Of 21 permanent postholders appointed during the year, all but two were assistant directors promoted from the same council or another local authority. “It’s good to see succession planning bearing fruit,” says ADCS president Andy Smith. There was a decline in “twin hat” roles covering children’s and adult services to just 13.
The ADCS’s annual survey of DCSs and children’s trust chief executives continues to show a lack of diversity in leadership. Of 115 leaders who responded to the 2023 survey, 103 identified as white, five as multiple or mixed ethnicity, four as Asian and two as black.
Leadership programmes
The DfE-backed Upon scheme offers leadership training to new and aspiring DCSs delivered by The Staff College, Oxford Brookes University’s Institute of Public Care (IPC), Skills for Care and public services firm GatenbySanderson.
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