The Nurturing Edge Consultancy was founded on a simple but urgent belief: that every child in residential care deserves a home that genuinely nurtures them. For that to happen, the people running those homes need the right knowledge, the right support and the right values. That is what this consultancy exists to provide.
Lindsey Knight has spent more than twenty years working within children’s social care, beginning as a qualified social worker and progressing into senior leadership roles within local government. As former Assistant Director of Children’s Services, she has worked at the highest levels of the sector, overseeing services, shaping strategy and seeing first hand what outstanding residential care looks like when it is done well.
Over the past decade, Lindsey watched as resource pressures in the public sector led to a growing reliance on private providers. Some of those providers delivered excellent care. Several struggled to navigate the complexities of the sector. She saw the consequences of inadequate provision up close, not just for local authorities trying to commission homes for children, but also the providers who were trying to do their best. Most importantly, this has a profound impact on the children, creating further instability.
Rather than remain frustrated by the gap between what existed and what was possible, Lindsey decided to use everything she had learned to help close it.
The Nurturing Edge exists to support organisations that are passionate about achieving positive outcomes for vulnerable young people. That means helping providers establish new homes, improve existing services and build the leadership, governance and culture that outstanding care requires.
Our work is grounded in evidence from developmental trauma research and neuroscience, as well as a deep understanding of the statutory frameworks that govern children’s residential care. We help providers understand not just what the regulations require, but why they exist and what genuinely meeting them looks like in practice.
We are equally committed to helping providers navigate the commissioning landscape. Understanding what local authorities need, how frameworks operate and where demand is greatest, allows providers to align their services with the children who need them most.
I started this business because I believe my experience can make a real difference to providers who want to do things properly. I have seen what outstanding children’s homes look like and I know what it takes to build them. I have also seen what happens when the support and knowledge are not there.
My motivation stems from the strategic oversight of the local authority external placement team, where I sat alongside the private sector listening to their challenges. Regrettably there are often relationship challenges between public and private sector. Over the last 3 years I have been committed to improving the synergy, enabling better partnership working and trying to solve problems together, with a view to stabilising the conditions the child is living in. There is still a lot of work to achieve here and, the children must remain at the heart of all of this. Creating stability for children and ensuring they have safe and supportive homes, is my biggest motivation. These children need us to do everything we can to support their future. As a social worker, I will always be children’s biggest advocate.
If you are building something new, trying to improve what you already have, or navigating a difficult period with your service, I would love to talk. The first conversation is always free.
Every provider’s journey is different. Let’s talk about yours, completely free, with no obligation.
