NOTA Cymru
Conference 2025
Spark/Sbarc at Cardiff University – 27th November 2025
Welcome to the 2025
NOTA Cymru Conference!
We are delighted to welcome you all to our 2025 Conference!
The event will be a one-day conference focusing on ‘No Further Action’ – Understanding multi agency thresholds, decision making and the wider implications for practice.
We would like to draw on recent reports and inquiries which point to missed opportunities across multi agencies to intervene differently or indeed at all, to better prevent, protect and support recovery from child sexual abuse.
We want to explore multi agency thresholds, decision making and service design and provision when responding to child sexual abuse in all its forms. Key will be to consider the support needed by victims and those affected following CSA as well as the support needs of those who cause sexual harm.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS for 2025
Keynote ONE:
Anna Glinski
It’s time to notice, it’s time to act: Improving responses to children affected by sexual abuse in their family environment
In November 2024 the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel published its report “I wanted them all to notice”: Protecting children and responding to child sexual abuse in the family environment, research led by The Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse.
Keynote TWO:
Kathryn Lawrence
Introducing the Harmful Sexual Behaviour Pathway; what does the pathway mean for children and young people who need support for their sexual behaviour.
Kathryn will present the Harmful Sexual Bahaviour Pathway Model, sharing how it is being applied across South Wales Local Authorities. She has worked in the field of sexual abuse since 2012, as both a practitioner and manager with Barnardos Better Future Service.
Keynote THREE:
Jan Pickles & Jane Foster
It can happen here
Jane and Jan will talk about the Learning from the recent North Wales Child Practice Review and reference into sexual abuse of children by head teacher Neil Foden, they will also refer to learning from other similar inquiries including the South Bank and Clwych.
Keynote FOUR:
Anne-Marie Lawrence
Our Voice, Our Journey: From Personal Pain to Collective Change
Anne-Marie speaks from personal experience as a parent navigating the devastating impact of early life trauma, child sexual abuse and the systemic failures that followed. Her advocacy focuses on disrupting the predictable pathways too many young people face after harm by recognising red flags, stepping in early, and ensuring support is available when, where, and how it’s needed.
PANEL Q&A SPEAKERS
Panel Q&A
Key safeguarding and protection agencies, as well as academics will form a panel to answer audience questions relating to multi agencies and responses to CSA. The aim of the event is to consider the current landscape in Wales and how improvements may be made to better prevent CSA from occurring, as well as intervening at the earliest opportunity where CSA is known or suspected to have occurred.
Panelist
Dr Nina Maxwell
Dr Nina Maxwell is a Chartered Psychologist and Principal Research Fellow. She has over twenty years of experience in social care research with an extensive portfolio of studies focusing on youth society and risk, specifically around the criminal exploitation of children. Her work includes the Complex Safeguarding Wales (ComplexSafeguardingWales.org) toolkit which was co-produced with young people, parents and professionals.
Panelist
Chris Frey-Davies
Chris Frey-Davies, BSc, PGCert is Head of Children’s Services at Pembrokeshire County Council. With over 16 years in social care and seven in senior leadership, Chris brings a practical, people-focused approach to improving services for children and families. He has led safeguarding across both children’s and adults’ services, supported multi-agency projects, and works with teams to drive positive change locally and across Wales. Chris has chaired safeguarding groups at all levels and helped shape national strategies. He’s also been involved in developing digital tools that make frontline work more efficient. Known for his collaborative style and focus on what works, Chris regularly shares his insights at national events and is passionate about making a real difference for vulnerable people.
Panelist
Jonny V Matthew
Jonny is a registered social worker and a criminologist. He is Director of Social Care at TRM Academy Ltd, working to help professionals and agencies embed the Trauma Recovery Model in practice with children and young people. He offers training, supervision and consultation via Jonny Matthew Ltd and works part time (0.2 FTE) as Highly Specialist Youth Forensic Co-ordinator at FACS – the All Wales Forensic CAMHS Team (Forensic Adolescent Consultation Service) where he provides advice and guidance on social care issues, sexual abuse and harmful sexual behaviour in young people with mental health issues or mental illness and who have committed serious offences and/or present a significant risk to self and/or the public. Jonny writes a blog promoting recovery for troubled children and young people, offering information and inspiration to those working in the field; in 2018 he published his second book, ‘Working With Troubled
Children & Teenagers.’
