Trevor Doughty will lead the LGA's team of children's improvement advisers (CIA) from later this month. The team was launched last year to help children’s services improve nationally.
While he was strategic director for children, families and adults at Cornwall Council, its children’s services was lifted from "good" to "outstanding" by Ofsted last year. Inspectors were particularly impressed with support for looked-after children and those on the edge of care.
He joined Cornwall a decade ago to improve children’s services amid concerns around the quality of support for vulnerable children.
He also has a track record of overseeing improvements at other local authorities.
Last year he was appointed by the government as commissioner for children’s services at Surrey County Council, to oversee action to improve following its second “inadequate” rating from Ofsted within four years. The final of Doughty’s three progress reports is being discussed this week by Surrey councillors. He recommends that the council should retain control of provision due to the improvements taking place.
In 2017 he was appointed by the government as commissioner for children’s services at Worcestershire County Council, after the local authority was rated “inadequate” due to “widespread and serious” failures in its support of vulnerable children. This led to an overhaul of children’s services, which are now overseen by the council-run company Worcestershire Children First.
The CIA team involves a regional network of children’s services advisers across the nine English regions, including former Association of Directors of Children’s Services president Alison Michalska, who is CIA for South East councils.
CIAs are part of a network of LGA advisers across England to support councils. This includes nine regional principle advisers, who work across all areas of council services, including adult social care and health.
Doughty has been replaced at Cornwall Council by Meredith Teasdale, who was previously education and skills director at Wolverhampton Council.
“What Trevor and his team have created for the children of Cornwall is a strong practice-driven system, which has resulted in children’s services in Cornwall being graded as ‘outstanding’ in the most recent Ofsted inspection,” Teasdale said.
