Qualifications and Training Guide: Directors
Charlotte Goddard
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Leadership roles in children's services are becoming more wide-ranging with those in senior positions increasingly finding themselves responsible for services outside their historical area of expertise. As integrated delivery becomes more established, there is increasing fluidity between the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Many of the challenges public sector leaders face test their ability to manage dilemmas, in which there may be no single "best way" to proceed, says Roger Bushell, principal associate at The Staff College, one of the main sources of training for children's services leaders. "The challenge is to find ways of working successfully in a difficult and unpredictable space where you may be alone but can't operate in isolation; you may have to take risks, but your first concern must be for the welfare of others; you may want to think systemically, but must act quickly and decisively," he explains.
The Leadership for Change programme - a collaboration between the Staff College, Skills for Care, the NHS Leadership Academy, Public Health England and the Leadership Centre for Local Government - aims to tackle this challenge. It is open to those at director or assistant director level from children's services, adult social care, public health and the NHS, and sees small teams of senior professionals from each council work on solutions to long-standing challenges in their area.
The Staff College expects to open recruitment to its Aspirant Directors of Children's Services Programme later this year. This new programme for senior leaders who aspire to a director-level role in children's services in England brings together learning from Staff College senior leadership programmes and NHS Horizons' experience and expertise in supporting and delivering large-scale change.
The college manages the sector mentoring scheme on behalf of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, as well as an executive coaching scheme for directors of children's services and assistant directors. Its annual Leadership Academy Programme, now in its 10th year, gives senior leaders and managers the opportunity to share practice and reflect on pressing issues.
A digital learning portal allows directors of children's services and those nominated by them to take part in discussion forums and contribute to the development of think pieces and factsheets. The Staff College also works with individual councils and across regional partnerships to design and deliver bespoke programmes in areas including social care, safeguarding, school improvement, and health and wellbeing.
The Local Government Association (LGA) runs the Leadership Essentials Children's Services programme, a residential course providing an intensive introduction to the role of lead member for children's services. Sessions focus on political leadership; the statutory role and key relationships; and leadership of the education agenda.
The LGA also offers mentoring and coaching opportunities such as mentoring for an existing children's lead member over a defined period, or support for a newly appointed lead member. Bespoke learning and development support offers have been developed for individual councils and councillors.
The LGA provides a range of children's services peer reviews and diagnostics. LGA principal advisers for each region, working alongside their children's improvement advisers, determine those authorities in their region that qualify for funded support either on a part-subsidised or fully subsidised basis.
Read more from CYP Now's Children's Workforce Guide to Qualifications and Training
