Q Does the role of director of children’s services (DCS)have a future? Could I be out of a job?
Peter Lewis: Some fear the government’s plan to make every school an academy will reopen a gap between education and social care. Others question the need for over-arching directors of children’s services.
However, there is a strong case for retaining the role – a case you may need to make to your employers. It is vital someone in authority – with status – continues to be the voice of the child in a system where that voice can so easily get lost. Schools – academies or not – are driven to focus on standards and achievement and can lose sight of the needs of the “whole child”. Someone must make sure those needs stay a priority and are understood by all services and partners. If you are not there to maintain that pressure, then who will fulfil that role? Without it vital support for children and families, encompassing all the complex issues they face, could start to disappear.
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