New director of Herefordshire children's services announced

Ofsted say the services still require improvement following a recent monitoring inspection

Author: Ben CartwrightPublished 3rd Apr 2024
Last updated 15th Apr 2024

Herefordshire Council has appointed a Corporate Director of Children and Young People.

Tina Russell will join the council on 1 July 2024 on a fixed term contract until the end of March 2025, and will be responsible for driving forward the Children’s Services Improvement Programme at an increased pace.

It's after the former Director of Children's services, Darryl Freeman, left with immediate effect the same day an Ofsted inspection found the council's services to still be inadequate.

Paul Walker, Herefordshire Council’s Chief Executive, said:

“I’m pleased to confirm that we have appointed Tina Russell as the Corporate Director of Children and Young People.

“Tina is an experienced Director of Children’s Services and is currently the Chief Executive of Worcestershire Children First. She has extensive experience in both front line and leadership roles across a broad range of children’s services. Her experience in delivering quality children’s services within a safeguarding partnership has been instrumental in taking Worcestershire from an Ofsted rating of Inadequate to Good.

“I’m confident that Tina’s wealth of experience as a Director of Children’s Services and strong track record of leading improvement will enable us to achieve our ambition of delivering the best possible social care services to our children and families in Herefordshire.”

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