Meet Our Team
Executive Directors
Ross Barnett
Executive Director
Ross Barnett
Ross Barnett is a Qualified Social Worker with a degree in Psychology, bringing over two decades of experience in children’s services. Having begun his career in 2001 with Local Authority children’s services, Ross has been a registered manager since 2005 and co-founded Channels & Choices with a vision to create a better way of supporting children with complex needs. His academic background in psychology combined with extensive practical experience in residential care enables Ross to lead the strategic development of our therapeutic community model. Ross’s commitment to evidence-based practice and continuous improvement has been instrumental in achieving our outstanding inspection results and positive outcomes for children.
Steve Davison
Executive Director
Steve Davison
Steve Davison is a Qualified Social Worker with a diploma in therapeutic child care, bringing over 30 years of dedicated experience working with children and families. As a founding director of Channels & Choices, Steve’s passion for creating positive change for vulnerable children has driven the organization’s growth and success. His specialist qualification in therapeutic child care reflects his deep commitment to understanding and implementing the most effective approaches for supporting children who have experienced trauma and disrupted attachments. Steve’s leadership ensures our services remain firmly child-centered and that therapeutic principles are embedded throughout every aspect of our work.
Operational Directors
Kate Stephenson
Operational Director & Responsible Individual
Kate Stephenson
Kate Stephenson exemplifies the career development opportunities at Channels & Choices, having joined as a residential care worker in 2008 and progressed through dedication and commitment to become Operational Director and Responsible Individual. Kate completed her Level 3 and Level 5 management diplomas while working with us, demonstrating exceptional leadership capability and deep understanding of therapeutic residential care. Her journey from frontline care work to senior leadership gives her unique insight into every aspect of our operations, and her hands-on experience ensures our policies and practices remain rooted in the reality of daily care delivery and the genuine needs of our children and staff.
Salwa Farid
Operational Director & Registered Manager
Salwa Farid
Salwa Farid has been a qualified social worker since 1994, bringing over three decades of expertise in child services and therapeutic care. As Operational Director and Registered Manager, Salwa provides strategic leadership and operational oversight across all our residential homes and services. She is a qualified workplace coach and practice educator, playing a vital role in developing our staff and maintaining our high standards of care. Salwa’s deep understanding of attachment theory, trauma-informed practice, and child development ensures that every aspect of our operations is grounded in evidence-based approaches that truly support the children in our care.
Senior Management Team
Adam Holland-Hobbs
Lead Area Manager / Responsible Individual
Adam Holland-Hobbs
Adam joined Channels and Choices in May 2019, previously Adam has worked with children in residential care since 2009 and has worked in every position within the sector, from being an RSW, registered manager right up to an assistant director as well as a regulation 44 visitor, Adam retains both the level 3 diploma in residential child care as well as the level 5 diploma in residential child care leadership and management, additionally Adam retains qualifications in safeguarding and behavioural analysis from his previous roles with other organisations. Adam was appointed as lead area manager and responsible individual for the residential service within Channels and Choices in February 2025.
Jenny Graham
Partnership & Referrals Manager
Jenny Graham
Jenny has been responsible for supporting the opening and development of two brand new schools for children with Autism and SEMH needs. She previously worked as a Senior Commissioner for The Children’s Placement Service for a Local Authority in London, and also spent some 8 years as a Foster Carer, caring for 21 children 0-18 over that time. She spent a large part of her career in banking, and then specifically as a Business Development Manager for Operational Rigour within that sector.
Lydia Unger
Deputy Manager - Fostering Team
Lydia Unger
Lydia has worked for the Fostering Team at Channels and Choices since January 2020. After completing an MA in Social Work she started her career in the field of child protection and looked after children, and later worked in adult social care. Aspiring to build on her existing skills and exercise her passion for art, she decided to complete an MA in Arts-Health, where she learned to use Art safely as a form of practical everyday support for people with diverse needs. She devised and managed her own research project into the impact of the Arts on adults with autism. Seeking to use this experience in different areas she started work as a Supervising Social Worker for a therapeutic Fostering Agency and later became Fostering Manager before joining the Channels and Choices Fostering Team.
