Trustee

Anna Rickards

Safeguarding Lead

Anna Rickards has recently joined Home-Start in Suffolk as a new Trustee with specific responsibility for safeguarding.

Anna is a local Ipswich resident having lived in the town since 2004 and in the UK since 1997. Originally from a small country town in Victoria Australia, Anna completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science followed by a Bachelor of Social Work degree and has been a qualified social worker for over 24 years.

Anna’s professional experience has ranged from frontline child protection work, palliative care, CAMHS and setting up and managing early help services in both Essex and West London. Anna has also delivered multiagency safeguarding training for a number of years whilst working in London.

Anna has worked for almost 5 years in the national team for Pause, a UK charity that provides support to women who have had children removed from their care and supports the practice development & service model implementation and fidelity in a number of areas both in England as well as Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Outside of work, Anna loves travelling the world and experiencing new cultures, doing yoga and Pilates, walking and is a keen cook and purveyor of all things ‘foodie’.

We asked Anna to share with us why she has chosen to support Home-Start in Suffolk and what she loves about our organisation:

“In all of my practice as both a social worker, manager and in my current work, I have strongly emphasised the importance of relationship and strength based practice focusing on creativity, innovation and resilience and the vital importance of early intervention wherever possible.

“As a strong advocate of the model of support that Home-Start in Suffolk provides to local families, their ability to be creatively responsive to local need and an opportunity to be a part of future developments and governance for a charity close to home, inspired me to join the board of trustees, and I am looking forward to be a part of Home-Start in Suffolk’s ongoing work.”

“Home-Start in Suffolk is an exceptional charity with a far reaching volunteer network which provides a key lifeline to struggling families in our communities.”