Every year the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) publishes a report detailing the movement and length of stay of directors of children’s services. (DCSs). The latest report displays a fairly typical picture and shows that the average length of service of a DCS, including any moves to other local authorities , is a grand total of four years . That feels like good going when you compare it to the average term for a Premier League manager, which currently stands at 1.8 years. But it does not feel like a long time in terms of the profile and experience needed for the job. Although some DCSs are going on to bigger and grander things it feels like some are leaving at the peak of their career.

As the Department for Education (DfE) are out to consult on a future procurement exercise which aims to deliver an ambitious leadership offer to current and future DCS it feels like a good time to take stock and ask – why do DCSs stay in the sector for so little time and is there anything we can do to stem this?