Paulette Holliday
Director of Safeguarding & HR Consultant
Paulette Holliday
Paulette has nearly 30 years experience working with children & their families within a Social Services setting and in various Education Provisions. She worked for the Local Authority for 16 years as a Social Work Assistant and Administration Manager in various teams such as the Asylum Team, Children in Care Team and Child Protection Team. Before joining Channels and Choices Paulette worked in both Primary & Secondary Schools as the Lead Safeguarding Manager & Children in Care Coordinator. Paulette has been a Lead Associate Trainer with Kent Safeguarding Children’s Multi-Agency Partnership for the last 17 years delivering Child Protection & Safeguarding, CSE, Online Safety and Radicalisation Training to professionals across Kent. She is also a Home Office approved trainer and she leads on many of the courses provided to our foster carers and staff from all departments across the community. Paulette is a member of our Fostering Panel and also part of the School Management Committee taking the lead on Safeguarding in both roles.
Tiffany Higgins
HR Manager
Tiffany Higgins
Tiffany manages all aspects of human resources, from recruitment to training, ensuring we attract and retain exceptional staff.
Wayne Beech
Head Teacher - The Sallygate School
Wayne Beech
I have worked as Head of Mental Health and Communities at Porchlight, a leading mental health and homelessness charity, where I have overseen community-based support for adults and young people facing complex and multiple disadvantages. Prior to this, I served as a Headteacher in a school setting that supported children and young people with a range of social, emotional and mental health needs, often alongside significant Special Educational Needs.
Senior Management Team|Therapy
Joyti Burke
Therapy Team Manager
Joyti Burke
Joyti has been supporting Looked After Children since 2009, working across a wide range of roles and settings. Before qualifying as a child therapist in 2018, she completed a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management, strengthening her foundation in service development and team leadership.
She joined Channels and Choices in 2019 and now leads the organisation’s therapy department as Therapy Service Manager. In this role, Joyti oversees a multidisciplinary therapy team and the delivery of therapeutic interventions, assessments, and clinical support for children across our residential homes, fostering service, and Sallygate School.
She also has strategic oversight of the psychiatry service, the support provided to staff and foster carers, and the coordination of all therapeutic training delivered within the organisation.
Joyti is a qualified Creative Arts Play Therapist and a Systemic Family Therapy Practitioner. She is additionally trained in Theraplay, Therapeutic Life Story Work, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Practice (DDP) Levels One and Two, Non‑Violent Resistance (NVR) Foundation Level, and the AIM3 assessment and intervention framework for supporting children who may present with harmful sexual behaviour.
Pamela Thomas
Clinical Lead
Pamela Thomas
Pam has been working as a Speech and Language Therapist for 20 years, supporting children with a wide range of speech, language, and communication needs across mainstream and specialist education settings, as well as in community clinics. She has a particular interest in the assessment and therapeutic intervention of language needs in autistic children and takes a neurodivergent-affirming approach to her work. Pam is also trained in the ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule).
Pam has worked within Channels & Choices for two years. In her role, she supports the identification of speech, language, and communication needs and devises therapy plans that help children develop the skills needed to advocate for themselves.
As Clinical Lead, Pam oversees Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and the Therapy Assistants. She works alongside Joyti Burke, Therapy Service Manager, to deliver trauma-informed speech and language and occupational therapy assessments and interventions, tailoring support to the individual needs of every child in the community.
Therapy
Adela Tomecek
Therapy Administrator
Adela Tomecek
Adela is the Therapy Department Administrator and a qualified Level 3 NVQ Assessor in Residential Childcare. She also holds a BSc in Psychology. Adela has worked at Channels and Choices for seven years, including two years spent working directly within one of the residential homes.
In her role as Therapy Administrator, Adela manages the day-to-day internal monitoring systems, coordinates the scheduling and administrative processes for the psychiatry clinic, referrals and external assessments, and works closely with external professionals and local authorities to organise assessments and gather essential information.
As an NVQ Assessor, Adela supports residential staff on a weekly basis as they work toward completing their Level 3 Diploma.
Anna Lyons
Therapy Administrator
Anna Lyons
Anna joined Channels and Choices in 2022 and progressed to Senior Shift Leader within one of our residential homes. She now works as an Administrator across both therapy and residential services. In her role as Therapy Administrator, Anna provides administrative support, including processing referrals, collating information for the psychiatry service, and supporting therapists with a range of administrative tasks.