Panelist
Gina Carty
Gina Carty, Senior Practitioner – Tim Emrallt, Harmful Sexual Behaviour Team for Gwynedd Local Authority, North Wales.
Qualified as a Social Worker (BA Hons) in 2008 with experience of working in fostering and adoption, duty and children and families teams. AIM Associate since 2020 providing training in the AIM Under 12 and AIM3 model of assessment
Panelist
Kathryn Lawrence
Kathryn is a registered social worker, with over 25 years of experience, working with vulnerable children and young people, across several sectors and roles. She started working specifically within the field of sexual abuse in 2012, as a practitioner and then a manager within a specialist service, working with harmful sexual behaviour and child sexual exploitation (Barnardo’s Better Futures Service, formally Taith and Seraf).
Kathryn is currently the practice lead in service, developing practice around young children and non-directive methods of intervention for sexual harm. She developed education resources to inform RSE curriculum in schools across South Wales. Kathryn leads on the children’s rights work within the service and ensures that the voices of children, who have been affected by sexual abuse, can be heard. So far, this has included feeding into work with the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, the Police and Crimes Commissioners Office and the Welsh Government.
Panelist
Richard Fewkes
Richard has been the Director of the National Police Chiefs Council Hydrant Programme (formerly Operation Hydrant) since 2014. The programme was originally established to coordinate the national response to the rise in reports of non-recent child sexual abuse and to improve policing’s approach to its investigation. In 2015, the Programme was given responsibility for managing the NPCC relationship with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and to coordinate the gathering and submission of evidence to the Inquiry. More recently Hydrant extended its remit to develop policing’s strategy across all elements of the child protection and abuse investigation portfolio. Richard also leads the Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce launched by the government in April 2023 and now has responsibility for establishing a national policing operation into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation alongside the National Crime Agency. Richard was previously a police officer, latterly the Head of Major Crime and Public Protection, following a police career that spanned over 30 years, the majority of this time saw him in senior leadership roles within CID.
Panelist
Claire Short
Claire Short is the National Manager for Lucy Faithfull Foundation Wales, leading national initiatives focused on the prevention of child sexual abuse. With over 13 years of specialised experience in this field, she delivers expert training and consultancy to agencies and professionals. Claire works collaboratively with a multi-agency team of child sexual abuse specialists to assess and engage with adults who present a risk of sexual harm, young people exhibiting harmful sexual behaviour, victims/survivors and family members, with the overarching aim of enhancing child protection. A core element of her role involves the development and delivery of educational programmes and therapeutic interventions designed to strengthen family resilience and promote safeguarding practices. With more than 15 years of experience in childcare and social care, Claire has held positions as a Childcare Manager, Lecturer, Trainer, and Assessor in Childcare. She possesses extensive expertise in supporting families of children with complex needs and is dedicated to improving outcomes for children and families through education, prevention, and early intervention.
Panelist
Luci Coffey
Luci began working in the charity sector by volunteering with We Stand (previously Mosac) in 2008. She became an advocate working with the charity full time in 2010. Through her journey supporting others, it became clear that the majority of clients were struggling to access legal advice for family law. As a result of client need and a passion for the difficulties clients faced, Luci requalified as a family solicitor and now provides pro bono family law advice to parents and carers of sexually abused children through the charity We Stand. She has also been campaigning for legal change.
NOTA CYMRU 2025 TIMETABLE
| 9.15 – 9.45 | Arrival, Tea/Coffee and networking |
| 9.45 – 10.00 | Conference Open, by Chair for the morning |
| 10.00 – 11.00 | Keynote 1: Anna Glinski |
| 11.00 – 11.20 | Break and networking |
| 11.20 – 12.00 | Keynote 2: Kathryn Lawrence |
| 12.00 – 12.30 | Panel Q&A |
| 12.30 – 13.15 | Lunch and networking |
| 13.15 – 13.30 | Open afternoon session by Chair PM session |
| 13.30 – 14.30 | Keynote 3: Jan Pickles and Jane Foster |
| 14.30 – 15.00 | Keynote 4: Anne Marie Lawrence |
| 15.00 – 15.15 | Comfort break |
| 15.15 – 15.45 | Panel Q&A |
| 15.45 – 16.00 | Closing remarks NOTA Cymru Chair |