Our staff
Hear from some of our staff about working in Children's Social Care at Gateshead Council:
- Steve Sullivan, Manager - Gateshead Family Hubs
- Emma Shields, Children and Young People's Participation Lead
- Linda Roberts, Operations Manager for Residential Services
- Natalie Thompson, Workforce Development Advisor
- Zoe Hovells, Team Manager for Gateshead Social Work Academy
Steve Sullivan, Manager - Gateshead Family Hubs
Steve tells us how passionate he and his team are in supporting the people and families of Gateshead through their work in the Family Hubs.
He talks about how he has progressed through various job roles throughout his career and how Gateshead Council have supported him in his career development.
Emma Shields, Children and Young People's Participation Lead
Emma works with our care-experienced young people to make sure their voice is heard, and they are involved in decisions made about children in our care.
She loves working for Gateshead Council as she feels that the children and young people's views are valued and acted upon which is something which is really important to her.
Linda Roberts, Operations Manager for Residential Services
Linda manages the Registered Managers who look after our children's residential homes in Gateshead.
She is proud of her teams and how they do their very best to support our young people to thrive and transfer into adulthood.
She says that she has had excellent support throughout her career at Gateshead Council and feels listened to in her ideas.
Natalie Thompson, Workforce Development Advisor
Natalie's role is working closely with staff and senior managers within our Children's Social Care teams to develop bespoke training and development programmes to meet their needs.
She tells us how Gateshead Council is passionate about development of staff and progression from within, which is supported by a specialist Social Work Academy and Leadership and Management programme.
Zoe Hovells, Team Manager for Gateshead Social Work Academy
Zoe manages our Social Work Academy which support newly qualified social workers through their first assess and supported year in employment (ASYE) and beyond in their career progression.
She feels supported in her role at Gateshead and has built vital working relationships to work closely with Children's Social Care teams and support them in their goals.