Safe Child Development Centre works in collaboration with a team of  specialists in their fields:

Safe CDC is led by Dr Abdo Tarhini.  Dr Tarhini is a licensed Paediatrician listed on the GMC Specialist Register. He has a PhD degree in paediatrics and he is a Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health. Fellowship is the pinnacle of RCPCH membership, it recognises practitioners who have completed their specialist training and celebrates their contribution to paediatrics and child health.

Dr Tarhini has many years of experience in Community Paediatrics, with expertise in conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, Developmental Delay and Learning Difficulties or Disabilities.

Testimonials

• "Very friendly and explained brilliantly"

• "During my visit I was comfortable from his advice and more learning"

• "I was really pleased today, also was given advice that I can have further follow up with my child treatment"

• "First time I have seen someone fully understands my son’s condition"

• "Lovely manner with my 7-year-old. Obviously very knowledgable, very happy to see him again"

Alison Black is a paediatric Speech & Language Therapist with over 30 years experience. She gained an honours degree in Speech Therapy from The University of Wales in 1989 and went on to work in Bristol and South Wales before settling in Shropshire in 1994. She has worked in Shropshire since then, specialising in pre-school children with a wide range of developmental difficulties. 

Alison has particular expertise in the areas of Developmental Delay, Autism, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy. She is also trained to work with children with eating and drinking difficulties. 

Alison is a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Testimonials 

• “……you have always listened to our worries and supported us without making us feel awkward….”

• “….your great knowledge and experience of how to help kids like C has been invaluable and has helped us understand what our little guy is possibly going through.”

• “If B continues to receive the same excellent standard of care that you have provided then I am sure we will stand a good chance of overcoming his difficulties."

Poppy Chandler is a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Registered Educational Psychologist with 30 years’ experience who has recent experience in leadership roles as Principal Educational Psychologist within two Local Authorities and previous Chair of the West Midlands Principal Educational Psychologist group. 

Poppy has extensive experience working with children & young people, within their educational settings and family/community contexts. A specialist area of interest has been working with the Early Years Multi-Disciplinary Assessment team, and the Communication and Interaction assessment pathways, associated with diagnosis of Autism. Poppy is Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) trained and she will use this as an additional support for assessment purposes within the Safe CDC. 

Poppy’s core beliefs centre on creating the optimum learning opportunities for children and young people within their educational settings, family, and community. Applying Psychology to make a positive difference for them. 

Testimonials

• “Poppy is an outstanding and passionate psychologist who places the child and family at the centre of her work. Her practice is exemplary, maintaining professional standards and expectations and reflecting up to date, evidence-based research”

• “... she has reserved her most creative energies for working with some of our most vulnerable and socially disadvantaged children and young people in need of psychological support, assessment, and intervention”

Helen is a highly specialist Children’s Physiotherapist with over 20 years experience. She has worked in the NHS in the Midlands and in Somerset, before moving to Shropshire gaining a broad experience of different paediatric conditions and needs.

Helen specialises in assessing and treating neurodevelopmental conditions for example Cerebral Palsy, infants with a developmental delay, Down Syndrome and many other conditions.  She offers specific individualised hands on physiotherapy for children using a holistic approach where she looks at the interaction of movement, cognition and the psychology behind movement.  

Helen is a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) and is Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Testimonials

• "Can’t wait to continue our work towards independent walking."

• "Helen's been a saviour regarding my daughters physio."

• "Not only does she have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of how cerebral palsy affects people; she’s also able to explain it to me in a way that enables me to understand my son better and continue to support him in our daily activities outside of therapy."

Julia is a HCPC registered Paediatric Occupational Therapist.  She has over 14 years of experience working with families and children aged between 0-18 years old. The children she works with have a range of needs including; trauma and attachment related functional and sensory challenges, developmental delays, neurodisabilities, sensory integration difficulties, neurodiversity and high risk/premature infants. 

Julia is passionate about providing children and their families with practical advice and support. Julia works with children and their support network in various settings; home, clinic, school.  She has a rural therapy space ‘The Barn’ which is situated in an idyllic location, just outside Shrewsbury, with lots of natural environments to explore.  