Charlie Wilson
Speech and Language Therapist
Charlie Wilson
Charlie joined Channels and Choices in 2025. She is a qualified as a speech and language therapist with over 30 years ago and has worked with children of all ages in many different contexts. Charlie’s particular area of interest is in neurodivergence. She recently completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Autism. She has ADHD herself and finds that this gives her a helpful insight into the thoughts and behaviours of many of the children with whom she works.
Georgia Smith
Occupational Therapist
Georgia Smith
Georgia started her career working with looked after children as a residential support worker, and later an assistant psychologist. During this time, she developed a passion for supporting children who have experienced trauma and was interested in how this impacted their function in everyday activities. This led Georgia to becoming a qualified Occupational Therapist. After qualifying, she worked with adults experiencing a range of mental health difficulties, including Schizophrenia and drug addiction, and supported them to transition back into the community from a hospital setting. Georgia wanted to return to working with children and so joined the Channels and Choices community in 2025. Georgia has a particular interest in how trauma impacts our sensory system and is currently undertaking a Postgraduate Certificate in Sensory Integration. She will qualify as a Sensory Integration Practitioner in summer 2026.
Jessie Epps
Therapy Assistant
Jessie Epps
Jessie has a background in performing arts, initially as a hobby, which later turned into a teaching role at a local dance school. After completing a degree in primary education and earning a qualification as a primary teacher, Jessie transitioned into a position as a higher level teaching assessment at a secondary school, specifically focusing on delivering small group interventions.
In April 2023, Jessie joined Channels & Choices in the role of therapy assistant. Collaborating closely with the speech and language therapist and occupational therapist, Jessie implements recommendations and provides support to those within the Channels & Choices community.
Joyti Burke
Therapy Team Manager
Joyti Burke
Joyti has been supporting Looked After Children since 2009, working across a wide range of roles and settings. Before qualifying as a child therapist in 2018, she completed a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management, strengthening her foundation in service development and team leadership.
She joined Channels and Choices in 2019 and now leads the organisation’s therapy department as Therapy Service Manager. In this role, Joyti oversees a multidisciplinary therapy team and the delivery of therapeutic interventions, assessments, and clinical support for children across our residential homes, fostering service, and Sallygate School.
She also has strategic oversight of the psychiatry service, the support provided to staff and foster carers, and the coordination of all therapeutic training delivered within the organisation.
Joyti is a qualified Creative Arts Play Therapist and a Systemic Family Therapy Practitioner. She is additionally trained in Theraplay, Therapeutic Life Story Work, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Practice (DDP) Levels One and Two, Non‑Violent Resistance (NVR) Foundation Level, and the AIM3 assessment and intervention framework for supporting children who may present with harmful sexual behaviour.
Lauren Harris
Dance Movement Psychotherapist RDMP
Lauren Harris
Our bodies carry emotions and trauma when we are unable to safely express or process them. Dance Movement Psychotherapy provides a range of creative tools, including movement, to create a safe space for exploration and emotional expression.
During my training in Dance Movement Psychotherapy, I worked as a residential support worker, which gave me invaluable insight and experience in supporting children who have endured difficult experiences. This sparked my passion for working with children as a Dance Movement Psychotherapist, with a focus on Attachment, Therapeutic Parenting with PACE, Restorative Practices, and utilizing Polyvagal Theory to promote emotional regulation.
In 2022, I graduated and spent two years working as a Dance Movement Psychotherapist in residential homes, where I was able to apply my skills in an environment that truly inspired me. This experience not only deepened my passion but also sparked an interest in how I could support both children and carers within the fostering sector. I found my way to Channels & Choices at a perfect moment and have thoroughly enjoyed seeing how the various therapeutic modalities have come together to support both our young people and carers in the community.
Louise Gray
Therapy Assistant
Louise Gray
Louise has over a decade of experience working with children across education, care, and therapeutic settings. She began her career in mainstream primary schools, primarily within early years education, and completed a university diploma at Canterbury Christ Church University in Supporting Teaching and Learning.
Louise has worked with Channels and Choices for over three years as a Therapy Assistant, supporting children alongside our Speech & Language and Occupational Therapists. Her role involves working directly with children, as well as staff and foster carers in the community. Her work involves supporting children’s communication and language needs, independence, sensory needs, and participation in everyday activities in ways that are responsive to each child’s individual profile.
Alongside her work with Channels and Choices, Louise has been training as a counsellor and is currently in the final year of her Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling. Louise will be going on to start her level 6 advanced diploma in counselling children and young people in September.
