Advisory Board
Independent expertise supporting the responsible development of The Safeguarding Interface.
The Advisory Board brings together independent expertise from safeguarding, education, governance and operational delivery.
Its role is to provide independent challenge, practical insight and strategic perspective as The Safeguarding Interface, the Commitment and Safeguarding Interface Alignment Accreditation continue to develop.
The Board does not replace statutory safeguarding responsibilities, regulatory frameworks or professional judgement. It supports the integrity, credibility and responsible development of the discipline.
The Advisory Board provides independent challenge and strategic perspective to Natalie Devaux, Founder of The Safeguarding Interface, helping ensure the discipline continues to develop responsibly, proportionately and with practical relevance.
Meet The Advisory Board
The Advisory Board brings together professionals whose experience reflects the different environments, decisions and responsibilities that meet at the safeguarding interface.
Each member has been appointed to contribute independent insight, constructive challenge and real-world experience to the ongoing development of The Safeguarding Interface.
Dane Hardie
Founder & Managing Director,
Litus Advisory
Early Years Leadership • Commercial Strategy • Governance
Dane Hardie has spent more than 25 years working across early years education and regulated children's services, bringing experience that spans operational leadership, commercial strategy, governance and investment. He is the Founder and Managing Director of Litus Advisory, a specialist consultancy supporting nursery group operators and their investors with commercial strategy, value creation and due diligence. Throughout his career, Dane has worked across privately owned and private equity-backed organisations, including executive leadership roles within national nursery groups where he held responsibility for a £98 million portfolio of more than 100 settings, delivering £3.7 million of EBITDA growth within 12 months. Earlier in his career, he was part of the founding team at Pebble, an early years software platform, where he led the commercial launch from seed stage through to Series A investment. Alongside his executive career, Dane co-owns Claygate Montessori School, which has maintained an Ofsted Outstanding judgement for more than 20 years. He also serves on the Board of Skylarks, a SEND charity, where he chairs the Finance, Governance and Safeguarding Committees. Having worked across the sector as an operator, proprietor, technology leader, investor-side adviser and governance professional, Dane brings a broad strategic perspective to The Safeguarding Interface Advisory Board. His experience helps ensure the discipline develops in a way that is commercially realistic, operationally practical and firmly grounded in the governance of education.
Keri Standen
Founder & Safeguarding Consultant,
Greengate Consultancy Services
Safeguarding Leadership • Governance •
Culture
Keri Standen has dedicated her career to strengthening safeguarding practice across education, children's services and multi-agency partnerships, bringing expertise that spans safeguarding leadership, governance, organisational culture and operational practice. She is the Safeguarding Consultant and Founder of Greengate Consultancy, supporting organisations across education, early years and the wider public and private sectors to develop effective safeguarding systems, governance and cultures. Her work includes safeguarding strategy, policy development, compliance auditing and specialist training, helping organisations embed safeguarding into everyday practice rather than viewing it solely as a compliance requirement. Throughout her career, Keri has worked with safeguarding boards, local authorities, multi academy trusts, independent schools, faith organisations, early years providers and businesses working within education. Alongside her consultancy work, she is Trust Safeguarding Lead for Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, an Associate Trainer for the NSPCC, an accredited Safer Recruitment Trainer, a qualified Early Years Practitioner and Trustee of a multi academy trust. Having worked across youth justice, education, multi-agency safeguarding and organisational governance, Keri brings a deep safeguarding perspective to The Safeguarding Interface Advisory Board. Her experience helps ensure the discipline develops in a way that remains evidence-informed, operationally relevant and firmly aligned with established safeguarding principles.
Nathan Lees
Founder & Director,
Lees & Hendry
Contractor Operations • Service delivery • Operational Risk
Nathan Lees has spent more than 20 years delivering maintenance, refurbishment and fit-out solutions across education and other regulated environments, developing extensive experience in contractor operations, service delivery and decision-making within live, occupied settings. He is Director of Lees & Hendry Ltd, a specialist facilities and maintenance contractor established to provide a reliable, honest and cost-effective alternative within the facilities sector. Throughout his career, Nathan has progressed into senior leadership roles, developing a practical understanding of the operational pressures, commercial realities and decisions required to deliver work safely within regulated environments. His experience includes supporting large nursery groups, multi academy trusts and independent education providers, where operational delivery must consistently align with safeguarding expectations. Having spent his career delivering services within live education environments, Nathan brings an important operational perspective to The Safeguarding Interface Advisory Board. His experience helps ensure the discipline remains grounded in the realities of contractor delivery, strengthening the alignment between safeguarding expectations and operational decision-making without losing sight of the practical challenges faced by those working on the ground.
