Leanne Best

Leanne comes to Interface with over 25 years’ experience, skills and knowledge, working in a variety of roles and settings with children and young people, adults, families, volunteers and professionals, within both the voluntary and statutory sectors, on a local and national level. 

She has worked as a practitioner, coordinator and Service Manager, delivering and developing a variety of services which include supporting families with neglect and safeguarding concerns, through to developing counselling and bereavement support services, coordinating a national homicide peer support service, for families bereaved by murder and manslaughter, coordinating services for families experiencing domestic abuse and more recently within early help and support - managing a Family Outreach & Volunteering Service, within a strategic partnership with a local authority. These services have involved supporting families with many different issues which include mental health, domestic abuse, emotional well-being, poverty, housing, relationships, finances, bereavement, social isolation, attachment, neglect etc. 

Leanne has extensive experience of effective multi-agency working, including creating effective networks in Operational Partnerships, Bereavement Advisory Groups and Domestic Abuse Partnerships. She is highly practiced in encouraging working together and establishing positive relationships with colleagues from Police, Health, Education, Specialist Services, Voluntary Services, Social Care, etc within meetings such as Strategy Meetings, Safeguarding Reviews, Case Conferences, Child Death Overview Panel, Serious Case Reviews, Domestic Homicide Reviews, Specialist Domestic Violence Court, MARAC and Suicide Prevention Task force, where working in a one team approach, has a positive impact on service delivery and better outcomes for the children, families and vulnerable adults. 

Leanne is passionate about making a real difference to the lives of vulnerable children and families and ensures the child and family have a voice and remain at the centre of all service delivery, service development and strategic planning. Leanne believes in restorative and relationship-based practice and works in a trauma informed way. Bringing real, lived experiences to the training room, she actively encourages professionals to explore the impact they have and the difference they can make -empowering them to work more insightfully, with a considered confidence, to better understand and support vulnerable families, in order to work effectively and achieve positive outcomes.

 Leanne is passionate about people – all people… and believes that connection, relationships, culture and shared values underpin everything we do and how we do it - With the most important approach of all - being a human one!

Professional Qualifications

Certificate of Professional Development - Child and Adolescent Mental Health - July 2010

NVQ Level 3 Diploma – Working with Children and Young People - July 2004

Diploma in Counselling Skills and Theory - July 1999

Certificate in Counselling Skills - July 1997