As an Occupational Therapist, Julia focuses on the sensory and motor 'foundation skills' needed for everyday life activities and to develop meaningful social and emotional relationships.  Julia uses play and occupation therapeutically, ensuring that sessions are both meaningful and motivational. Julia will also utilise standardised assessments in order to inform therapeutic interventions and to provide evidence required for diagnosis or additional support e.g. EHCP.

Testimonials:

• "Julia really took the time to talk to me and discuss my concerns, and then identified my daughters strengths and weaknesses and built a programme to help her which was spot on.  My daughter came on leaps and bounds from that point on and we achieved and celebrated a lot of milestone that may have come a little later had in not been for Julia’s help and guidance.  

There are not enough kind words I could use that would come close to describing this lovely lady. One of Julia’s most admiral skills by far, is that not only is she a true expert and professional in her job, but she is also very, very personable and really helps you feel as ease from the offset. Julia has a true passion for wanting to make a difference to a child’s life who is struggling with tasks that may come easy to others. A truly wonderful person who I can not recommend enough". 

Clair is an experienced Clinical Psychologist and EMDR trained therapist offering psychological assessment and therapeutic support to children, young people, and their families. 

Clair has extensive experience of working therapeutically with individuals from all walks of life, across a range of clinical settings. She is extremely passionate about offering psychological therapy in a way that feels safe and accessible. She is curious to understand how emotional distress or a mental health diagnosis (including challenging behaviours) is understood by the individual, their family and their wider educational / social community. 

In addition to offering support with a range of general psychological difficulties, Clair has specialist experience in offering psychological and emotional support to children and young people who have a physical health diagnosis. This work involves exploring what life is like living with a long-term health condition, providing specific support around adjustment, symptom management, treatment adherence and managing invasive procedures. 

Testimonials

• “I just wanted to say thank you so much for the support you have given my daughter, it’s made such a huge difference for her and our family, literally the difference between night and day. I don’t know what we would have done without you” (Mother of an 8 year old girl with eczema).  

Anna Granger is a Consultant in SEN & Inclusion, specialising in supporting children and young people with Autism, ADHD, Anxiety & Social & Emotional difficulties.  Anna has a master's qualification in Education (SEN & Inclusion) and has a wealth of knowledge and experience in researching and implementing autism-specific curricula. 

Anna began her career as a Specialist Support Assistant/Advisor for Woodlands Outreach Service and has worked for Spectra Inclusion Support Team for the past 11 years as an ASD Specialist Advisor and, more recently, the team lead for Inclusion and Well-being. During the past 17 years, working in Outreach, Anna has visited and supported staff and pupils in primary, secondary, and further education, in addition to several specialist schools. She has led group work, delivered direct intervention for pupils, and a broad programme of staff training. Anna is a certified Connected Kids™ Tutor and Mind-Body Practitioner, with a keen interest in how mindfulness and meditation may facilitate a more holistic approach when building a picture of a young person’s needs. 

Anna has written a children’s picture book, called ‘Ted, the Sea and Me’, which explores the role of emotional regulation, using the analogy of the sea, and which has been used in schools to develop awareness in this area.  Anna has recently launched her own independent SEN & Inclusion Consultancy Service to continue supporting children and young people in educational settings. 

Testimonials

• “Anna has a wealth of knowledge and experience. She is always welcoming and positive. Her support for young people is creative, resulting in positive engagement”. 

• “Our daughter was experiencing school-related anxieties ………. was on a reduced timetable and was very withdrawn and reluctant to go to school or leave the house. Anna quickly identified ways in which the school could support her to re-engage and feel safe and secure in the secondary environment……We will be forever grateful for Anna’s support, which was invaluable in helping us to navigate an incredibly difficult time.”

• “Anna has worked with my son periodically between the ages of 3 and 11 years old, and has facilitated class and school transitions, ensuring the school and teachers were equipped to make the transitions as seamless as possible. She has also supported my son’s emotional regulation and peer interactions over the years…… The support, intervention, and feedback from Anna have enabled us as a family to better support my son and have also helped him to better understand himself and his emotions.”