Michelle Ockenden
Therapist
Michelle Ockenden
Michelle has over 20 years of experience working with looked-after children across a variety of roles. She spent seven years as a senior support worker within a therapeutic children’s home, where she developed understanding of trauma-informed care and the complex needs of vulnerable young people.
Michelle was also a foster carer for 15 years, providing short-stay and emergency placements, including caring for one child for 13 years. She later broadened her experience by working in a special educational needs school specialising in Autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
In 2018, Michelle qualified as an Integrative Counsellor. She joined Channels and Choices in 2021 as a therapist, a diverse role that includes providing 1:1 therapy for children, support sessions for foster carers, and therapeutic thinking time with residential staff. In 2023, Michelle completed her Level 6 qualification in counselling children and young people.
Committed to ongoing professional development, Michelle has completed additional training in Autism, bereavement counselling, neuroplasticity, and CATT (Child Accelerated Trauma Technique). In July 2025, she completed a supervision qualification and now works as a clinical supervisor for external counsellors.
Pamela Thomas
Clinical Lead
Pamela Thomas
Pam has been working as a Speech and Language Therapist for 20 years, supporting children with a wide range of speech, language, and communication needs across mainstream and specialist education settings, as well as in community clinics. She has a particular interest in the assessment and therapeutic intervention of language needs in autistic children and takes a neurodivergent-affirming approach to her work. Pam is also trained in the ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule).
Pam has worked within Channels & Choices for two years. In her role, she supports the identification of speech, language, and communication needs and devises therapy plans that help children develop the skills needed to advocate for themselves.
As Clinical Lead, Pam oversees Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and the Therapy Assistants. She works alongside Joyti Burke, Therapy Service Manager, to deliver trauma-informed speech and language and occupational therapy assessments and interventions, tailoring support to the individual needs of every child in the community.
Sarah Dales
Occupational Therapist
Sarah Dales
Sarah is a qualified Occupational Therapist, having completed her training in 2024, and is currently working with Channels and Choices. She is passionate about supporting children to build the skills they need to participate fully in everyday life, whether at home, in school, or in the community. Sarah has a particular interest in sensory integration and how sensory processing impacts a child’s ability to regulate, focus, and engage in meaningful activities. She is also beginning training in sensory attachment, which will further strengthen her ability to support children with emotional regulation and developmental trauma. Sarah is committed to providing child-centred, evidence-informed interventions that are tailored to each child’s strengths and needs.
She is also passionate about the therapeutic benefits of nature and the holistic impact it can have on well-being and hopes to bring elements of nature-based and outdoor-focused approaches into her work at Channels and Choice to support regulation, engagement, and meaningful connection for the children she works with.
Sharon Kerton
Therapist
Sharon Kerton
Sharon began her career in banking, and after taking redundancy she chose to retrain as a counsellor. To support this transition, she worked for an independent foster care agency within the multi-assessment and therapeutic treatment service, helping to establish the service from its inception.
Sharon began working independently as an Integrative Counsellor with adults in 2018. Following the increased post-Covid demand for therapeutic support for young people, she completed a Level 5 Certificate in Counselling Children and Young People.
Sharon joined Channels and Choices in 2022 as a therapist, a diverse role that includes providing 1:1 therapy for children, support sessions for foster carers, and therapeutic thinking time with residential staff. She has also completed her Level 6 qualification in Counselling Children and Young People.
Zoe Boltt
Art Psychotherapist
Zoe Boltt
Zoe joined Channels and Choices in 2025 as a Child and Adolescent Therapist. She is a qualified Art Psychotherapist specialising in supporting the emotional and developmental needs of children, with creative expression as a key focus.
Zoe completed a BA in Illustration in 2017 and subsequently worked in Early Years education, completing a PGCE in Early Childhood to support children aged 0–5 through art and play-based approaches. In 2020, Zoe completed an MA in Art Psychotherapy, undertaking placements in a specialist school for children with neurodevelopmental needs and within NHS CAMHS, working with children who had experienced developmental trauma in SEMH settings.
Zoe has worked in a range of roles supporting children and families for over 10 years. This includes nannying (4 months–8 years), facilitating art workshops in primary schools, working as a playworker for disabled children and young people, volunteering as a mentor with refugees, and working as an Art Psychotherapist in private practice.