The Secure Start® Podcast

In the same way that a secure base is the springboard for the growth of the child, knowledge of past endeavours and lessons learnt are the springboard for growth in current and future endeavours. If we do not revisit the lessons of the past we are doomed to relearning them over and over again, with the result that we may never really achieve a greater potential. In keeping with the idea we are encouraged to be the person we wished we knew when we were starting out, it is my vision for the podcast that it is a place where those who work in child protection and out-of-home care can access what is/was already known, spring-boarding them to even greater insights.

The Secure Start® Podcast is a education podcast hosted by Colby Pearce, with 61 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Colby Pearce hosts The Secure Start® Podcast, a education show with 61 episodes published.

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  Episode #59

  #59: Healthy Teams Deliver Healing, with Simon Benjamin

  Sep 20, 20261h 3mS1

  Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever watched a care team get dragged into chaos and wondered why “good practice” disappears under pressure, this conversation gives you a clearer answer than blame or burnout. We sit down with Simon Benjamin, founder of Blue Skies Independent Consulting, to unpack a hard truth from trauma informed therapeutic care: great outcomes for children are built on organisational health, not just individual skill or good intentions. We talk leadership from the inside out, including what Simon learned moving from frontline residential care to CEO, and why coaching can be the difference between reacting all day and leading with purpose. We dig into Patrick Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team and the idea of vulnerability based trust: the ability to say “I don’t know”, challenge decisions early, and create psychological safety that makes honest conflict possible. In therapeutic organisations, that culture isn’t optional, because we ask children to take emotional risks and we need leaders to model the same courage. We also get practical about what “therapeutic” should mean in residential child care and other out-of-home care settings. Simon explains the “therapeutic level” idea using a medical dose analogy and outlines what it takes to reach it: consistent repairing experiences, ongoing training, reflective practice, and structured debriefs that help shift teams stay aligned. We finish by tackling cost, funding levers, ROI, and the outcomes that actually matter when defining success. Subscribe to Secure Start, share this episode with a leader in your network, and leave a review. What’s one leadership behaviour you think most improves care quality? Simon's Bio: Simon Benjamin is the Principal Consultant and founder of Blue Skies Independent Consulting. Simon works across two worlds — trauma-informed therapeutic care and organisational health. He brings over twenty years of experience from frontline residential care through to CEO level, in therapeutic care. Simon's Website: https://blueskies.net.au/ Our Links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheSecureStartPodcast. Podcast Blog Site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.com/ Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce. Finally, all references to case examples are anonymised to the extent that the actual case could not be identified, or are fictional but based on real-life examples for illustrative purposes, or have client consent to talk about in an educative context. Support the show

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  Episode #57

  #57: The Work You Cannot Leave At The Door, with Marie Clutton

  Aug 22, 20261h 15mS1

  Send us Fan Mail If you think you can do therapeutic residential care and leave it all at the door, Marie Clutton has a gentle challenge for you. Young people notice what we carry, even when we do our best to hide it, and they can spot the difference between performance and authenticity in seconds. That single truth reshapes how we think about professional distance, boundaries, and what it means to be a safe adult around boys and young men who have experienced trauma and displayed harmful sexual behaviour. Marie brings over 20 years of experience in therapeutic childcare and therapeutic community practice at Amberleigh Care, an accredited service supporting young males aged 11 to 18. We talk about how a therapeutic community differs from general residential care, including the role of group work, community meetings, and the idea that relationships are the treatment, not something that sits alongside it. You’ll hear why connection and belonging can be protective factors, and how peer support plus peer challenge can open doors that adult-led interventions often cannot. We also get practical about safeguarding and risk management: individual risk assessments, structured routines, strong communication, and regular reviews. Along the way, we name the emotional reality for staff too and the importance of containment spaces like reflective group supervision and staff dynamics, so the work does not spill destructively into home life. If you care about trauma-informed care, child protection, youth justice, harmful sexual behaviour interventions, or safer residential care practice, this conversation offers both heart and rigour. Subscribe to Secure Start, share this episode with a colleague, and leave a review to help more people find it. What part of relational safety do you think the sector still underestimates? Marie's Bio: Marie brings over 25 years of experience in therapeutic childcare and residential care management. She has been part of Amberleigh Care for two decades and possesses extensive expertise in leading within a therapeutic community (TC). She is a qualified groupwork practitioner, holds a Diploma from the IGA, qualified in care leadership and management, is a designated safeguarding lead, is trained DDP Level 2 and AIM3 Assessment and Intervention, and holds a diploma in Child Care. Amberleigh Care operates two accredited therapeutic communities for young people, and Marie oversees all therapeutic community processes across the organisation. Her responsibilities include facilitating group dynamics, and collaborating with care, therapy, and education teams. She also works directly with young people in group settings to ensure they feel heard, valued, and engaged within the community. Marie continues to support young people after they leave Amberleigh Care through peer mentor roles, enabling them to remain connected, share experiences, and contribute to the development of the communities. She is also involved in external events, providing young people with opportunities to share their stories through presentations and workshops. Marie has served as co-chair of the TCTC Children’s Network for over five years and contributes to research initiatives that support wider professional networks. Links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheSecureStartPodcast. Podcast Blog Site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.com/ Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce. Finally, all references to case examples are anonymised to the extent that the actual case could not be identified, or are fictional but based on real-life examples for illustrative purposes, or have client consent to talk about in an educative context. Support the show

