Cathryn Taylor

Experienced safeguarding leader with over 24 years' experience across both children and adults services. Strong track record in managing risk for both children and vulnerable adults, making time-critical decisions, and ensuring immediate and long-term safety. I bring specialist expertise in Welsh safeguarding legislation, MASH processes, and evidence-based practice, providing high-level guidance on complex casework and organisational policy.

I have extensive experience mentoring and supervising managers, leading daily risk-management reviews, and ensuring decisions align with statutory duties and service priorities. I am skilled in driving service improvement, developing regional and inter-agency policies, and ensuring high standards of data protection, record-keeping, and regulatory compliance. My leadership style promotes collaboration, reflective practice, and high-performing teams, supported by strong relationships with multi-agency partners across health, police, probation, education, and the voluntary sector.

I have a proven ability to lead audits, performance monitoring, recruitment, and capability processes, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Proficient in WCCIS and a wide range of Microsoft applications, I work confidently in both English and Welsh, contributing effectively in formal and informal bilingual settings. I hold a full driving licence with no endorsements.

Section Manager MASH - Conwy County Borough Council - Conwy

(2025-01)

Provide strategic and operational leadership across Children's and Adults' MASH, ensuring timely screening, triage, and risk-based decision-making for all safeguarding referrals.

• Oversee complex safeguarding enquiries under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, Children Act 1989, Mental Capacity Act, and Wales Safeguarding Procedures, ensuring lawful and proportionate interventions.
• Lead multi-agency information-sharing between police, health, education, mental health, probation, housing, and voluntary sector partners to deliver coordinated, intelligence-led safeguarding responses.
• Chair daily MASH briefings, strategy discussions, and multi-agency risk meetings, ensuring robust analysis and defensible threshold decisions for both children and adults.
• Provided expert oversight of referrals involving child protection, domestic abuse, exploitation, neglect, self-neglect, exploitation and adults at risk.
• Represent the Authority as MARAC, ensuring high-risk domestic abuse cases are triaged, risk-assessed, and appropriate multi-agency safety planning.
• Contribute to the MAPPA processes, sharing intelligence, assessing risk, and coordinating safeguarding responses for individuals posing significant risk to the public.
• Deliver professional supervision, coaching, and performance management to social workers, senior practitioners, and MASH officers across both service areas.
• Quality-assure all screening decisions, risk assessments, and case rationales to maintain consistent, high-quality safeguarding practice.
• Lead on service improvement, audit activity, and compliance monitoring, identifying gaps and implementing action plans to strengthen MASH processes and multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.
• Manage high-volume, high-risk workloads, ensuring effective prioritisation and rapid response to urgent safeguarding concerns across children's and adults' pathways.
• Provide guidance on thresholds, legal frameworks, information-sharing protocols, and safeguarding procedures, supporting confident decision-making across agencies.
• Oversee escalations, professional disagreements, and complex multi-agency disputes, using negotiation and conflict-resolution to achieve safe, person-centred outcomes.
• Work closely with senior leaders, legal teams, and partner agencies to support decision-making.
• Contribute to strategic planning, data analysis, and performance reporting, informing service development and improving safeguarding systems.
• Promoted a culture of rights-based, trauma-informed, strengths-based practice, ensuring the voices and lived experiences of children, adults, and families inform all decisions.
• Promote a compassionate management style focused on empathy, accountability, and collaborative problem-solving.

Team Manager Safeguarding & Legal Team - Conwy County Borough Council - Conwy

(2023-01 - 2025-01)

Provided strategic leadership and operational management of the Safeguarding & Legal Team, ensuring high-quality, legally compliant practice across all casework.

