Calls for urgent action to increase inclusivity within children's services

The Staff College, the professional development arm of the ADCS, has published a new report aimed at helping white leaders across the public sector "become and stay an inclusive, culturally competent leader in a fairer workplace".

In response, the ADCS has said that although local authorities are working hard to recruit workforces that represents the communities and support all staff to progress to senior and leadership roles if they wish to, there is still "more that we can do".

• Leadership: Inclusive recruitment

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The most recent ADCS publication on the make-up of senior level leaders within children's services, published in April, shows that 80 per cent of directors of children's services identify as white British; five per cent as white Irish; eight per cent as ‘other’ white; one per cent as other; one per cent as black African; one per cent as black Caribbean and three per cent as white and Asian.

The Staff College report - Leading in Colour – the fierce urgency of NOW - offers exisiting leaders insights and learning on understanding and combatting inequality.

It also recognises the context of Black Lives Matter (BLM) and highlights what is known so far about the impact of Covid-19 on existing inequalities experienced by black people.

It shares the voices and views of black staff and provides an overview of multi-dimensional racism on the lived experiences of families and communities and constructively challenges leaders to consider and act on all forms of racism in their workplace and across the communities they support and serve.

ADCS president Charlotte Ramsden said: “This report highlights a lot of valuable and important learning into what we, as leaders, can do better to create and sustain a culture of inclusivity and to challenge ourselves and those around us."

"It highlights clearly the urgency and importance of acting now. Diversity in leadership matters but to improve this we need to attract, and crucially retain, more staff from ethnically diverse backgrounds. It is also important for children and young people to see that they too can aspire to a career in children’s services by seeing themselves reflected in the professionals who have such an important impact on their lives. We must therefore do all we can to not only encourage diversity within our workforce but also to create a culture that allows everyone to reach their full potential.

“Local authorities are working hard to recruit a workforce that represents the communities we work with and to support all staff, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity or any disability, to progress to senior and leadership roles if they wish to. However, clearly there is more that we can do, and this remains a priority for the association.”