Directors - Children's Workforce Qualifications and Training Guide

The government is launching a national leadership programme in 2020 to support talented leaders to become directors of children's services (DCSs) and help DCSs who are new to the role or want support as they move roles.

DCS turnover was relatively low in 2018/19 with 17 new appointments - the second lowest number recorded in the 12-year history of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS). Thirteen were promoted from assistant director level and in two cases an existing director of adult services took on children's services as an additional role. There are currently 40 such "twin hatters".

Leadership roles in children's services are becoming more wide-ranging, with those in senior positions increasingly finding themselves responsible for services outside their historical area of expertise. "Many challenges public sector leaders face test their ability to manage dilemmas, in which there is no single ‘best way' to proceed," says Jo Davidson, principal at The Staff College, one of the main sources of training for children's services leaders. "We run Think Tanks and webinars to enable leaders to think through some of the most complex issues facing the sector, their regions or organisations, as well as national programmes to support leadership succession planning."