Our strategic engagement team
Our strategic engagement leads are registered social workers working in localities with a range of stakeholders, including social workers, people with lived experience of social work, employers, and education and training providers.
Learn more about our strategic engagement team
Last updated: 7 November 2024
Learn more about the regional engagement team at Social Work England. You can contact the lead for your region.
Matthew Devlin
Matthew is our head of strategic engagement. Matthew qualified as a social worker in 2009 and began his career at Cumbria County Council. He has held several roles within adult services, most recently a practice development worker for a social work teaching partnership between Cumbria County Council and Lancaster University, part of which contributed to a, now published, exploratory study into rural social work in Cumbria.
Gavin Moorghen
Gavin is is our regional engagement lead for the Midlands and North West. He is committed to improving standards in social work having done so in practice, developmental and senior roles for local and national social work organisations. A keen advocate of the social work profession, Gavin has regularly spoken on behalf of the social work profession at national events, on podcasts and in the national media.
Dr Renée Aleong
Renée is our regional engagement lead for Yorkshire, the Humber and the North East. She is a registered social worker with experience of supporting adults in areas of mental health, trauma, and substance use. Over the course of her career, Renée has held senior roles within the Ministry of Justice and statutory health and social care regulation. Renée received her PhD in social policy and social work from the University of York. Her practice and research interests include achieving social change through promoting and developing evidence-based social work practice focused on improving outcomes and reducing inequalities.
Ioana Roberts
Ioana is our regional engagement lead for the Eastern region (East of England). She is a registered social worker with experience of supporting adults and their carers, particularly around hospital discharges. Previously, Ioana worked as the principal practice lead and principal social worker in adults social work services. Over the course of her career, Ioana has worked in integrated teams with NHS, in children and families’ services and has led the Quality Assurance and Professional Development Team for Suffolk Adult and Community Services between June 2017 and February 2020. Ioana received her master’s in business administration from the Suffolk Business School, University of Suffolk, in 2022. Ioana has a particular interest in adult social work and social care, social work research, organisation culture and social work workforce matters.
Kate Metcalf
Kate is our regional engagement lead for the South East and South West. Kate has been a senior social worker in adults services, a best interests assessor, a practice educator, and a guest lecturer at the University of Brighton. She has 18 years’ experience of local authority adult social care work. In 2014 to 2015 Kate was a professional practice advisor at the College of Social Work where she researched and wrote practice manuals on autism and dementia.
Laura Haggett
Laura is our regional engagement lead for London. Laura has been a qualified social worker since 2011, and has worked in various teams within statutory adult services. Laura is also a qualified AMHP and has a particular interest in mental health and hospital discharge work. Alongside working at Social Work England, Laura carries out the role of hospital manager under the Mental Health Act. Previously, Laura worked in fitness to practise at Social Work England, as a professional advisor and investigations manager.