Dr John Cavener

Knowledge for Safeguarding Children and Young People  - Missing Children and Child Sexual and Criminal Exploitation  - Sense-making and the Practice of Personal Reflexivity - Trauma-Informed Social Work Practice and Education 

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Cultivating safe spaces for critical reflection and staff care: Lessons learned through a study exploring lived experiences of child and family social workers, Cavener, J., Lochhead, L., McGovern, W. 1 Feb 2026, In: Child and Family Social Work
• Enhancing ‘Best Practice’ in Trauma-Informed Police Education: Insights from a study exploring police educators’ and student officers’ classroom-based experiences, Lonbay, S., Cavener, J. 1 Dec 2025, In: Police Journal
• Making sense of sense-making in child protection: Insights from a study exploring social workers’ practice of personal reflexivity in a statutory setting, Cavener, J. 4 Mar 2025, In: European Journal of Social Work
• Enhancing ‘Best Practice’ in Trauma-Informed Social Work Education: insights from a Study Exploring Educator and Student Experiences, Cavener, J., Lonbay, S. 17 Feb 2024, In: Social Work Education
• Exploring the Impact of Stigma on Health and Wellbeing: Insights from Mothers with Lived Experience Accessing Recovery Services, Lochhead, L., Addison, M., Cavener, J., Scott, S., McGovern, W. 6 Sep 2024, In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Professionals' understanding of the county lines phenomenon: Insights from a study exploring the perceptions of young peoples’ supported accommodation staff, Pearson, J., Cavener, J. 1 Jan 2024, In: Children and Youth Services Review
• Step Into the Light: An Anthology of Poems and Stories about Recovery , McGovern, W., Lochhead, L., Addison, M., Cavener, J., Scott, S. 15 Dec 2023
• Enhancing Educator by Experience led social work training: Lessons learned from the development of a Teaching Partnership Funded Project, Lonbay, S., Cavener, J., O'Driscoll, S., Chappell, S. 19 May 2022, In: Social Work Education
• Enhancing knowledge and practice of ‘personal reflexivity’ among social work students: A pedagogical strategy informed by Archer’s theory, Cavener, J., Vincent, S. 17 Nov 2021, In: Social Work Education
• Enhancing practitioner-led education in social work: developing a secondment project, Cavener, J., Phillips, C., Shenton, F. 2 Apr 2020, In: Social Work Education

John is an Assistant Professor, social work educator and researcher at Northumbria University and a recognised Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.  John is Head of Subject for Social Work and academic lead across a range of under-graduate and post-graduate social work programmes teaching on knowledge for safeguarding practice, safeguarding children and young people in practice, child sexual exploitation (CSE) and missing children and trauma-informed practice. Prior to joining Northumbria University in 2015, John was a senior social work practitioner with Barnardos and seconded lead professional for CSE and missing children with Northumberland Children’s Services.   In this role John was responsible at strategic level for assisting Northumberland Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB) in developing multi-agency policy, practice and action planning for safeguarding missing children and children at risk of CSE.   As a member of NSCBs Vulnerable Adolescent Sub-Committee and Northumberland’s Risk Management Group (RMG), John has assisted social work practitioners in undertaking statutory risk and needs assessment and formulating plans to manage the complex behaviours presented by vulnerable adolescents.  

John qualified as a social worker in 1999 and after a 3-year period employed as a practitioner with Northumberland Children’s Services moved to Barnardos.   Between 2002 and 2012, John was employed with Barnardos as a practitioner responsible for undertaking direct work with children at risk of CSE.   As a researcher with Barnardo’s, in 2010 John was among the first in the North East region to complete a funded study into the internal trafficking of children for the purpose of sexual exploitation by individuals and groups https://www.nr-foundation.org.uk/downloads/Sexual-Exploitation-Internal-Trafficking.pdf  As part of Operation Sanctuary in Newcastle, between 2012 and 2014 John worked with Northumbria Police as an agency partner involved in supporting and protecting victims of group-led CSE.  On completing a PhD in 2017, John has continued to work as a registered social worker in his role as an academic with post-qualified practitioners supporting the education and professional development of social workers situated in statutory safeguarding services. 

• Social Work PhD May 12 2017
• Social Work MA June 01 2008
• Fellow (FHEA) Higher Education Academy (HEA) 2016
• BA (Hons) in Social Work
• Diploma in Social Work
• MA Social Work Studies
• Post Qualifying Award in Child Care Social Work