26 March 2026
I spent the early part of my career inside organisations, working across local government and the charity sector in children’s services, safeguarding and quality assurance. It was varied, demanding work and I learned a great deal from it. But at a certain point I began to feel that the most valuable thing I could offer was not tied to any one organisation or role. It was accumulated judgment, specialist knowledge and the freedom to say what I genuinely thought.
I spent the early part of my career inside organisations, working across local government and the charity sector in children’s services, safeguarding and quality assurance. It was varied, demanding work and I learned a great deal from it. But at a certain point I began to feel that the most valuable thing I could offer was not tied to any one organisation or role. It was accumulated judgment, specialist knowledge and the freedom to say what I genuinely thought.
So I went independent.
Most of my work now sits within the statutory children’s social care complaints process, acting as an independent investigating officer and panel chair. These are formal, legally grounded processes involving complex case records, multiple agencies and families who are often at the most difficult point in their lives. The work demands precision and genuine independence, and the fact that I am not employed by the organisation I am investigating is not incidental. It is the whole point.
Alongside that I work in facilitation, governance and safeguarding consultancy, including as a certified LEGO Serious Play facilitator. That last one surprises people. It is a structured, hands-on method where participants build physical models to work through challenges together, and it is a serious tool for serious work. I have used it with trustee boards, leadership teams and staff groups navigating difficult decisions. It works because it creates the conditions for honest conversation. Every person contributes, not just the people most comfortable speaking in a room.
What I did not expect when I went independent was how much the shift would change the quality of the work itself. When you work inside an organisation your judgment is shaped, inevitably, by that organisation’s culture and priorities. Independence changes something. When I go into a council, a trust or a charity now, I am not managing internal politics. I am there to do the work and to give an honest account of what I find.
Going independent is not straightforward. It requires you to hold your own, manage uncertainty and build a reputation entirely through the quality of what you deliver. There are no guaranteed hours and no employer investing in your development. You have to do that yourself. I completed a CMI Level 7 qualification some years into running my practice, and it genuinely sharpened how I think about leadership and strategy, including my own.
But for the right practitioner, with the right experience and the confidence to work without the safety net of a salaried role, consultancy offers something genuinely difficult to find elsewhere: the ability to do the work properly, on your own terms.
If you are thinking about making that move, or if you are already freelancing and trying to find your footing, the most useful thing I can offer is this: be clear about what you are actually good at and specific about who needs it. A niche that feels narrow from the inside often turns out to be exactly the right size once you are working in it.
Written by James Anderson