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  Episode #56

  #56: Reclaimed Belonging, with Richard Rollinson

  Aug 8, 202649 minS1

  Send us Fan Mail A child disappears into the underside of a foam settee, furious when the adults cannot find her. Another child “loses” Super Ted again and again, and what looks like chaos turns into a quiet test: will you come looking, will you bring me back, will I still belong? I sit down for the second instalment of my recent conversation with Richard Rollinson, much-loved elder of the Mulberry Bush therapeutic community, to unpack what belonging really means in out-of-home care and therapeutic residential care. We talk about how the stories we tell children about their parents can either stabilise them or split them apart, and why it matters to honour birth family without denying harm. Richard shares a practical reframe for the child who says “my mother doesn’t love me”, and we tease out the difference between making a necessary judgement and being judgemental. From Kryptonite and the fear of being human to Santa versus Satan and the trap of perfection, we explore how young people get stuck in all-or-nothing thinking, and how adults can offer a “common garden” alternative: ordinary, mixed, and survivable. We also tackle a bigger question in residential care policy: the drift towards one-or-two child homes and what we risk losing when we move away from therapeutic communities and the power of the group. If you care about trauma-informed practice, belonging, life story meaning, and better care for children and young people, press play. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review so more people can find the conversation. Richard’s Bio Richard has a long association with Residential Therapeutic Communities, having worked at the Mulberry Bush School for well over 20 years and where, from 1991 to 2001, he was its Director. He was also Director, Children and Young People, at the Peper Harow Foundation, from 2001 to 2005. Richard qualified as a Social Worker with an MSc from Oxford University in 1983, following the then Part 1 training in Child Psychotherapy at the Tavistock Centre. In 2005 he completed the Ashridge MA and training in Organisational Consulting. He has been Chairman of the Charterhouse Group of Therapeutic Communities and for many years the Chairman of the Care Leavers’ Foundation. In 2014 he became Chair of Trustees at the Mulberry Bush School, only recently stepping down from that position, while remaining a Trustee with a special brief for the links and development of the contacts with and participation of former pupils. He has published numerous articles and continues to lecture widely across the UK and Europe. Links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheSecureStartPodcast. Podcast Blog Site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.com/ Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce. Finally, all references to case examples are anonymised to the extent that the actual case could not be identified, or are fictional but based on real-life examples for illustrative purposes, or have client consent to talk about in an educative context. Support the show

