The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) today, 21 May, publishes its annual directors of children’s services (DCS) update 2025, which draws on data from the Association’s membership year 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

ADCS has gathered and recorded detailed information about changes in post-holders of the statutory DCS role since the Association was established in 2007. The update is also a record of the number of directors who hold both statutory roles of DCS and director of adult social services, referred to in this report as ‘twin hat’. This report offers some year-on-year comparisons, several of which date back to 2007, to highlight trends and patterns over time and patterns of change. The key headlines are as follows:

• During 2024/25, 39 local authorities (LAs) experienced a change in DCS post-holder, which equates to just over a quarter of all LAs and is 10 fewer than the year before.
• Across these 39 LAs, there were 51 changes in the DCS postholder; due to the statutory nature of the role, there must always be a serving DCS in post, which can result in short-term interim posts prior to a permanent appointment. 
• This year saw 18 new people being appointed on a permanent basis to the role of the DCS for the first time.
• There has been a continued decline in the number of LAs with ‘twin hat’ directors, with 11 such arrangements in place as of 31 March; this is the lowest number since ADCS was formed in 2007 and may reflect the challenges inherent in the two complex remits.

Rachael Wardell, ADCS President, said:

“Consistent and stable leadership is essential to help children’s services navigate what is a complex and changing local government landscape, to deliver for the children and families we serve.

“Improving equality, diversity and inclusion within the Association, and across children’s services, so that we can reflect and respond to the communities we serve is an ongoing priority in my presidential year. This is the third year we have collected data on the broader protected characteristics from our members. While the DCS cohort is still not as diverse as we want it to be, this latest data shows that there was a slight increase in diversity of race/ethnicity amongst DCSs, continuing the upwards trend of the previous year, which is welcome.

“However, there is still more to do in terms of translating our words and commitment to improving diversity, in its widest sense, into actions that our workforce, and our communities, will recognise.

“The role of DCS is both unique and challenging and we need to pay more attention to how we support current DCSs to ensure we retain valuable skills, expertise, and experience within the sector. Creating a more visibly inclusive and diverse workforce, from the frontline right through to senior leaders, remains a key focus for ADCS. This goes hand-in-hand with the need for consistent, stable leadership, during a time of change and reorganisation.

“By working together with others in local government and across the public sector more widely, we can achieve the change we want to deliver, for the benefit of the children and families we work with.”

ENDS