Ellie Russell

Ellie Russell is an experienced children’s services leader with a strong track record in family-led decision making, service development, workforce development and organisational change. Throughout her career, she has been committed to improving outcomes for children, young people and families through strengths-based, relationship-focused practice and meaningful partnership working.

An accredited Family Group Conference (FGC) Coordinator, Ellie has extensive experience supporting families to identify solutions, strengthen their networks and make informed decisions at times of significant challenge. She is a passionate advocate for family-led approaches and has played a key role in developing and embedding Family Group Conferencing and related family network interventions within local authority services.

Alongside her practice expertise, Ellie has led and delivered a range of strategic projects and service improvement initiatives across children’s services, including work focused on family support, early intervention, workforce wellbeing and innovative approaches such as Lifelong Links. She brings extensive experience of stakeholder engagement, programme management, partnership development and securing funding to support sustainable service delivery.

Ellie holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and has a particular passion for learning, development and practice improvement. She enjoys designing and delivering training, facilitating workshops and supporting practitioners and leaders to develop their skills, confidence and understanding. She believes that investing in people is fundamental to achieving lasting and meaningful change for children and families.

Ellie brings together frontline practice knowledge, leadership experience and expertise in service development and transformation. She is recognised for her collaborative style, her ability to build strong relationships across organisations and her commitment to developing services that empower families, strengthen support networks and deliver sustainable change.