Mat Spillets

Occupation: Support Worker (British Red Cross)

Co-operative Businesses traded with in last 12 months Food, Insurance and Bank

Skills and experience

I have been a lifelong customer and long-term member of the Co-operative movement and am strongly supportive of its values and principles. These are very close to my own values, for example in terms of its democratic principles, ethical business base and its inclusiveness. I am a strong supporter of promoting self-advocacy and member participation.

Additional information

I have knowledge, experience and interest in the fields of:- • Social Work Practice • Social Work student practice assessment • Social Policy and Social Justice • Advocacy/Self-advocacy • Equality and Diversity • Communities and Society

Until January 2016 when I took voluntary redundancy, I was a Social Worker with 25 years post-qualification experience. I currently work part-time for the British Red Cross in a local A&E Dept. and in the community.

Previously as a Social Worker, I worked for 6 years in Child and Family Services within my Local Authority. This involved working in partnership with families in the community as well as a child protection role, and included Family Court work.

For the past 16 years I worked in the local Youth Offending Service in Wales. I worked generically within this team and I have significant experience across the entire range of work of the YOS, in preventative, pre-court and statutory roles, including custodial and post-custodial work.

Due to my personal and professional interest in social justice, equality, diversity and rights issues, I have been the designated liaison between the YOS and the local Ethnic Youth Support Team (EYST) for a number of years. The Ethnic Youth Support Team was set up in 2005 by a group of ethnic minority young people in the region. It works to fill a gap in provision for young people from ethnic minority backgrounds aged 11-25, by providing a targeted, culturally sensitive and holistic support service to meet their needs.

I was a member of the Think! Project Steering Committee based at EYST for several years. The project seeks to equip young people with the knowledge, understanding and experiences to refute and challenge racist myths, as well as to listen to young people’s real and perceived grievances and attempt to address these. In doing so, the project seeks to strengthen and empower identified disadvantaged young people and consequently communities within Wales to become more confident in their own identities, surer of their own belonging, and more resilient to extremist ideologies which may incite or legitimize violence to apparently “other”, specific and organised or more generalised groups. The Committee explores funding sources for the project and reviews future directions for the work involved.

I also represented the YOS in the local authority Channel Panel which plans support and resources for those felt to be at risk of right-wing extremism, radicalisation or indoctrination into terrorism. Referrals can be made directly from Channel to EYST and the Think! Project for appropriate support.

I am also a qualified Restorative Practice (RP) conference facilitator and have facilitated several successful conferences. I have also completed the RP Leaders training course. Restorative Practice takes a more Child-first, offence second, holistic and community-based-justice view of offending and its consequences. It is a forward thinking and flexible approach that encompasses the “wrong-doer” but also crucially, the “harmed-persons” and by extension the whole community with the object of rehabilitating these to each other following harm.

I am extremely conscious of the importance of the Welsh language and culture.