Tri-borough appoints new head of children's services

Following the retirement of Andrew Christie as director of children’s services for the three councils, the local authorities have made an internal appointment, with Clare Chamberlain, previously the director of family services at Kensington and Chelsea, taking over on an interim basis.

Last month, two of the local authorities that make up the tri-borough – Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster – became the first to have their children’s services rated as “outstanding” under Ofsted’s single inspection framework. Hammersmith and Fulham was rated as "good".

In her previous role Chamberlain led work on the Focus on Practice model of social work, which was introduced in the three London boroughs after funding of £4.2m from the Department for Education’s Children’s Services Innovation Fund Programme was awarded in July 2014.

“I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to lead children’s services for these three very strong councils," she said.

"It will be a privilege to work in a leadership role with the managers and staff who I know to be dedicated to serving children and their families."

Nicholas Holgate, chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea, said: “I am pleased that Clare’s hard work has been recognised and that she has the opportunity to lead such an excellent team. I look forward to seeing how she will bring her considerable skills and experience to bear.”

Last week children's minister Edward Timpson told the education select committee that the tri-borough's collaborative approach is an example of "how if we deliver services differently we can improve services" while discussing government plans to remove responsibility for children’s services from local authorities deemed to be struggling.