ADCS

President

Mr Matt Dunkley
Director of Children's Services
East Sussex County Council
Email

Matt Dunkley has been Director of Children’s Services in East Sussex since August 2005. He is an American Studies graduate from Sussex University. In 1983 he joined the Greater London Council / Inner London Education Authority as a graduate management trainee.

During his career in GLC / ILEA, Matt survived the abolition of both authorities and held a number of managerial roles in Special Education and Schools Branches, as well as a period as a Policy Adviser to the political leadership of ILEA.

In 1990 Matt was appointed as a Senior Education Officer for Pupils & Families with the new education department in London Borough of Greenwich. In 1992 he joined East Sussex County Council as Education Officer (Primary) and held a variety of roles before becoming Assistant Director (Strategy & Resources) in 2003. He became the County’s first Director of Children’s Services in 2005.

Matt was awarded a Harkness Fellowship in Public Policy in 1995-96 when he was a visiting Fellow at University of California at Berkeley, and part of an education ‘think tank’ there. Matt divides his leisure time between watching old punk bands from his youth re-form and following West Ham United, both of which involve a triumph of hope over expectation. He is married with three children, aged 18, 14, and 6.

Matt became ADCS President on 1 April 2011.

Vice President

Ms Debbie Jones
Executive Director Children and Young People's Service
Lambeth Council
Email

Debbie has been Executive Director of Lambeth Council’s Children and Young People’s Service since August 2010 managing the department through extensive changes in the face of severe budget cuts, while still ensuring that children, young people and families get the services they need, delivered to the highest of standards. Debbie is a qualified social worker with an extensive career in children’s services.

With a Masters in Public Sector Management, Debbie has held a variety of senior leadership roles including Corporate Director Children and Learning at Luton Council, Interim Director of Children’s services at Stoke on Trent City Council and Acting Director of Social Care and Health for Durham County Council. For the last three years she has been the elected Chair of the ADCS Resources and Sustainability Committee.

Debbie’s hallmark is her experience in tackling difficult and challenging issues spanning borough, city and county council’s across the country, making improvements to services, facilitating and making partnerships work and taking tough decisions that have improved the services for children, young people and families. Her ambition is to continuously drive up excellence with the needs of children and young people firmly at the centre of services provided and decisions made.

Immediate Past President

Position vacant

Honorary Secretary

Ms Edwina Grant
Director of Children, Families & Learning / Deputy Chief Executive
Central Bedfordshire Council
Email

Edwina is Director of Children, Families & Learning and Deputy Chief Executive for Central Bedfordshire Council. She is an adviser to the Local Government Association and is a Board Member of the National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) and The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).

Previously Edwina was Director of Children's Services in Nottingham City Council and at the London Borough of Redbridge.

Edwina has spent more than 20 years in local government posts with a number of Council’s. Prior to this she was a teacher and special educational needs specialist.

Honorary Treasurer

Mr Peter Lewis
Director of Children's Services
London Borough of Haringey
Email

Peter was appointed as Director of Children's Services in the London Borough of Haringey by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in December 2008.

Prior to the role in Haringey, Peter was one of the first Directors of Children's Services when appointed to Enfield Council in 2003, well before the legal requirement was introduced in April 2004.

Peter initially trained as a teacher, then both taught and worked as a social worker, 3 years of which were in a residential home for teenage boys. He also worked in Stoke/Staffordshire, Avon, Hampshire and then Southampton before moving to Enfield.

Elected Director

Mr John Coughlan
Director of Children's Services & Deputy Chief Executive
Hampshire County Council
Email

---

Elected Director

Dr Sonia Sharp
Executive Director Children & Young People
Sheffield City Council
Email

---

Elected Director

Mr Andrew Webb
Corporate Director, Children and Young People
Stockport Council
Email

---