New children’s services director joins city council
NEW BOSS JOINS AFTER DAMNING REPORT
THE city council has appointed a new director to oversee its under-pressure children’s services.
Pauline Turner will take over at the end of the year from interim director Nikki Clemo, who was drafted in eight months ago after a highly-critical Ofsted inspection report.
The report said services for vulnerable youngsters in Hull had deteriorated since a previous visit nine months earlier when they were rated as inadequate.
Inspectors also identified some children being cared for by the council as being at immediate risk of harm.
The report led to council leaders issuing unprecedented apologies as well as the departure of service director Alison Murphy who was replaced by Mrs Clemo.
Since then, the council has agreed to spend nearly £500,000 on retraining social workers.
However, the impact of the coronavirus lockdown has made the job of turning around the situation even more difficult.
Last month Mrs Clemo revealed the number of Hull children in care had topped the 900 mark for the first time.
She said 40 youngsters had been taken into care by the council since March.
The increase was attributed to a backlog in care orders being discharged through the courts and a rise in domestic abuse cases during lockdown.
In addition, normal assessment and referral work by social workers has also been disrupted by issues around access to peoples’ homes and social-distancing.
A current Ofsted inspector, Ms Turner will move to Hull from her current position as director of operations at Sandwell Children’s Trust.
She said: “I am looking forward to taking up this position in Hull, to continue driving the city-wide commitment to improving the services for children.
“I am extremely passionate about making a difference for children, young people and their families and developing high-quality services.
“I look forward to getting to know staff and working with our partners to collectively deliver high-quality services and improve outcomes for Hull’s children and families.
“Having previously worked in Sheffield and Doncaster, and having family links within Hull, I am also looking forward to working back in Yorkshire.”
City council chief executive Matt Jukes said: “Pauline is very experienced and has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in improving and delivering high -quality children’s services.
“As a city, over a very difficult period, we have made good progress with our improvement plan for children’s services, and Pauline will now ensure our progress is sustained over the long-term. I warmly welcome Pauline and look forward to working with her.”
City council leader Councillor Steve Brady said: “I am delighted to welcome Pauline to the council.
“She has an impressive track record of leading continuous improvement in children’s services and will be a great asset as we continue the transformation of children’s services across the city.”