I’m writing this as we head into the long bank holiday weekend, where I’m reliably informed, we should expect some sunshine, which I’m pleased about, as I can spend time in the garden, where the spring flowers are now in full bloom, and prepare the ground for the summer flowers that are on the way. This always feels like a good use of my time, despite what feels like an endless list of tasks and jobs which need to be completed, (and the long weekend seems to encourage me to add to it!).

However, before I feel ready to embark on gardening, baking for the Easter weekend and preparing more blocks for the quilt I am making, (there is something quite satisfying in cutting up beautiful fabric to stich it back together again into a different shape), I’m considering the never-ending list of work related tasks I need to complete before the lure of the four-day weekend.

As I was rushing between meetings, I caught sight of a senior colleague in our IT department, who had offered a year 10 student from one of our local schools some work experience. I stopped to ask our student how things were going and heard this was his last session and that he had loved his time with the council in the IT department and in the end of placement report gave my colleague 10 out of 10; I could not tell who was more pleased, our student or my colleague!

I reflected that my colleague, despite being busy in his daily work, prioritised the time to allow our student to shadow him to help him to decide if the world of IT was one he wanted to be part of for his future. What a great use of everyone’s time and a great outcome.

The role of DCS is such a privilege but is definitely one which requires careful time management. I was recalling this week, my time on the Aspirant DCS course, run by the Staff College, which I attended seven years ago. I still reflect on how beneficial it was for me in my current role but also for any senior leadership role in children’s services. The contribution and insights from long standing, experienced leaders were beneficial, and amongst all of the things shared with us, they continuously talked about managing time to balance the competing daily demands. I listened eagerly to their experiences and apply this to my daily work and within our Eastern region meetings, I still listen intently to my DCS peers, keen to hear tips as to how they manage their time in order to get ahead of the many competing demands which face us all.

My reflection is how much our world continuously changes in children’s services and along with it, our roles as leaders. However, the basics remain the same, take time and care to build relationships with those who you support and work alongside. For me, these relationships help me everyday, and fundamentally help me to manage my time. I hope you all found time to enjoy the long weekend and returned to work refreshed and ready to embrace the next change.