The sector skills council for the children’s workforce will also cease to be a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and its functions will be carried out by the Department for Education (DfE) instead.
The future of CWDC had been uncertain for some time, since it was being considered as part of the government’s wider arms-length body review.
But Education Secretary Michael Gove has now written to Sir Paul Ennals, chair of CWDC, to confirm that DfE staff will start working with the organisation on a detailed transfer plan for their work.
Officials will also liaise with CWDC on how to continue engaging employers in workforce development.
Ennals told CYP Now that the process to transfer CWDC’s responsibilities to government should be completed by 2012, but insisted that CWDC itself would continue in some form.
"We’re very disappointed by the decision," he explained. "But in essence the announcement relates only to the government’s funding and to the legal status of CWDC as a non-departmental public body."
He added that CWDC was originally founded in 2005 as a company and only became an NDPB in 2007 "on the insistence of government".
"They saw how successful we were and they wanted to channel a lot more funding through us then," Ennals said.
"The immediate impact of this announcement means that we will continue with our company status and we will need to talk with the DfE and the rest of the world to work out how the history of employer engagement and workforce reform can better be continued."
Ennals was unable to confirm how many jobs could be lost as part of the changes, but admitted that it is a worrying time for all CWDC employees.
Matt Dunkley, vice-president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, warned that an "in house" DfE replacement for CWDC might not be as responsive to the needs of employers, the workforce, or children and young people.
"The CWDC and the other workforce development bodies have made great strides in embedding an holistic approach into the training and development of a wide range of professionals," he explained.
"While we have long said that there are too many organisations in this area, making staggered announcements about the fate of these agencies will not help to consolidate the various areas of work effectively to support an integrated workforce. We hope that we are wrong and that announcements about the future of the TDA and National College for Leadership in Schools and Children’s Services will show that the government is committed to continuing support for the children's workforce within an integrated framework."
John Chowcat, general secretary of children’s services union Aspect, said the decision will hinder the close working of the different agencies in children’s services and inhibit professional development. "It will make the work of children’s services managers and professionals even more difficult at a time when cuts in local authority funding will raise new problems."
