In Conversation: Amaka Richard-Tella

Recently, our partners at Capacity sat down with Juno board member Amaka Richard-Tella as part of their Capacity Conversation series. Amaka discussed her journey into leadership and becoming a non-executive board member at Juno, what real co-production looks like in action and why the children's social care system needs radical change. Here's how the conversation played out.

Hello Amaka, thanks for your time today. I wanted to ask about how you got involved in Juno and what made you say yes to a position on the board.

"Before joining the Juno board, I’d spent over a decade working in children's homes, learning the intricacies of safeguarding and building my frontline and operational experience.

I remember hearing about the board opportunity and going to the Juno website. It was just different to anything I had seen before. I loved the way it felt - really genuine and endearing. That’s the kind of thing I’m interested in. It definitely sparked something.

What sealed the deal wasn’t just Juno’s vision, it was the integrity behind it. What the Juno team stood for and what I could see aligned really well. That sense of integrity is very important in children’s care, and to me.

It’s also very important to young people that you are who you say you are and do what you say you're going to do. The standards are high at Juno, and I love that.”

What do you hope other Juno board members say about your contribution to the board?

“Apart from the timeless beauty, you mean!”

Joking aside, Amaka’s answer is serious. She brings a child’s perspective and the team’s day-to-day realities into the boardroom.

“We can’t become disconnected in the decisions we make. We must take the team and the children in our care along with us. By that I mean sharing a deep understanding of the reality of how homes run and the dynamics on the ground.”

She also brings regulatory insight, acting as a bridge between the board and leadership team, offering real-time support beyond meetings.

“I’ve tried to make myself accessible to the team. In the last few months, that’s been really positive for me – and hopefully for the team!”

Juno’s work is rooted in collaboration and co-production with young people. What does real co-production look like between young people and professionals? How can we tell when it’s really happening?

“I'm very passionate about co-production, about children's views leading the way in their own care. We can't afford for policy makers and stakeholders to be people without the lived experience.

At Juno, co-production isn’t a buzzword. It’s in the bloodstream. I think of myself as both a champion and critic of how it's used in social care.

For me, true co-production is about seeking input from the people we're trying to serve, then letting that input genuinely shape what we do. Sometimes, that means changing direction, and that’s where most organisations struggle.

Having one of Juno’s Experts by Experience on the board is great. There are moments when they say, ‘This doesn’t feel right,’ and the entire conversation shifts because of their input. That’s what real influence looks like.”

Amaka’s quick to point out how often co-production can become performance.

“It can be tokenistic when there are conversations young people are allowed into and others they’re not. At Juno, we try hard to push past that.”

Juno’s work is beginning to be noticed beyond Liverpool. What lessons can other providers learn from Juno’s way of working over the past two years?

“There are loads of lessons to learn from Juno. We didn’t just open a home and see who turned up. From the start, there was a clear vision. A commitment to caring for local children.

What stood out was how well-resourced and skilled the Juno team was - from the frontline to the board. That shouldn’t be surprising, but it is. A lot of providers start out being quite disjointed, unplanned. At Juno, everything was well thought through, with buy-in from local authorities.

I see Juno as part of a movement to model something different for the entire sector.”

If you had a magic wand and could redesign just one part of the children’s social care system, what would it be and why?

“Education. But not just education for children, education for staff, too.

To work in a children’s home, you don’t need to be exceptionally qualified or experienced. That does a disservice to staff and children. The level of skill required is enormous. You’re dealing with trauma most adults couldn’t even comprehend.”

Amaka talks about a future where social pedagogues - professionals trained in the art and science of child development - become the norm, not the exception.

“In places like Geneva, outcomes for children in care are better than for those who stay at home. Why? Because of the calibre of staff.”

She believes education should be embedded in the home, not outsourced. If staff had the right training, they could help young people understand their own experiences. That’s the kind of learning that heals.

Juno’s work will soon expand beyond Wirral into the Liverpool City Region. Thinking about the future of Juno, what would success look like in 12-18 months?

With Juno planning to expand to 10 homes within five years, Amaka is positive about Juno’s way of working and how it can impact the lives of more children and young people.

“The more children we impact, the better. That’s always a measure of success. But for me, it’s about what we learn from each child and how we carry that learning forward.”

She’s excited about partnerships with local authorities like Wirral and Halton and sees them as key to sustainable growth.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for commissioners to understand what it really takes to run a good home, with good outcomes, where children aren’t just a number.

“Success isn’t about scaling up numbers. It’s about scaling up impact. This isn’t about just building Juno. It’s about changing the national landscape for children in care.”

As our conversation draws to a close, Amaka reminds me that Juno is doing things differently from other children’s care providers.

“We retain staff better than most. We access funding better than anywhere else I’ve seen. But the heart of Juno is in understanding, in the messy, powerful work of healing. You can’t fake this work. You either live it or you don’t.”