Medway Council hires children and adults services trouble-shooter

Medway Council has appointed a highly experienced trouble-shooter as its new director of children and adults services – replacing the out-going Rose Collinson.

Barbara Peacock has a track record of turning around under-performing children’s department and she enters a council keen to see swift improvements.

Ms Collinson confirmed earlier this year she was going to quit her role – leaving her desk on July 31.

At the time, the decision piled the pressure on to the shoulders of Les Wicks, the cabinet member for eduction, to step down after a host of problems including high profile problems over the staging of last year’s Medway Test and disappointing Ofsted reports on the area’s primary schools.

These are just some of the challenges which face Barbara Peacock as she steps into her new role.

She will lead the council’s services responsible for schools, adoption and fostering, children’s social care, special education needs, youth services, working with the voluntary sector, adult social care and physical and learning disabilities.

She will be joining from Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, based in the West Midlands.

There, she has worked as the authority’s corporate director – people, since 2010 and was responsible for the children’s and adults’ departments, as well as leisure and culture.

Notable successes include the rapid turnaround of the council’s children’s services department, which had received an inadequate rating from Ofsted prior to her joining.

Under her leadership, the service saw great improvement and was lifted from this rating in less than two years.

Other notable achievements include Sandwell’s primary schools seeing their Key Stage 2 results become the fourth most improved in England as well as the successful transfer of the council’s adult residential care homes to a local social enterprise.

Prior to her role at Sandwell, Mrs Peacock worked in Croydon – as the second in charge of the council’s children services department – and at Action for Children, the UK’s largest children’s charity.

Of her new role at Medway Council, she said: “Medway is a fantastically vibrant area with a large population that is continuing to grow.

“I am looking forward to taking up the challenge of building upon the successes of Medway’s children’s and adult’s services and leading the strong teams the council has in place who provide such important and necessary work for the whole of the local community.”

Neil Davies, chief executive of Medway Council, added: “Barbara is joining us with an impeccable pedigree.

“I am confident her impressive career record working across large councils and major charities will ensure she has the strong leadership skills needed to oversee and drive forward the important and vital work of the children’s and adult services department.”

The mother-of-three, who lives in south east London, will take over the job in September.