Dedicated to Keeping Families Together
Working Together to Protect and Support Every Child and Their Family
Who We are
Byker Bairns
Partnering to Create a Safe and Nurturing World for All Children
The name of our organisation “Byker Bairns” draws on our personal upbringing of being from the North-East of England, and often being asked if we have been to “Byker Grove” – the youth group setting of a famous TV show. Although there is no Grove in Byker, with the place being fictional, the grove in Byker created safety and sanctuary for a group of youths to “come of age”.
The issues tackled in the programme are relevant today, including substance misuse, deprivation, homelessness and establishing identity. Therefore, we have used this to not only acknowledge our personal background but the underpinning of what the grove created and how it provided support for young people.
Managing Directors
Samantha (Sam) Richardson
Samantha has over 11 years working in the care sector and over 10 years’ management experience in the private sector. Samantha is an award-winning foster carer and a Safeguarder. Previously she has volunteered within the Children’s Hearing System and worked as a Senior Practitioner in a children’s residential setting. Samantha was most recently employed as the Senior Outreach Practitioner for a mother and baby assessment service. She has a wealth of knowledge and is an experienced trainer who also holds a certification from Cornell University as a TCI trainer.
Eloise (Ellie) Lower
Eloise has been employed within Social Care since 2010, with managerial experience of 9 years overseeing different types of services both private and public sector. These services have included: mental health / self-directed support, community learning and development, residential children’s homes and through care supported accommodation. More recently she has been employed as a lecturer for both: health and social care and supported learning. Eloise is educated to MSc level in Forensic Psychology and has the required qualifications for registration with the SSSC as a registered manager, without conditions.
Our Vision
We pledge to “Keep the Promise” of the Scottish Government to be able to keep siblings together wherever possible to enable them to grow and develop alongside each other.
We’ll strive to be better, working as a team to enable siblings to benefit from their birth connections.
Where families are unable to live together, we are fully committed to maintaining children’s roots to their own community and maintaining contact with the important people in their lives.