Sarah Caton

I didn't know Sarah personally but we did cross in business from time to time many years ago now with IT work. Always a pleasure to talk to. Sending my condolences to Sarah's family & friends and the team at ADCS.

Having been out of the loop for a few months I was incredibly saddened to hear about Sarah's passing. Lots of things to say, but my memory will always be how hard she fought for the rights and needs of Children to be considered as the pandemic had moved to the hotel quarantine phase - when she spoke she was a force to be reckoned with. Inspirational and obviously touched so many. Rest in Peace Sarah.

I am so very sorry to hear of Sarah's untimely death. I worked with her closely while at the Department for Education. She had so much energy and commitment, she was challenging but fun, she was never afraid to ask hard questions but did so in a constructive and realistic way. She brought so much of herself to her role - and was of course legendary at conferences. I know she will be hugely missed by many many people and frankly it is hard to imagine how the ADCS will function without her. She lived her life to the full, but has gone far too soon. She will be remembered.

As so many people have said, it's hard to find the words to sum up a fitting message. I have known Sarah for over 15 years and never did I see her without energy, passion, & drive to make a difference. But even more impressively it was never for her or to shine a light on herself but to make others - especially the Presidents of ADCS - shine. She had a rare capacity to work with so many different people and get stuff done more than that we ( I) really enjoyed her company & her laugh still lingers loudly in my ears. You will not be forgotten X

I started working with ADCS around 5 years ago but really got to know Sarah as we started spending many meetings together working first on covid and then supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. I can’t articulate better than others have what Sarah was like (the words “fearless”, “funny” and “force of nature” all come to mind), but I can talk about just how much I learnt from her. I learnt not just about the nuts and bolts of children’s services (which I will never know as well as she did), but also the value of being truly passionate about your work, and how to stand your ground when you need to – no matter who your audience is. And most importantly, she drummed into me the importance of putting children at the centre of debates they’re part of – I can still hear her saying, “but what about CHILDREN'S rights?!” I will miss Sarah’s presence in meetings, at conferences and in my inbox enormously – but how lucky I am to have learnt from her xx

Sarah Caton - a really lovely woman- very warm; hugely wise; enormously dedicated; truly exceptional- a wonderful northern grafter. Missing you very much indeed. Thank you for so much support and laughter xx

So very sorry to hear the news of Sarah’s untimely death , she will be so missed as a passionate advocate for children and young people .Sarah was a champion for us all working in the sector , insightful and full of integrity . We will miss you Sarah . My condolences to the family.

Although I didn’t know Sarah personally and had only met her a couple of times, I felt I knew her as Dave would often come home from Conference or work and share a story about her. She certainly kept him in check when he was President and that wasn’t always an easy task. I know he greatly admired her zest for life and ‘work hard play hard’ attitude. I’m sure he and others who have left this life much too early have welcomed Sarah and together they will all be doing what they did best, having fun whilst putting the world to rights. Condolences to Sarah’s family, friends and colleagues - may your many wonderful memories of her bring you positive thoughts in the weeks, months and years to come.