Lucy Lewin
Founder of The Profitable Nursery Academy
& The Nursery Toolbox
Early Years Leadership • Business Sustainability • Operational Systems
Lucy Lewin has dedicated her career to helping early years providers build stronger, more sustainable organisations, bringing expertise that spans nursery leadership, commercial performance, operational systems and sector development. She is the Founder of The Profitable Nursery Academy and The Nursery Toolbox, supporting nursery owners and leaders to improve financial sustainability, strengthen operational decision-making and reduce leadership burden through practical systems, automation and data-led insight. Her work helps organisations move beyond day-to-day firefighting, creating businesses that are commercially resilient without compromising the quality of early years education. Alongside her advisory work, Lucy has owned and led Little Angels Nursery Group for more than 16 years. Having openly shared her own experience of rebuilding a struggling nursery business into a profitable and sustainable organisation, she has become a respected voice across the sector, supporting both independent nurseries and larger groups through consultancy, speaking engagements and leadership development. She also serves as a Technical Education Advisory Board member for NCFE and has previously held roles including Learning & Development Manager at N Family Club, Advisor to PACEY, Trainer for NDNA, and Trustee of PACEY. Having worked as a nursery owner, sector adviser, trainer, technology developer and business strategist, Lucy brings a practical understanding of the operational pressures facing early years providers to The Safeguarding Interface Advisory Board. Her experience helps ensure the discipline develops in a way that is operationally achievable, commercially sustainable and grounded in the realities of day-to-day leadership.
Vacancy
School / MAT Estates Leader
Education Estates Leadership • Risk Management •
Strategic Oversight
We are looking for an experienced estates or facilities leader currently working within a Multi Academy Trust to join the Advisory Board of The Safeguarding Interface. The Safeguarding Interface exists to address a specific gap within education: safeguarding responsibility sits firmly with schools and Trusts, but many of the operational decisions that can influence safeguarding outcomes sit within estates, facilities management, contractor delivery and external supply chains. We are looking for someone who understands that interface from inside a Trust. You may be a Director or Head of Estates, Facilities, Property or a similarly senior operational leader with responsibility across multiple schools. You will understand the practical realities of managing estates in live education environments, including contractor access, maintenance delivery, compliance, procurement, competing operational priorities and the challenge of balancing the needs of individual schools with Trust wide governance. This is not a safeguarding specialist position. We are specifically looking for an estates professional who can bring the perspective of the people making and governing operational decisions within a MAT. As an Advisory Board member, your role would be to provide independent challenge, insight and practical perspective as The Safeguarding Interface and the Safeguarding Interface Alignment Accreditation develop. We are particularly interested in someone who can help us continually test a simple but important question: Does this work in the reality of running a school estate? The role is advisory rather than executive and does not carry responsibility for accreditation decisions or the safeguarding arrangements of participating organisations. We are looking for someone thoughtful, credible and willing to challenge, who believes that strong safeguarding governance should extend into the operational decisions and external relationships that shape the environments in which children learn. If you lead estates or facilities across a Multi Academy Trust and this feels like a conversation you should be part of, we would love to hear from you.
The Principles That Guide the Board
The Advisory Board operates according to four core principles which underpin the development of The Safeguarding Interface.
Clarity
Making invisible risk visible.
Helping organisations recognise where operational decisions influence safeguarding conditions.
Restraint
Remaining proportionate and evidence-informed.
Ensuring the discipline does not overclaim or unnecessarily expand safeguarding boundaries.
Governance
Supporting structured, defensible decision-making.
Strengthening visibility, accountability and oversight where safeguarding responsibility and operational control intersect.
Reality
Grounding development in real-world practice.
Ensuring the work remains relevant to education, facilities management, contractor delivery and operational leadership.
Collective Expertise
The Advisory Board contributes experience across:
→ Safeguarding leadership
→ Early years and schools
→ Education governance
→ Estates and facilities management
→ Contractor and service delivery
→ Health, safety and operational risk
→ Procurement and commercial decision-making
→ Organisational leadership
This breadth reflects the reality that safeguarding conditions are shaped by both safeguarding responsibility and operational decision-making.
Supporting the Development of the Discipline
The Safeguarding Interface is being developed through collaboration across safeguarding, education, governance and operational practice.
The Advisory Board helps ensure that this work remains proportionate, evidence-informed and grounded in the realities experienced by education providers, contractors and facilities professionals.
From time to time, additional expertise may be invited to contribute to specific areas of development.