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  Episode #55

  #55: Caring Means Holding Grief Without Turning Punitive, with Richard Rollinson

  Jul 25, 202649 minS1

  Send us Fan Mail Care gets framed as gentle and cosy, but that story falls apart the moment you work closely with children who have lived through fear, loss and disruption. I sit down with Richard Rollinson for another instalment of objects that help use remember and think, to explore a tougher, more honest view: care as something we carry, not just something we do. Richard brings two objects to make the point - a Care Bear and the Oxford English Dictionary - and cites definitions that connect “care” to grief, mental suffering, doubt and sorrow. It lands because it sounds like the real emotional labour of child and youth care, residential care, foster care and therapeutic support. We remind the listener about Richard’s love of objects and storytelling: how a childhood habit of arranging things, an unforgettable stage performance filled with objects, and decades of practice in the Mulberry Bush community shaped a way of communicating that invites people in rather than telling them off. We talk about presence, remembering and the strange truth that a single detail can hold a whole world, including a photo where a father’s shoe becomes a doorway into family history, disability and connection. We also get practical about safeguarding and organisational culture. Richard contrasts whistleblowing with something that should sit beside it: voicing concern early, as course correction, so teams can question routines before harm happens. That leads into containment and reflection about how supported staff can hold children’s feelings without becoming punitive, how naming an experience can calm a storm, and how good containment spreads through a group in the best possible way. If you care for children, lead a team, or want trauma-informed practice that stays human under pressure, you’ll find plenty to pause on. Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway or the object that carries your story. Richard’s Bio Richard has a long association with Residential Therapeutic Communities, having worked at the Mulberry Bush School for well over 20 years and where, from 1991 to 2001, he was its Director. He was also Director, Children and Young People, at the Peper Harow Foundation, from 2001 to 2005. Richard qualified as a Social Worker with an MSc from Oxford University in 1983, following the then Part 1 training in Child Psychotherapy at the Tavistock Centre. In 2005 he completed the Ashridge MA and training in Organisational Consulting. He has been Chairman of the Charterhouse Group of Therapeutic Communities and for many years the Chairman of the Care Leavers’ Foundation. In 2014 he became Chair of Trustees at the Mulberry Bush School, only recently stepping down from that position, while remaining a Trustee with a special brief for the links and development of the contacts with and participation of former pupils. He has published numerous articles and continues to lecture widely across the UK and Europe. Links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheSecureStartPodcast. Podcast Blog Site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.com/ Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce. Finally, all references to case examples are anonymised to the extent that the actual case could not be identified, or are fictional but based on real-life examples for illustrative purposes, or have client consent to talk about in an educative context. Support the show

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  Episode #54

  #54: A Big Heart And Spare Room Is Not A Care Plan, with Gareth K Thomas

  Jul 12, 20261h 24mS1

  Send us Fan Mail “All you need is a big heart and a spare room” might be the most damaging sentence in foster care. I'm joined by Gareth K. Thomas, former foster parent and childhood trauma consultant (Clarified), to unpack why that kind of messaging sets carers up to fail and pulls children into yet another painful move. If we want placement stability and better outcomes for children in out-of-home care, we have to stop treating foster parents like the hired help and start treating them as the primary healing environment. We talk about what trauma-informed fostering looks like on the ground: co-regulation, widening the window of tolerance, and the small “magic micro moments” that add up to a therapeutic bath no weekly appointment can match. Gareth shares why the best services don’t do therapy to children in isolation, they bring carers into the work and build a shared understanding across schools, social workers, and clinicians. We also dig into the uncomfortable bit, how “support” can become shaming training when a carer says they’re struggling, and why reflective space matters when everyone’s prefrontal cortex is going offline under stress. You’ll also hear practical examples of the scaffolding that keeps families going: consistent short breaks, empathic listener phone calls, therapeutic supervising social workers, and peer groups where lived experience is treated as real expertise. Gareth closes by sharing what he wants from policy leaders, plus what he’s building next, including Trauma Space and a new book on therapeutic parenting for teens and tweens. If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with someone in the care sector, and leave a review so more carers and professionals can find it. What would you change first to make fostering sustainable? Gareth's Bio: Gareth K Thomas is a former foster parent and child trauma specialist. He’s a trainer, speaker and (soon-to-be-published author). He works as a trauma-informed consultant through his organisation, Clarified, and is in the process of launching Trauma Space, which will be a course collection and community for those parenting and working with children who’ve experienced trauma. Links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheSecureStartPodcast Podcast Blog Site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.com/ Disclaimer: Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce. Finally, all references to case examples are anonymised to the extent that the actual case could not be identified, or are fictional but based on real-life examples for illustrative purposes. Support the show

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