Meet our Team

Les began his fostering journey over 20 years ago and spent a decade, alongside his wife, opening their home to children who needed a safe and loving place to grow. Those years shaped his deep commitment to making sure every child is truly heard, valued, and given the chance to reach their full potential.

As Lighthouse celebrates 10 years of providing outstanding foster care, Les is immensely proud of the organisation’s growth and the impact it has had on children and carers alike. He believes that exceptional foster care is only possible when carers are supported by a skilled, compassionate team—one that stands beside them with the training, guidance, and confidence they need to thrive.

Les brings warmth, experience, and a genuine passion for children’s wellbeing to everything he does. And yes—he’s a Chelsea supporter, but we promise not to hold that against him.

Mary brings over 32 years of experience in statutory children’s services, where she has held both managerial and training roles within Children’s Safeguarding. For the past 15 years, she has specialised in the fostering sector, joining Lighthouse Fostering in 2015.

Registered with Social Work England, Mary offers extensive expertise in supporting children, young people, and families with complex needs. She is deeply committed to promoting positive outcomes and ensuring high‑quality, child‑centred practice across all aspects of her work.

Outside of her professional role, Mary enjoys the freedom of the open road on her Harley‑Davidson motorcycle.

Lisa has been a qualified social worker since 2014 working with both the local authority and independent fostering agencies. She has been in the role of registered manager since 2022 overseeing the running of Lighthouse and team of foster carers and staff. Lisa is proud to have overseen the agency’s last Ofsted inspection, achieving “good” in all areas. Lisa describes her role as challenging but rewarding.

Lisa is married with two adult children and loves following her football team West Ham and is a passionate season ticket holder.   

Jen has worked in fostering since qualifying as a social worker in 2014. Jen started out in larger independent fostering agencies, where she built up experience managing big caseloads and completing Form F assessments. Jen moved to Lighthouse Fostering in 2019 because she wanted to be part of a smaller agency with a genuine family feel, which is what it’s continued to be.

Jen’s role as Assistant Fostering Manager is all about relationships. She works closely with foster carers to make sure they feel supported, heard, and confident in what they’re doing. For Jen, it’s about being someone they can turn to for advice, reassurance, or a bit of perspective whenever they need it.

Outside of work, life is full‑on in a fun, chaotic way. Jen is a mum to three kids and a step‑daughter, they have recently added a very energetic cocker spaniel to the mix… so there’s never a quiet moment.

Shannon is a committed Senior Supervising Social Worker at Lighthouse Fostering, recently celebrating four years with the agency. Her passion for fostering is rooted in her own experience of being raised in a fostering family throughout her teenage years, giving her a deep understanding of the support carers and children need.

Shannon is dedicated to supporting foster carers, their families, and the children in their care, and she brings energy and creativity to organising the agency’s activities and events. Always looking for new ways to strengthen support for carers, Shannon plays a key role in helping Lighthouse stand out as a nurturing, forward‑thinking fostering community.

Lynne joined the Lighthouse Team in August 2025. She was a foster carer for 16 years working with mainly teenagers, young offenders and children with drugs misuse.

Lynne has previously worked with two independent fostering agencies, supporting carer families and the foster children in their home.

It is important to Lynne to build good relationships with her carer’s and their children, and her experience as a foster carer helps her to understand a carer’s perspective enabling her to support them more effectively.

She really enjoys being part of the Lighthouse Team.

Jane joined Lighthouse in 2021 and works full-time in her role as family matching and social work assistant.  Jane also takes the lead supporting foster carers with regards to education and coordinates foster carer training.   

Jane comes with a wealth of experience having worked within children’s social care, a previous independent fostering agency and education where she was an assessments and placements officer, seeking school placements and writing education health care plans (EHCP’s).  

Jane has two grown up children and two very large, but lazy, fur babies. 

Emma has worked for Lighthouse since October 2015, recently celebrating her 10 year work anniversary!  Known for her super organisational skills, Emma manages multiple roles including the smooth running of admin & compliance tasks, foster carer recruitment, human resources recruitment and is also the panel administrator.  Emma has recently started to work full time, enhancing her dedication and commitment to her role, describing her role at Lighthouse as diverse, rewarding & engaging.

Emma is a busy single mum to three boys! 

Bridget has worked with Lighthouse Fostering since 2019, supporting foster carers, children, young people and the Lighthouse team.

She has an extensive background working in residential care, fostering and looked after children for over 20 years. Bridget has also worked as a social worker assistant within a local children and families duty team dealing with Child Protection cases, primarily now working with looked after children who have suffered developmental trauma and abuse.

Within her role in Lighthouse, Bridget facilitates training, mentalisation groups, 1:1 support sessions and therapeutic practice workshops. Her main aim is to offer a safe, containing space in which foster carers can think collectively about the complexities that working with children in care can bring up and how they can offer a nurturing, empathetic, thoughtful and loving lived experience for children and young people.

Bridget describes her role in three words as reflective, educating and therapeutic.