Andy Fleming

Andrew Fleming was born in Surrey in 1961 as the youngest of four children. His family relocated to Barnsley when he was 18 months old, and this is where he has lived for the majority of his life.

After graduating from a Catholic secondary school, he worked in a coal mine for thirteen years. Following the closure of the mine, he returned to education and acquired a professional qualification in working with children and young people from Leeds Beckett University. Andrew then became a full-time youth worker in Hertfordshire before returning to Barnsley to work for the local authority in a similar role. After years of running a wide variety of youth projects, he was promoted to the senior management team.

In 2003, he was awarded the Public Servant of the Year award from the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office in recognition of his innovative work with young people. He was subsequently recruited as a neighbourhood renewal advisor for the central government. Throughout this period, Andrew continued to study, and he finally gained a master’s degree in leading services for children and young people.

When holidaying with his family in Thailand, Andrew often volunteered to teach English at local schools and temples. Having thoroughly enjoyed the experience, he resolved to study for a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) qualification, which he earned from Trinity College London on successful completion of the course.

At the age of fifty, he relocated to Thailand, and there he developed and ran an English language tutor school that was a phenomenal success, with over 550 students studying there over a period of four years. He also became an Expert Advisor to the Udon Thani Provincial Government for teaching English as a second language. However, in 2015, Andrew decided to sell the school and return to the UK with his family to spend more time with his grandchildren.

Once back in the UK, the family decided to become a fostering family. Since being registered as foster carers in 2015, they have been fostering young people with complex needs.

Andrew regularly facilitates training for foster carers and professionals from a wide range of disciplines. He has also coordinated and facilitated a number of support groups for carers. He is committed to trauma-informed practice and has incorporated his experience in youth work to complement his therapeutic parenting approach.

In his spare time, he is an active member of his local crown green bowling club. He has been participating in the sport for only the last two years, and last year, he wrote a book called The Inner Game of Crown Green Bowling, which is now available on Amazon.

More recently Andy has taken up fishing and has written a book which documents his angling journey. The book also focuses on how an individual can maximise their own learning potential when visiting the water's edge.