10.05.17
Wokingham boss to oversee new Birmingham Children’s Trust
The newly formed Birmingham Children’s Trust has appointed Andy Couldrick as its first CEO to head up services in the city.
It follows news last year that responsibilities for children’s care services will be handed to the voluntary trust after years of poor Ofsted inspections. The trust is expected to be fully set up by April 2018.
Couldrick brings with him experience as head of children’s social care at Oxfordshire CC as well as at Wokingham Borough Council, where he worked as director of children’s services before he was promoted to CEO of the authority.
It is hoped that the new CEO will turn around the fortunes of children’s services in Birmingham, as PSE reported in July last year that standards were still inadequate even after the organisational reform.
“I am delighted to become the first chief executive of Birmingham Children’s Trust,” said Couldrick. “This is a great opportunity to build on and to support the fantastic work being done every day by social workers and our partners in the city, supporting and safeguarding our most vulnerable children.
“Birmingham is a young, diverse and exciting place and I am delighted to have the chance to work with colleagues in this new Trust, focused exclusively on improving outcomes for children, young people and families.”
The new CEO added that his own experience as a social worker meant he understood how challenging and rewarding the work of children’s service staff was and the opportunity it offered to change people’s lives.
“Anything I and the new Trust can do, to make these challenges easier, to help improve how we work together, and to keep hold of the strong relationship with the City Council, will be a pleasure as well as a privilege,” he concluded.
As CEO, Couldrick will take on the strategic and operational responsibility for the Trust’s staff, services, budget, and for the development and execution of its vision and delivery plan.
Andrew Christie, chair of the Birmingham Children’s Trust, said: “I am delighted Andy has taken up our offer of the role to become our first chief executive.
“It’s crucial the new Trust gets off to a flying start with strong and experienced leadership. Andy will bring the experience, insight and know-how that we need to ensure we achieve the best possible outcomes for the city’s young people and families.
“Now we have our senior leadership in place, we can move forward with the other appointments and tasks that need to be completed so the trust can become operational as planned.”
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