Samantha started her career as a Midwife in 2006 at Salford Royal Maternity Unit Hope Hospital in Manchester.
Samantha relocated to the Isle of Man in September 2009 as a Midwife to work at Nobles Hospital and developed a passion for Safeguarding. Community Midwifery enhanced Samantha’s passion for safeguarding further and in December 2012 was successful in her application for the role as Lead Midwife, Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Women alongside her role as a community Midwife. Samantha also participated in the development of an Enhanced care pathway for pregnant women and their families.
Samantha’s previous role within Safeguarding have been Safeguarding Children Specialist Practitioner. Samantha started this post in 2017 and at the time it was a new role requiring planning and development prior to implementation. This was a new role as part of the Safeguarding Children’s Team to ensure the business of the Safeguarding Children Team was disseminated across Noble’s Hospital and to provide a mechanism to collaborate with the Isle of Man Safeguarding Board.
In September 2021 Samantha acted as a Community Practitioner in the Safeguarding Hub holding a caseload of child protection cases and looked after children which gave her a greater understanding of the role of a Health Visitor and the ‘think family’ approach. During this time Samantha case managed looked after children completing their health reviews.
Prior to the launch of the vulnerable adolescent strategy in September 2022 Samantha presented at an Isle of Man Police conference about exploitation and health’s response to the recommendations of a local serious case management review.
In April 2023 Samantha was successful in gaining the role of Isle of Man’s first Named professional for Contextual Safeguarding. The focus of Samantha’s master’s study is safeguarding and the most recent module completed was a Critical reflection into the Health needs of exploited Children on the Isle of Man through the Lens of Contextual Safeguarding. This enabled Samantha to scope missing elements for the children on the Isle of Man in relation to exploitation.
Samantha’s role commenced as part of the Vulnerable Adolescent Strategy launched in September 2022 to disrupt opportunities for children to be exploited.
There is no typical day in the role of Named Professional for Contextual Safeguarding, as no two safeguarding concerns are ever the same. The role involves responding to all safeguarding concerns in relation to exploitation and completing Return Home Interviews for children that are Looked After once they have returned home from a reported ‘missing’ event.
Samantha finds the role rewarding, challenging, and requires a multi-agency approach. Samantha Believes is a privilege to wear her uniform and work with the young people that are at risk of exploitation and ensure that their voices are heard
