Gloucestershire is a thriving county which is highly accessible and a special place to live and work, and we are committed to investing in its future. This means placing children at the heart of everything we do. What we achieve today in making Gloucestershire a place where children and young people can thrive, develop and reach their potential will shape and influence our communities for generations to come. That’s why we want to make Gloucestershire a great place for children to grow up and lead remarkable lives. We recognise that the council has an important part to play in making this happen but equally, we must make sure that individuals, families, communities, businesses and other partners all work together to help us achieve our vision.

We have achieved a lot since our last Ofsted inspection in 2017 but we are still on an improvement journey. We are making progress in improving the quality of our Children’s Services but we know we have further to go to make sure that all children and young people get the quality of support that they need and deserve. That is where you come in.

The story so far...

I want to begin by stating that we are looking to fill this vital role at a very important time for us. Our children’s services team is on an important journey of change and improvement, and whilst there is more to be done, we are building on significant investment and clear signs of improvement. We have faced some real challenges, but in the last two years we have achieved a huge amount and I am confident that when Ofsted visit us for our first full inspection since 2017, they will see a much improved service. In fact, during the most recent visit in October 2020 Ofsted noted that “Since February, partly as a result of improvement action taken earlier by senior leaders finally coming to fruition, there has been a change of tempo... much of it is now more purposeful, more rigorous, more child-focused and more clearly sighted on impact and effectiveness…”

COVID-19 has meant that we don’t yet know when a full inspection is likely to be, but we continue to work hard keeping our county’s children and young people safe, whilst responding to the unique challenges that the coronavirus has placed upon us.

In the meantime we are in the process of modernising our services through an ambitious transformation programme, so this role will provide you with an exciting opportunity to grow and establish your own team and shape the service for the future. Beyond that, the recently strengthened and energised children’s services leadership team is ambitious for our children and young people, and I believe that this role will provide you with the scope to help continue to shape children’s services across all functions and could provide a stepping stone to future career development.

I know that lasting improvement will only be sustained by ensuring that we have the most talented and enthusiastic leaders across children’s services including our Director of Children’s Safeguarding and Care. Our young people deserve nothing less than the very best so if you are that person we would be delighted to meet you.

What do we need?

As a key member of the senior leadership team in children’s services you will be working within a whole system approach to improving outcomes for children, young people and their families across the full range of services.

I am looking for an experienced, passionate and strategic leader who really understands the complex and dynamic landscape within which we are working right now. I want an ambitious and talented individual who knows what good looks like, who understands how to bring their team on a journey of improvement and who can motivate and inspire from the front.

You will understand the importance of nurturing and developing relationships with our many key partners including district councils, the police, the health sector and wider volunteer community, but most importantly, with our schools and colleges across the region. Our relationships are already strong but we want to build even further on these foundations to help us achieve our vision.

Why should you join us?

Overall we are a high performing Council, with well-managed resources and finances and strong political support. We have invested heavily in Children’s Services (£41M over the last 3 years alone) and will continue to do so to sustain the momentum of improvement. Our senior leadership team is energised and committed, and change is underway. Our interest is in sustainable change rather than quick fixes and our imminent re-inspection is a point in time on the journey to “good”.

We offer very good ongoing professional programmes of training and development, from the front line right through to leadership programmes. Our Social Work Academy is a professional development centre for social workers at all levels, from students and newly qualified social workers to heads of service. It aims to embed a 'Gloucestershire Approach' to social work practice, leadership and management and underpins consistency in practice across Gloucestershire children’s services.

You will find that you are well-supported in your decision making, backed up and welcomed by an experienced, respectful and hard working team. It’s a great time to join us and help us achieve our ambition: “to give every child the best possible chance of a remarkable life, especially those children who are disadvantaged and vulnerable.” We have ambitious improvement and transformation plans to create the optimum conditions within which our staff can make a real difference and improve outcomes for children.

To sum up, we are looking for a leader who can:

• evidence real authority within the children’s services sector with the ability to inspire and lead by example
• introduce and embrace modern ideas, instigating real and sustainable change
• be outwardly focussed, skilled at building external relationships with our partners
• be excited at the prospect of helping to shape the whole of children’s services in Gloucestershire
• help place the needs of our children’s services right at the forefront of partnership working
• articulate the strong moral purpose that drives you to achieve for children, families and communities

If you are interested in joining us and are inspired to help lead the next phase of our journey, I look forward to receiving your application. In the meantime, following an initial conversation with our recruitment partner, The Resourcing Solution, I would welcome an informal discussion about your interest in this opportunity.

Chris Spencer, Executive Director of Children’s Services, Gloucestershire County Council