Director

Terry has worked in the field of children’s social care for over 44 years. He began his career in the Voluntary Sector, working for the then Catholic Children’s Rescue Society as a residential childcare officer, before moving to work within a local authority setting in 1983.
 
For several years he again worked in a residential setting, helping to manage a “fostering preparation unit” where, as a qualified social worker, he was enlisted to conduct fostering and adoption assessments too and so the passion for family placement work began.
 
From 1989 until 2013 Terry managed family placement services for the council which included responsibility for fostering, adoption and special guardianship. In that time Terry helped steer the service through successive outstanding inspection results and established the service as one of the best performing in the country.

In 2013, as he thought his career was heading towards its final phase and consideration of retirement was looming, he was given an amazing opportunity by the then government to support their drive to increase the number of adoptive families available to children with a plan of adoption. From that, the not-for-profit Adoption Agency, ARC Adoption North East. was born.
 
As Director and founder of ARC Adoption North East, Terry’s career has come full circle with a return to the Voluntary Sector and a vision of using his experience, along with that of the ARC Adoption team, to make a major contribution to children’s lives. That contribution has since been formally recognised, with Terry being awarded an OBE at a ceremony at Windsor Castle in early 2022, acknowledging his life's work in children's social care in the North East of England, and recognising his involvement in the innovation and development of ARCBOX, our digital life story tool, that he spearheaded to support children during the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
Outside of work Terry is a Vice Chair of governors for a local school, acts as a child protection representative for the Catholic Diocese and is chair of a parish council. He is married to Lesley, has a son John, and two grandsons, Oliver and Thomas, who along with his garden and Sunderland football club, are his pride and joy.