitable living environment for clients and working environment for its employees and their activities. Lee is involved in both strategic planning and day-to-day operations, particularly in relation to the safety of the buildings and premises, health and safety, space management, utilities and communications infrastructure including transport management.

Abbi Croson

Lead Early Years Practitioner

Abbi is an Early Years Practitioner with years of experience working within nursery environments, tracking the progress of young children, supporting children with special needs and assisting parents in managing the welfare of children.

Abbi has completed a Level 3 Diploma in Children’s Learning and Development. She has a BA qualification in Early Childhood Studies and is passionate about working with children, young people and their families.

Asya Hashemi

Early Years Practitioner

Asya has 14 years’ experience working in the health and social care sector. During her previous roles as Gynecologist Supervisor, Mother and Child Health Supervisor, Medical Doctor in Afghanistan, and Healthcare Coordinator; she completed many parenting and healthcare observations in hospitals and communities in accordance with the Ministry of Public Health’s policies and international guidelines.

Asya has supported families in the community to learn how to support their children’s mental health and foster environments where children and families are supported to meet health and social needs. Asya’s role involved educating parents about child developmental needs while exploring family dynamic issues and creating 6-month planners to reduce risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome(SIDS) and supporting mother’s physical and emotional health.

In her role as a Gynecologist Supervisor, she attended and arranged training and workshops for doctors, support workers and other healthcare professionals in supporting mothers and children’shealth and wellbeing, child safeguarding and adult safeguarding.