• Oversaw complex safeguarding investigations under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, ensuring robust risk analysis, defensible decision-making, and proportionate interventions.
• Led and quality-assured Section 47 enquiries, Child Protection assessments, PLO work, and court-directed tasks, ensuring strong evidence-based practice.
• Chaired strategy meetings, legal gateway panels, core groups, and multi-agency risk forums, driving timely, coordinated safeguarding responses.
• Provided expert guidance on the application of the Children Act 1989, SSWBA 2014, Mental Capacity Act, Human Rights Act, and Wales Safeguarding Procedures.
• Delivered professional supervision, reflective practice, and performance management to social workers, senior practitioners, and newly qualified staff.
• Worked closely with legal teams, counsel, and senior leaders to progress PLO, care proceedings, and complex legal matters, ensuring high-quality documentation and court readiness.
• Supported social workers to develop their Court skills and ability to provide concise, clear evidence.
• Led service improvement and audit activity, identifying practice gaps, implementing action plans, and raising overall team performance.
• Supported workforce planning, caseload allocation, and resource management to maintain safe, effective service delivery.
• Built strong partnerships with education, health, police, youth justice, and third-sector agencies to strengthen multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.
• Oversaw complaints, escalations, and professional disagreements, using skilled negotiation and conflict-resolution to achieve safe, child-focused outcomes.
• Contributed to strategic planning, data analysis, and reporting, informing senior management decisions and improving safeguarding systems across the service.
• Promoted a culture of rights-based, trauma-informed, and strengths-based practice, ensuring children's voices and wellbeing remained central to all interventions.

Coordinator Conwy Emergency Duty Team - Conwy County Borough Council - Conwy

(2022-04-11)

Coordinate the out-of-hours Emergency Duty Team, ensuring effective responses to urgent safeguarding concerns across children's and adults' services.

• Provide senior decision-making in high-risk situations, including domestic abuse, mental health crises, child protection concerns, self-neglect, and immediate safety planning.
• Undertake and oversee statutory safeguarding enquiries, ensuring timely information-gathering, risk assessment, and lawful intervention under relevant legislation.
• Manage complex crisis situations where immediate action is required, including emergency placements, Mental Health Act considerations, and protection of vulnerable individuals.
• Act as the senior point of contact for multi-agency partners, including police, health services, housing, and emergency responders, ensuring coordinated and proportionate action.
• Provide professional guidance and support to EDT social workers, offering oversight on complex cases and ensuring high-quality practice.
• Make urgent decisions regarding emergency accommodation, child safety arrangements, and adult protection measures in line with local authority policies.
• Ensure accurate and timely recording of decisions, actions, and risk assessments, maintaining clear audit trails for all emergency interventions.
• Apply advanced knowledge of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act, Mental Capacity Act, Mental Health Act, and safeguarding frameworks to guide lawful practice.
• Manage service pressures by prioritising competing demands, allocating tasks, and maintaining safe service delivery during peak periods.
• Provide leadership during critical incidents, ensuring calm, structured responses and effective communication with internal and external partners.
• Contribute to service development, identifying patterns, gaps, and learning from emergency cases to improve practice and strengthen preventative pathways.
• Support the development of EDT staff through reflective discussions, and feedback, promoting resilience and professional growth.

Social Worker Conwy Emergency Duty Team - Conwy County Borough Council - Conwy

(2015-12)

Respond to urgent safeguarding concerns for children and adults during out-of-hours periods, making rapid, defensible decisions in high-risk situations.

• Conduct crisis assessments involving domestic abuse, mental health emergencies, child protection concerns, homelessness, and carer breakdown.
• Exercise professional autonomy, managing complex situations while ensuring lawful and proportionate interventions.
• Lead emergency Section 47 enquiries, safety planning, and immediate protective actions in line with statutory safeguarding procedures.
• Coordinate urgent child protection responses, including arranging safe accommodation, initiating safety plans, and liaising with police and health services.
• Work closely with police, health, housing, and out-of-hours partner agencies to deliver multi-agency crisis interventions.
• Arrange emergency foster placements, respite care, and temporary accommodation, ensuring safe and appropriate options during critical situations.
• Prepare concise, accurate EDT reports and handovers to daytime teams to ensure continuity of care and follow-up act