The flying Scotsman: Gordon Jeyes, director of children's services, Cambridgeshire

Ten years ago, before Every Child Matters and its related reforms, Jeyes took up the post in Stirling, Scotland, then at the forefront of pioneering a new approach to children's services.

"We were doing it because we believed it would be effective, in terms of outcomes for the most vulnerable children," explains Jeyes.

But that wasn't the only reason why Stirling was ahead of the game. Locals were deeply affected by the tragedy of the Dunblane primary school massacre in 1996, which left the council acutely aware of the need to safeguard children and young people.

Jeyes says: "I was in charge of leading the response to the 16 murders of children in Dunblane. It had a marked impact on us that so many children could be betrayed by an adult."

Evolution of accountability

Jeyes describes the subsequent introduction of his post as an "evolution of accountability".

"We had already been moving towards this set-up," he explains. "We were an education authority but we decided we should be looking at all aspects of children's services."

Following six years at Stirling, and after advising the then Department for Education and Skills on introducing directors of children's services more widely, Jeyes was headhunted by Cambridgeshire County Council.

Even now, he adds, the challenges of the job are what make it so exciting to work in children's services.

Jeyes believes that this year marks the end of "the first phase of the development of children's services".

Full circle

"I think we've come full circle on Every Child Matters for two reasons," he explains, "One is the response to Laming. We've evaluated the progress we've made in local authorities and committed ourselves to doing more. The other reason is budgets. I could have up to 35 per cent less budget over the next five years. I don't see this as cuts. We've got to reimagine children's services; we've got to look at what has and hasn't worked."

Economic pressures, Jeyes admits, are dominating local authorities' thinking at the moment.

He says that, irrespective of which party forms the next government, services that have been considered "add-ons" until now will need to prove their worth to justify their continuation. "What are we not going to do?" is the big question for children's trusts, Jeyes adds.

Like many in the sector, he is keen to emphasise the importance of using evidence-based services that are proven to deliver outcomes. "It's not something you'll often hear in local government, but we need to increase our productivity," he says.

Boost efficiency

One way to boost efficiency, he claims, is to use services to put more emphasis on personal responsibility, with the onus on communities to solve problems at local level. This is something he believes will be a priority whichever party wins the next general election.

"I think we've oversold the role of the state in the past. Personal responsibility means greater engagement with communities," he explains. "People need to make decisions about how we keep our children safe and how we make our communities greener. These things can't be solved by central government. England is far too keen to believe that there can be a central solution to everything."

Extended services are one example of how initiatives that focus on local needs can be hugely successful, he claims. "I think we'll be engaging with communities and schools much more radically over the next 10 years," Jeyes says.

Measures outlined in the 21st Century Schools white paper, such as the wider introduction of co-located services, are vital to building up local support networks for families. He says: "We've got to provide those services now to stop children falling into the river, so that social workers won't have to dive in and save them later down the line."

CV: Jeyes' career with young people

- Gordon Jeyes began a career in teaching at Smithycroft Secondary School in Glasgow in 1974 and became assistant head teacher at Mearns Castle High School nine years later

- He was appointed director of education services for Stirling Council in Scotland in 1995

- Four years later he took on additional duties for children's social work at the council and became Britain's first director of children's services

- During this time he was general secretary of the Association of Directors of Education Scotland

- In 2005, Jeyes moved to Cambridgeshire County Council, where he is currently director of children's services and deputy chief executive