In November 2015, John Coughlan became chief executive of Hampshire County Council. The move brought to an end a decade-long stint as director of children's services (DCS).
Do you miss being a DCS?
It's a fantastic job and I miss the role. I loved it and am proud of the work we did together in Hampshire.
But I'm excited about my new role. I'm really enjoying it, but devolution is draining of my time [the 15 councils that make up the Hampshire and Isle of White Partnership have submitted an application to government for regional devolution].
The council has good leadership successor arrangements - Steve Crocker is a fantastic new DCS.
What are your key challenges?
The devolution discussions are complex, quite distracting, and demanding of mine and the local authority's time. That's creating tensions we could do without, including for children's services.
Money isn't going away as an issue; and keeping children safe is becoming more of a challenge.
Another challenge is managing changes to local authorities, role in education. The government recognised some aspects of this in the proposed revisions to the education white paper, but we know it is still on the agenda.
Also, the NHS is under tremendous duress, which is reflected in how we work together.
What advice would you give new DCSs?
I'd urge new DCSs to make sure they're close to the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS). Child protection and safeguarding measures are incredibly important. Stay close to the work and close to practice. It's a mistake for DCSs to think they should be sitting at the corporate table in competition with others.
One of the challenges of being a DCS is that there is so much instability, it is hard to build things over time. Managing staff with continuity and stability is difficult, but we struggle to manage this nationally.
What are the key challenges facing children's services?
You can't take away the money issue. The challenge is where we're going nationally. I guess we'll have further savings to make, so we need to have honest conversations with government on how local authorities can meet their statutory obligations.
Another challenge is the status and effectiveness of social care - it is down to the sector to fight for that. Local authorities should be at the front of social care, but we have to fight for that. And we're working to ensure we have the right workforce coming through. We need to collaborate nationally to make sure we get the right people.
We must remind government continually of the importance of the work we do, particularly with vulnerable children. We're in a situation where there is an apparent focus from government generally on shrinking the state for the sake of it. We risk losing areas of child welfare.
What could children's services learn from other departments?
I wouldn't point to any individual lessons as chief executive, although I'm increasingly conscious of the interdependence of departments in Hampshire, and how vital it is for departments to understand that.
There are so many similarities of pressures; leadership of children's services needs to understand how comparable pressures apply to other departments - from roads to adult care. With the pace of change in NHS and adult services, we do need to ensure children's services don't lose sight of changes here.
What initiatives are you most proud of in Hampshire?
The council's multi-agency safeguarding hub, which brings agencies together to make decisions on children's safeguarding needs, is fantastic for improvement, including our involvement with police and health.
There is a lot of good work in the way we manage and advance social work across our services.
I'm also proud of how we work with the Isle of Wight. We know children there are much safer now. We are also starting a new partnership with Torbay Council.
The sustainability of children's services through sector-led improvement has to be part of the future, and I'm proud of Hampshire for playing a big part in that.
What would your advice be for a newly qualified social worker?
Be prepared for challenges early on. It can be difficult to see victories, but that means when you do find them, they're more important.
Put work into honing your skills. Aligning qualifications to real-life practice can be difficult, so make sure you find the right employers to help you do that. Ensure you're getting the right level of support.
And commit to the profession. I thoroughly admire social workers who stay in practice rather than going for management roles. The best social workers are high-grade professionals; it's superbly skilful work. Also, enjoy the job because it's a great privilege.
John Coughlan CV
- November 2015 - present: Chief executive, Hampshire Council
- 2009-15: Deputy chief executive and DCS, Hampshire Council
- 2005-09: DCS, Hampshire County Council
- 2008: Interim DCS, London Borough of Haringey
- 2007/08: Founding joint president, ADCS
- 2001-05: Director of social care, Telford and Wrekin Council
- 1997-01: Assistant director, children, Dudley Council
- 1995-97: Commissioner, social services, Birmingham Council
