Wendy has over 30 years’ experience in the field of child protection as a practitioner, manager, trainer, researcher and lecturer, and most recently as an HMI and Specialist Advisor for Ofsted. Wendy has worked for local authorities, the NSPCC, the Nationwide Children’s Research Centre and in social work education. Her research on parent’s perspectives of the child protection system was published in 2010.
Wendy joined Ofsted as an HMI in September 2010 and has a range of experience in undertaking and leading inspections including leading the national thematic inspection of neglect which was published in 2014. She has a lead role in developing the methodology for Joint Targeted Area Inspections (JTAI), including into child sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation, the neglect of older children, and most recently multi-agency responses to children’s mental health. Wendy has been the lead author of the thematic reports on these JATI’s. She was the Specialist Adviser for child sexual exploitation in Ofsted for two years before taking up her current post. She works in the policy team providing cross remit advice, guidance and training to the schools, further education and skills, early years, and social care remits within Ofsted, and is involved in developing frameworks for inspections. Wendy had a lead role in the Ofsted Review of Sexual Abuse in schools in the summer of 2021.