Improving outcomes for children and young people The roles of the Lead Member and Director for Children’s Services Councillors and Trustees Seminar – 2009 Clair Pyper - Strategic Director, Education and Children’s Services, Slough

They’re BIG roles

Lead member Director Providing local political leadership in council and with partners Champion children and young people Clear focus on safeguarding Promoting safety and welfare of children across all agencies Political accountability Clear line of accountability to manage and improve services Champion children and young people Enable all children and young people to achieve their potential Provision of excellent services Bringing together wide range of activities, people and services – the ‘duty to co-operate’

Working together Working on an agreed vision and driving it forward, focus on outcomes for children Developing the Children’s Trust and a framework of accountabilities for the delivery of outcomes Coherent planning – coherent delivery Ensuring that safeguarding and corporate parenting are fully embedded in the work of the local authorities and partner agencies

Don’t get hung up on the rules of the game….. ….because you need to know how you are making a difference to children and young people

Knowing your local area Using research based evidence Understanding community needs Performance monitoring, inspections and comparators and Looking beyond performance indicators to an outcome based approach Focus on outcomes

Support for Lead Members and Directors Regional DCS/Lead Member meetings RiP – Councillors and Trustees, research based evidence I&DeA publications and seminars DCSF publications and website

Questions, comments and ideas How can Lead Members be supported to fulfil their role? How do Lead Members know that the Children’s Trust is delivering against the agreed outcomes for children and young people? What does ‘good’ look like – examples of local practice?