About this website

This website was commissioned and funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in the UK , through the Family and Parenting Institute and Families Need Fathers.

The field of separation work, guidance and the law is in constant development. We endeavoured to make the information presented here accurate at the time of writing but please check if uncertain. It refers to the UK , and may not apply elsewhere.

To contact us, to give feedback, report a broken link or make a suggestion about improving the Separated Families Matter website please at info@separatedfamiliesmatter.org.uk or feedback@separatedfamiliesmatter.org.uk.

About the author

Geoff Read is a freelance consultant, artist and writer, with thirty years of frontline experience in community and education settings. These have included four years in Sure Start Children’s Centres, as well as homeless day centres and addiction services, with young people, people with physical disabilities and the elderly. His ongoing Face The Street project of collaborative portraits and words with people with an experience of homelessness has included work in the UK , a project with street children in Mexico City and regular visits to Japan .

Related work includes:

Designing the therapeutic arts programme of the High Level community drug rehab programme
Portrait-based interviews with clients, practitioners, managers and leaders for the Services for the Homeless Families consultation, (Rochdale MBC, 2004)
Designing a multi-agency approach to integrating strategy and practice with fathers and separated parenting based on the Gender Equality Duty (For Rochdale MBC Parenting Support Team 2007)
Initiating and chairing The Rochdale Separated Parenting Steering Group 2007-8 with professionals across many agencies. This examined ways for all services to engage consistently with separation issues. He wrote the resulting report for Rochdale Parenting Support Team and Rochdale Sure Start Children’s Centres 2008-9

Publications include:

Illustration and design for ‘Thinking Through School’ by Anne de A'Echevarria, which won the TES-sponsored Education Resources Association Book of the Year Award 2007 (Chris Kington Publishing)

http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/educational-resources-books-award-winner-2007-announced-1389

Sections on engaging fathers and on stimulating ‘at home talk’ for the ‘Engaging Parents Toolkit’ by Julie Mcgrane, 2008 also providing illustrations and diagrams. (Chris Kington Publishing)

http://www.teachingexpertise.com/publications/engaging-parents-toolkit-3544

Portraits, quotes from English and Japanese homeless people, and the design for “The UK –Japan Homeless Project, UK report 2004” (Links Japan & British Council)

Acknowledgements and thanks

Thanks to Rochdale MBC Parenting Support Team, who kindly gave permission to use materials produced in relation the Gender Equality Duty.

Please note that the views expressed on this website are not those of RMBC or it’s employees, nor is it associated organisationally in any way with RMBC.

To my past colleagues from all disciplines in the Rochdale , Heywood and Middleton areas and beyond, and to all the families I have worked with: thanks for your hard work, commitment and shared learning on this subject; the rich soil from which this website has grown.

At FNF: thanks to especially to Julius Hinks, along with Becky Sibert and Nick Barnard for research and support, and Jon Davies (another Sure Start and Early Years Veteran) for his guidance and enthusiasm.

Dedicated to my daughter Rosie