A small consultancy with a clear way of working
Resolution Ready is the independent practice of James Anderson, based in the north east and working nationally, and it started in 2025.
The practice is James, with Rowena Barnard on operations and a small group of associates brought in where a piece of work needs them.
The name says what the work is for. Resolution is what becomes possible once people have been listened to, in a complaint, in a safeguarding concern, or in a room where a board has to decide something. Ready is where an organisation gets to, prepared to listen, clear in its thinking and confident in how it responds.
Our theory of change
Our theory of change is Thinking Differently®. When people feel listened to they can reflect, and once they can reflect they can engage with structure, and structure is what allows a confident response.
We start with the people involved, because what staff and families say usually shows where the real issue lies. Reflection comes next, making sense of what we have heard before deciding anything. Structure follows, so decisions rest on more than instinct. The response comes last, and by then the group has done the thinking to support it.
The same cycle shapes every piece of work, whether it is a complaint review, a facilitation session or training for trustees.
Listen: start with the people involved
We hear from staff, families and partners before anything else.
Reflect: look beneath the surface
We make sense of what we have heard and name what is really going on.
Structure: bring shape to the decision
We add the structure your team needs to make clear, safe, well-evidenced decisions.
Respond: support timely and fair action
We help you decide what happens next, with steps that follow from what you have learned.
Our team
James Anderson
Founder and principal consultant
James has spent twenty-five years in children's services, and most of his work now comes at the point where a decision is looked at again. He has completed more than 75 complaint investigations and chaired more than 40 stage 3 review panels for local authorities across England, and sits as a panel member and hearing chair on the Football Association's National Safeguarding Review Panel. He is a Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, and holds the CMI Level 7 Extended Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice and the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Leadership Coaching and Mentoring.
He is a trustee of Kids and of Article 39, speaks internationally, including recently at ISPCAN in Melbourne, and is writing a practice handbook on the statutory complaints procedure. The thread through all of it is a belief that services are stronger when they listen carefully, learn honestly and act on what children and families tell them.
Rowena Barnard
Senior operations coordinator
Rowena provides executive assistant support to James, and looks after day to day support and coordination across the consultancy.
Associates
We work with a small number of trusted colleagues, brought in on selected pieces of work so the right experience is matched to each project. If you are an experienced practitioner and would be interested in working with us, get in touch.
James also draws on a growing network of associates and a wider network of independent practitioners built over twenty-five years, including social workers, senior children’s services staff, complaints managers and safeguarding trainers. Where a piece of work needs another pair of hands, the right person is usually one call away.
Every piece of work starts with an informal conversation.