New ADCS president: this is the year to ‘reset the ambition for children’

Charlotte Ramsden, the incoming Association of Directors of Children’s Services president in the UK says this year „feels like the year to reset the ambition for children and young people”.

Spending a year at home without school presence and missing their friends and loved ones, children had to combat deepening mental health problems, poverty and domestic abuse.

During the year of Covid, children became resilient and they are bouncing back.

It is needed to focus on enabling the children to use their opportunities, besides that not to lose focus on the poorest and the most vulnerable. A long-term strategy is needed, funding for children’s services ending the „short-termist” approach which was criticised by ADCS due to stifling councils’ ability to plan for the future.

The government says the children’s social care review cannot assume extra funding for recommendations. Review lead Josh MacAlister and Department for Education says additional resource will need to be paid. Ramsden says „...there’s no point in making recommendations without then also making sure that we have a sustainable approach to resources.”

Ramsden started her career as a social worker in Salford, later became the director of children’s and families services (DCS) in 2014. In a year she added also the role of adults’ services to her director position. She worked for supporting the development of services for children and young people across Greater Manchester, last year she received the Order of the British Empire.

As the pandemic affected also social work, Ramsden predicts a new normal, including face-to-face and virtual practice. As an unexpected bonus of the last year, travel time and cost were reduced, the online presence made discussions quicker.