A small consultancy with a clear way of working
Resolution Ready is independent, based in the north east, and works nationally with local authorities, charities and schools when the work is too important to get wrong.
We launched in early 2024, founded on a simple belief. When people feel properly heard, they make better decisions. That belief shapes everything we do.
The name reflects that belief. Resolution is what becomes possible when people are listened to, in complaints, in governance, in everyday practice. Ready is the state we help organisations reach, prepared to listen, structured in their thinking, and confident in how they respond.
Since launching, we have provided pro bono support to small charities, primarily in the north east. The longer-term ambition is to develop Resolution Ready into a formally constituted social purpose organisation, with a structure that reflects the values at the heart of the work.
Our team
James Anderson
I am founder and principal consultant of Resolution Ready, with over twenty-five years' experience in children's services, including senior local government roles. I work as an independent investigator and panel chair under the Children Act 1989 statutory complaints process, having completed over seventy-five investigations across England, including for Birmingham Children's Trust. I also support councils, trusts and charities with audits, reviews, quality assurance and training.
I am a Chartered Manager and Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Society for Public Health, Independent Vice Chair of a regional adoption agency, and a peer reviewer for Child Abuse Review. In August 2026 I will present at the ISPCAN International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect in Melbourne.
Rowena Barnard
Rowena is our senior operations coordinator. She provides day to day support and coordination across the business, helping us stay organised so we can focus on the work that matters to our clients.
Rowena lives in the north east with her partner and four children. Sea swims, beach walks in Whitley Bay, the Ouseburn and local art galleries are her happy place.
Associates
We operate via an associate model, working with a small number of trusted colleagues we bring in on selected pieces of work. It keeps us lean, lets us match the right experience to each project, and means clients get people who know the field properly. If you are an experienced practitioner and would be interested in joining our pool do get in touch.
Our theory of change
What a theory of change is
A theory of change sets out how an organisation believes it makes a difference, and the steps that connect what it does to the change it wants to see. It is one of the most useful pieces of thinking any organisation can do, and one of the most often skipped. A clear theory of change sharpens decision making, makes the case for funding more compelling, gives staff a shared sense of purpose, and helps boards focus on what matters. It is also the foundation for evaluating whether the work is doing what it is meant to do.
We can help you develop one. Most organisations we work with have a strong sense of what they do but find it harder to articulate how that connects to the change they want to see. A theory of change closes that gap. It does not need to be long or complicated. What it does need is honesty about what you are trying to achieve, the people you are trying to reach, and the realistic steps between the two.
Ours, and how it shapes the work
Our own theory of change is simple. When people feel listened to, they can reflect. When they can reflect, they can engage with structure. And when structure is in place, they can respond with confidence.
That cycle underpins everything we do. If you commission us for a complaint investigation, a facilitation session, training for trustees, or charity or schools work, the way the work is shaped will follow the same pattern. Listen first. Reflect on what is really there. Add structure that holds. Support a confident response. Different work, one coherent way of working.
How we do it
Listen. Reflect. Structure. Respond.
Step 01 · Listen
Start with what matters
We listen to the people involved — staff, families, partners — before anything else.
Step 02 · Reflect
Understand with clarity and care
We make sense of what we've heard, surface what matters, and name what's really going on.
Step 03 · Structure
Bring tools and frameworks
We add the structure your team needs to make clear, safe, well-evidenced decisions.
Step 04 · Respond
Support timely, fair action
We help you respond well — confident next steps, grounded in what you've learned.
That is how we work. If it sounds like what you need, the first conversation is always free.