AI Consultant · Greater Manchester and the North West
Safer Haven AI started as an AI Training company. We soon realised organisations needed much more than tool centric learning. We have since created programmes that cover AI Enablement, AI Governance & The Human Risk in AI, delivered via psychologically safe frameworks. Empowering your business & people to succeed with Artificial Intelligence.
"I knew the basics of AI and was fearful of what it mean't for the future! I reached out to Darren via Linkedin and what he delivered blew my mind."
"Your psychotherapy-informed approach is genuinely special. The client experience is outstanding. You have something real here."
"Darren created bespoke AI training that perfectly matched what we needed. He engaged the team quickly and kept them focused throughout. Very positive feedback from the rest of my team. I would absolutely recommend him."
Half your team is frightened of it. The other half are already using it in secret.
So important, it is the part a client, regulator or insurer asks you about first.
Barely discussed anywhere. It is the one that concerns me most.
Start with one. Most organisations end up needing all three.
Your team is already using tools you have not sanctioned. That is a data breach waiting to happen.
The EU AI Act makes staff training mandatory. The UK will follow. Most organisations are not ready.
The EU AI Act's highest fines, up to €35m or 7% of global turnover, are reserved for prohibited AI practices. Everyday misuse sits far below that ceiling, but it is the same law, and knowing where your firm stands on it is the whole point of an assessment.
The ICO can fine up to £17.5m or 4% of global turnover for the most serious UK GDPR breaches. For most firms the real damage is smaller and closer to home: the client who leaves, the insurer who asks questions, the reputation that took years to build.
If a key client asked you today how their data is handled when your team uses AI, where it goes and what protections are in place…
What would you tell them?
The answer lives in the three pillars: AI Enablement, AI Risk & Compliance and The Human Risk of AI.
We are not here to sell you AI.
That decision has already been made for you by the market, your competitors and your own team. We make sure your team is enabled, your business is protected and your people retain their judgement.
From our first conversation, to safe measurable ROI.
No-pressure, no judgement, no prep required. Just a conversation to understand where you are and exactly what you need.
It costs nothing.Your sector, your team, your regulatory obligations. Nothing generic, nothing off the shelf. Organisations that skip this step are a far greater risk. We cover all bases for you.
Anxious or overconfident with AI, both carry risk. Our SAFER framework brings psychological safety into the room.
The result: a balanced AI adoption programme.Real workflows, real AI use cases, all combining to generate measurable ROI in time banked, efficiencies and staff morale.
Calculated at UK minimum wage. Your actual saving will be higher. That compounds.
We align you to an appropriate AI governance framework, then collaborate on the policies, rules, responsibilities and guardrails that keep you protected.
We watch the regulatory horizon so you can focus on what you do best, your business. AI is the fastest growing technology we have ever seen. It’s impossible to run a business and keep up.
We made keeping up our business, so you don’t have to.Still not sure?
Read a case study, check your risk or work out what it is worth.
Three ways to see this for yourself, without speaking to anybody.
See exactly what happened when a real firm let us in. The numbers, the fear, the turnaround. The full story.
Read the story → Where are you exposed?Answer a few honest questions and get your AI risk picture on screen in under two minutes. Free, instant, eye-opening.
Start the assessment → What are the hours worth?Put your own team size and hourly cost in, and see what the time back is actually worth over a year. Every figure in pounds and hours.
Run the numbers →
Darren Sharples combines 25 years of C-suite leadership with formal therapeutic training, as a BACP student member now in his 4th and final year of psychotherapy study. That combination is not a coincidence. It is the reason this works. Most AI rollouts fail because of the people, not the technology, and he understands both sides of that equation with equal depth.
Executive leadership and therapy-informed practice make for a learning environment that is commercially astute, psychologically safe, and a genuine turning point in how participants think about AI.
I deliver every engagement personally. That is the point: you get the person you met on the intro call, not an associate you have never spoken to. Where a piece of work genuinely needs a formal ISO 42001 certification, a data protection officer, legal sign-off, I can bring in a named associate from my vetted network and tell you who and why beforehand. Nothing is handed off quietly.
"For some people AI is exciting. For others, it's terrifying. My passion is helping real people and organisations feel supported as they face the challenges surrounding AI adoption."
A 30-minute conversation is not a commitment to anything except clarity. We will look at where your organisation actually stands, what is worth addressing now, and what can wait.
If it is not the right time, I will tell you that honestly.
When you are ready, the conversation is here.
Founder - AI Consultant / Trainer
"If AI feels daunting right now, that’s completely normal, this conversation is simply a place to talk it through, without judgement."
That concern comes up a lot.
Our focus is helping teams understand how AI can support their work rather than threaten it, so people feel confident using it responsibly and productively.
Most training providers focus on tools and tech. We focus on your people first, then the tools and then the risk.
The logic behind this is simple: it is impossible to learn when anxious about the subject material. The tools are brilliant and we are happy to show them to you but, in the wrong hands, because of the risks involved they can be dangerous to your business.
We give a very balanced overview of the AI landscape so that your organisation can make informed decisions to protect it and watch it thrive using AI.
Usually quite quickly.
You can check my real-time availability through the button below and book a discovery call at a time that suits you.
From there, we can normally schedule training within a few weeks depending on your team’s availability and specific needs.
The first step is a simple conversation.
No. Our training is designed specifically for people who aren’t technical.
We focus on practical, everyday ways teams can use AI safely and confidently in their roles without needing a technical background.
Either a full day extensive training session, or a 2.5 hour fundamentals session that builds into the full modular programme, whichever fits your team’s schedule.
The session is designed for up to 50 attendees to enable the practical elements to produce the results and standards we set of ourselves.
The session includes AI fundamentals, team safety via our SAFER framework, practical exercises based around your job role specifics and AI risk.
Not at all.
Many organisations come to us before any formal policy exists. Part of our work is helping you understand what responsible AI use should look like for your organisation.
Ideally we want to deliver this training in person as it’s designed to be a high-energy workshop where individuals feed off that and gain in confidence.
We understand that this is not always possible and will bring the high energy to the screen via Teams if this suits your team better.
We encourage you to read the case study on the homepage, these are typical results after a single session with Safer Haven AI.
Over time as we continue to work with you, the efficiencies compound. Organisations that formally train teams have far better adoption and safety metrics than those that do not.
Industry studies say productivity gains of 30%–40% are very much in scope within weeks.
AI safety and governance are core to our training. We teach clear safety boundaries, data protection best practices, and when NOT to use AI.
Security is embedded in everything we teach.
Yes of course we can.
As standard we map your workflows, bottlenecks and regulations to the training we deliver, however we understand you may have very specific bespoke requirements.
Raise it on the intro call. Darren shapes the programme himself, and if your requirement needs a named specialist alongside him he will tell you that on the same call rather than after you have signed.
Still have questions?
Book an introduction