Brian Roberts

Brian is an independent consultant and trainer on supporting vulnerable and traumatised children and young people.

Brian Roberts
Brian Roberts

Brian was a Local Authority foster carer for over 30 years. Along with his wife they have provided long term foster care for large sibling groups. They have been the Special Guardians of three girls and one boy that they previously looked after.

Brian has been Virtual School Head in two English Local Authorities and was one of the Virtual Heads who was on the Department for Children, Schools and Families national pilot. He was also closely involved in national pilots on One to One Tuition, Multi-Therapeutic Treatment Foster Care and the Assisted Boarding School Pathfinder. As a virtual head and foster carer Brian has considerable lived and professional experience of all of the barriers that impact children and young people.

Brian has given oral evidence to the All-Party Parliamentary Working Group on Adoption and Fostering on Looked After Children's Educational Achievement (2007), Looked After Children's Achievement (2010) and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders on the impact that FASD has on family life and education (2016 & 2018). He was chosen as one of four foster carers to give oral evidence in Parliament to the Education Select Committee enquiry on the future of fostering (2017) and contributed to the development of Social Worker CPD on securing permanence for Children in Care for the Department for Education (2017). Brian also represented people impacted by FASD at the launch of a national enquiry into the implementation of health advice regarding FASD in Parliament and was a contributor to the FASD UK Alliance discussions with the Deputy Chief Medical Advisor about supporting those affected by FASD and also Adoption UK's Ministerial Round Table discussion focusing on Post Adoption Support, the Education of adopted children and FASD (2018).

Brian works part time as the Director for Education & Wellbeing at the National Organisation for FASD and has been a developer on the national Prevent FASD PSHE programme, the Department of Health and Social Care FASD Awareness and training project and the co-authored the Me & My FASD website for affected young people. He leads on the development and distribution of resources and the Living FASD Magazine.

He has been a key participant in the National Round Tables aimed at collecting best practice in assessing for and supporting those with FASD that culminated in the 'The Time is Now' report in response to the publication of the NICE FASD Quality Standards.

At home Brian and his wife live with three young people with FASD and many of the children that they have fostered have been seriously affected as fetuses by prenatal alcohol consumption and this has led to Brian becoming an expert in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). He has written academically for the FASD Trust, The National Organisation for FASD and the Corum BAAF journal on the Impact that FASD has on education and learning in the UK. He has also appeared on FASD documentaries for the BBC.

He trained and practiced as a teacher for over 25 years His experience covers Humanities Education, Careers Education and Guidance, Young People's Voice and Leadership and he was England's only Advanced Skills Teacher for Enterprise Education.

Experience

  • 2017–Present: Assessor & Verifier for Industry (Vocational) Qualifications
  • 2016–Present: Foster Care Associates Fostering Panel Member East Midlands Region
  • 2013–Present: Independent Fostering Panel Member Foster Care Associates Eastern Region
  • 2013–Present: Independent Trainer and Consultant, Field of Enterprise
  • 2011–Present: Associate Trainer, Kate Cairns Associates
  • 1993–Present: Foster Carer, Bedfordshire County Council and Central Bedfordshire Council/Bedford Borough Council
  • 2016–2017: Independent Fostering Panel Member Scope Fostering Services Eastern Region
  • 2016–2017: SCOPE Fostering Panel Member Eastern Region
  • 2013–2017: Governor Glebelands Primary School Chatteris Cambridgeshire
  • 2005–2017: Chair of England Advisory Committee, The Fostering Network
  • 2011–2015: Chair of Educational Forum, Trainer and Consultant, The FASD Trust
  • 2011–2013: Director of Education, Trainer and Consultant; The FASD Trust
  • 2009–2013: Head of Virtual School for Looked After Children, Peterborough City Council; Consultant to DCSF pilot
  • 2010–2011: Visiting tutor CPD Course on Looked After Children for Designated Teachers at Homerton College, Cambridge University & Cambridgeshire Virtual School
  • 2008–2009: Head of Virtual School for Looked After Children, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council; DCSF Pilot Head
  • 2007–2008: School Improvement Consultant, Bedfordshire School Improvement Partnership / Bedfordshire County Council
  • 2004–2008: Advanced Skills Teacher - Enterprise Education, Bedfordshire County Council
  • 1988–2004: Teacher, Assistant Head of Year, Head of Carers Education & Guidance, Assistant Head Teacher: Hastingsbury Upper School & Community College / Hastingsbury Business & Enterprise College, Bedford - Geography, all Humanities subjects, Travel & Tourism, IT, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, Student Exchange Programme USA. Staff Governor.
  • 1990–1994: Parent Governor John Gibbard Lower School Sharnbrook Bedfordshire

Qualifications

  • Advanced Skills Teacher, Department of Education and Skills, 2004
  • Certificate of Professional Development; Best Practice Research Scholarship - Student Voice and Leadership, Department of Education and Skills, 2001
  • Certificate of Professional Study - Careers Education and Guidance, University of Cambridge, 1995
  • MA in Management (Education), Open University, 1994
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Secondary), University of Leeds, 1984
  • BSc in Applied Geography CNAA, Coventry (Lanchester) Polytechnic, 1983

Publications

  • Co Author Cambridgeshire Virtual School and Aspire Virtual Reality training programme on FASD – Cambridgeshire Virtual School, 2023
  • Contributor The Time is Now response to the NICE FASD Quality Standards – National Organisation for FASD, 2022
  • Project Lead and Author Me & My FASD Club – Living FASD Magazine , 2021
  • Co Author Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder what doctors and schools need to know – Special Needs Jungle , 2021
  • Contributor National FASD Language Guide – National Organisation for FASD / Seashell Trust / NHS, 2020
  • Contributor to National Organisation for FASD Website – FASD Website, 2020
  • National PSHE programme for Prevent FASD – FASD Trust, 2020
  • Lead developer for Me & My FASD website and resources National Organisation for FASD – National Organisation for FASD, 2020
  • Contributor to NoFAS UK CCGs are failing Government Policy on FASD Discussion document based on freedom of information requests presented to the APPG of FASD in Parliament. – NoFAS UK, 2019
  • 'I know that I am in my own world; it's ok, they know me here' : the challenge of coping with FASD in educational settings. Adoption and Fostering Vol 39 (3) – Sage Publications/ Coram BAAF, 2015
  • 'All about me' FASD workbook for 8 -14 year olds – FASD Trust, 2013
  • Contributor to final Report on Virtual School Heads Project – Bristol University / Department for Education, 2008
  • Best Practice Research Scholarship – Promoting Student Voice and Leadership, 2001
  • Various articles on Geography – Times Educational Supplement, 2000