It may be Black Friday…but roll on the Happy Mondays!

However, after the year we’ve all had, it does seem particularly aptly named for 2020.

ADCS has 130 associates, most were previously substantive DCSs, ADs, or senior leaders within local authorities. In the main, they now work across many LAs rather than just one and, as such, they are reporting similar pressures repeatedly shouldered by children’s services senior leadership teams and their staff. 

These challenges are tackled with dedication, hard work, creativity, integrity, resilience, and bravery. And, at the risk of stating the obvious, these common challenges are the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on disadvantaged children and young people, compounded by crippling levels of budget savings, layered on top of years of austerity, increased awareness of diversity issues, the cataclysm of global warming, and a physically and emotionally exhausted workforce…hey! It’s Black Friday!