Jenny Simpson is a Staff Tutor working for The Open University, on its undergraduate social work programme in the south of England. As a social work practitioner she specialised in children and family social work, in particular foster care. She has also worked extensively with educational establishments in the area of child protection and building resilience in Looked After Children.

Jenny is currently undertaking a PhD with Edinburgh University where the focus of her research is Looked After Children and issues related to contact. Her study of this area provides an opportunity, unlike existing research, to capture how contact between LAC and their birth families has changed as a result of 3G telecommunications and social media, and whether or not there is a tangible impact in terms of key areas of local authority care e.g. placement stability; reunification and safeguarding.