Ofsted appoints interim social care chief
Neil Puffett
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Islington Council's director of children's services (DCS) has been appointed to take over as Ofsted's national director of social care on an interim basis, it has been announced.
Ofsted said Eleanor Schooling, who has led Islington’s children’s services since March 2009, will join the organisation on secondment in September for a four-month period prior to retiring at Christmas.
Ofsted’s chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw said: “We look forward to welcoming Eleanor to Ofsted as interim director of social care.
“She has a wealth of experience working as a highly regarded director of children’s services which will be of huge benefit to Ofsted and the social care services we inspect.”
Schooling said: “I want inspection to be good for children and I look forward to working with Ofsted on that aspect of the role.”
Schooling’s appointment follows two high-profile departures at Ofsted in recent months.
In April CYP Now revealed that Ofsted’s director of social care Debbie Jones had resigned her post little more than 18 months after joining Ofsted in September 2013.
Then last month it was announced that Jones's replacement, Kath O'Dwyer, who had been filling the position on an interim basis, was leaving the organisation to become director of children's services and deputy chief executive at Cheshire East Council.
Islington Council, which is currently rated as “good” by Ofsted for its safeguarding services following its most recent inspection in 2012, has said it will now begin recruitment for a new DCS.
