My name is Lionel Fernando and I am the Registered Manager at F5 Foster Care.

I graduated Masters in Social Work in 2005 and spent the initial years of social work career working in mental health and community development. I have 13 plus years experience working within independent fostering sector and local authority in UK under various capacities such as Supervising Social worker, Assessing social worker, Panel member, Sr. Practitioner and over the years gained a wealth of experience managing panels, regional development and managing social workers.

In my most recent position, I work for the local authority within the Fostering team and have been involved in overseeing various SGO, Kinship and fostering assessments and supported Supervising social workers in delivering Skills to Foster, Induction and TSD Trainings. I have a keen interest in developing therapeutic practices and encouraging PACE approach to staff and foster carers. I currently supervise a team of Supervising social workers who support a mixture of kinship/connected and general foster carers. I am passionate about positive outcomes for children/young people and encourage reflective practice. I have had positive experiences with Ofsted and I look forward to leading the agency towards achieving better outcomes for our children and young people.

I enjoy working with children and families and have taken a lot of inspiration from carers who bring out the best from children they care for. This has given me a lot of understanding about the practical aspects of child development and motivated me to adopt. I am proud to say that undergoing the adoption process is the most humbling experience which has given me a whole new level of fulfilment once successful and adopting my daughter is one of the best things that has happened in my life. My hobbies and interests are photography, driving, billiards, badminton and playing board games. I also have a keen interest in technology, gadgets and computers which has proven invaluable whilst engaging with foster carers, children and young people.