Dorset's director of children's services resigns after just 11 months in role
Fiona Simpson
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
The director of children's services at Dorset Council has resigned after less than a year in the role.
Sarah Parker will leave her role as the council’s first director of people – children at the end of the month.
Parker took on the position in late January before Dorset County Council split into two new local authorities.
In March, Dorset Council replaced the former county council, the Purbeck, East Dorset, West Dorset and North Dorset district councils, and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, while Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole councils joined together to form the second new authority.
A statement released by Dorset Council said Parker had quit “in order to carry out other work outside of Dorset”. A spokesman later confirmed that Parker had "decided not to relocate permanently to Dorset and this is why she has resigned".
She said: “It’s been a privilege to work with the fantastic children, young people and families of Dorset. I wish them and colleagues at Dorset Council all the very best for the future.”
Theresa Leavy, who has previously led child services in Cambridgeshire and Wiltshire will take up the role temporarily, the council said.
Leavy has also worked for Ofsted and is currently working on Dorset Council’s new child services transformation programme "Blueprint for Change".
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“We’ve worked really hard to create an ambitious vision for children’s services and I have complete faith in Theresa taking this forward. I’ll know she’ll lead this work with great passion and make sure the needs of children are put first,” Parker added.
Parker’s resignation comes just two months after a focused visit by Ofsted to Dorset child services in early October.
Children's services in Dorset was rated as "requires improvement" during an inspection in February 2016.
It has since been subject to joint authority child protection and SEND inspections.
In the latest SEND inspection in February 2019 - before the local authority restructure - Ofsted reported “significant areas of weakness”. The report notes complaints from parents over delays when awaiting medical treatment and lack of confidence “in leaders in the local area to provide the support and services for their children and young people”.
It mentions “weaknesses in the monitoring and quality assurance procedures”. It adds that changes had been implemented but says “work remains at an early stage of implementation and development”.
During the focused visit in October, inspectors said that “changes in the senior leadership team and local government reorganisation have significantly impacted on the pace of improvement in children’s services”.
The report says “children are now benefiting from much better help and protection” but notes inconsistencies in areas such as key decision making, the quality of assessments and frequency of social worker visits to children.
It reads: “The variability in key practice areas, such as assessment and planning, aligned with some inconsistency in the application of threshold at key decision-making points, means that not all children receive a consistently good service.”
Council chief executive Matt Prosser said: “Sarah has made a huge impact on the new Dorset Council. She has brought an incredible amount of passion and energy, and is dedicated to achieving the best outcomes for children and young people. Although she’s leaving Dorset, we are committed to delivering her legacy and putting children at the centre of our decision making. This remains a priority for Dorset Council.
“Theresa Leavy has a great track record in leading children’s services during times of change, including in Wiltshire – which has gone through the process of becoming a unitary council. She has played a key role in our Blueprint for Change programme and I’m grateful that she’s able to take on this leadership role while we agree the best way forward.”