New role created to replace children’s services commissioner in Northamptonshire

A new role has been created to replace the children’s services commissioner in Northamptonshire - a role that was introduced in 2018 when the service was in despair.

The Minister for Children and Families, Will Quince, has now appointed Jenny Coles MBE to the post of Independent Improvement Board chair, which will report on progress and report to government.

Starting at the end of January, the role will replace that of children’s services commissioner, which was introduced in the county in November 2018.

The commissioner post has been held by Andrew Christie since October 2019.

The children's trust - an independent body - was created in 2020, after a number of damning Ofsted reports on how the children’s services was being run at the now defunct Northamptonshire County Council.

The authority was also heavily criticised in two serious case reviews into the murders of two Northamptonshire children.

Last year, Andrew advised Minister Quince that ‘sufficient progress’ had been demonstrated by Northamptonshire children’s trust that the role of commissioner was no longer required, hence the new role.

Councillor Fiona Baker, executive member for Children, Families, Education and Skills, West Northamptonshire Council, said: “Children’s services have continued to grow from strength to strength and it is a real sign of progress that the government felt that a Commissioner was no longer required to oversee the improvements.

“I would like to thank Andrew Christie for all of his hard work and commitment.

“Andrew’s knowledge, oversight and his steady pair of hands has helped children’s services make improvements and we will continue to work with Jenny Coles MBE to build positively on our improvement journey.

“Jenny brings with her a wealth of experience and expertise and I am looking forward to working with her in her role as chair on the new independent improvement board so that we’re in the best position possible to give our children and young people the best life chances.”

The Labour Group also recognises improvements made, but says there is a long way to go and highlighted education disparity as a main concern.

Councillor Emma Roberts, deputy leader of the West Northamptonshire Council Labour Group, said: “We welcome the improvements in services presented by the children’s trust and other areas.

“There has been a marked improvement in service delivery and operations, but there is still time before we can judge whether this is translating into improved outcomes.

“We still have a long way to go in improving children's services in Northamptonshire and I would like to thank dedicated frontline staff who have helped this journey so far.

“One of our main concerns is a continuation of the disparity that exists in education across the area.

“Particularly in Primary Education where local authority-controlled schools, which mostly reside in South Northants and Daventry, outperform their academy run counterparts in Northampton.

“When we get to secondary education, where there are no local authority run schools, those fortunes reverse with secondary schools in South Northants requiring the most improvement.

“I have asked the Interim director of children's services to provide us with more analysis on the progress of schools which have undergone enforced academisations, to see how long they have had to demonstrate improvements.

“SEND provision is still nowhere near where it needs to be, and the cuts that have been made to the schools budget, particularly for early years providers, is a huge worry.

“We hope that the trust will continue to make improvements, particularly in education. Otherwise, the hard work done thus far will not translate into tangible results.”

Cllr Roberts also thanked Andrew Christie and all the trust's staff for their work and welcomed Jenny Coles into her role.