Senior Leaders

In the Children’s Social Care National Framework (Department for Education) the term ‘senior leaders’ refers to the range of roles and individuals that set the vision and strategy for children’s social care and are responsible for designing and delivering services that address the needs of children and young people. The exact roles or titles will vary by local authority, but in general, ‘senior leaders’ refers to local political leaders, typically the lead member for children’s services, who are responsible for setting vision and are democratically accountable, as well as leaders including chief executives, directors of children’s services, assistant directors of children’s services, heads of services and virtual school heads. These individuals will hold important, and sometimes statutory, responsibilities for working with other agencies to develop a shared vision for how services should work.