A Fairer, Better, Greener Swindon

I am delighted you are interested in coming to Swindon.  As Corporate Director of People I lead a broad range of services for our residents, including Children’s Social Care, Youth Justice and Early Help, alongside Adult Social Care.  This role within my leadership team will, together with colleagues, from across the council, deliver our plan to build a Fairer, Better, and Greener Swindon for Children and Families. These three priorities will underpin our work, driving everything we do, and you can find out more about them on this site.

At Swindon, we have the ambition not only to be one of the best local authorities but also to be one of the most modern and forward-thinking. Swindon is a thriving town, consistently ranked highly compared to cities across the country, and we want to make it the best place we can for our residents. We have taken huge strides towards our goals, being shortlisted by both the MJ and the LGC as most improved Council 2025.  We are forging ahead with our Swindon 2028 programme to transform how we deliver services, better resident outcomes and value for money between now and 2028.  At the heart of this programme is our preventative model, which you will hear much more about as this process unfolds.

In July 2023, Ofsted rated our Children’s Services as Inadequate, highlighting concerns around consistency of practice, placement sufficiency, and the stability of relationships for children and young people. While this was a difficult moment, it also marked the beginning of a determined and transparent improvement journey - one that we are fully committed to.

Our two-year Ofsted Improvement Plan, launched in November 2023, is built around four key pillars: Practice, People, Place, and Process. These focus on improving the quality of frontline practice, stabilising and developing our workforce, increasing local placement options, and strengthening our data and management systems.

We’ve already taken bold steps:

• Redesigning our front door through the creation of “Contact Swindon” to ensure timely and appropriate responses to children and families.

• Investing in workforce stability, with a renewed focus on recruiting and retaining experienced, permanent social workers and managers.

• Expanding placement sufficiency, including efforts to recruit more local foster carers and plans to open new children’s homes.

• Strengthening governance, with an independently chaired Improvement Board and robust oversight from elected members and national partners.

Ofsted’s recent monitoring visits have acknowledged our “steady and positive” progress, particularly in embedding the family safeguarding model and improving management oversight. However, we are under no illusions there is still much to do. We need strong, visionary leadership to help us accelerate change, embed good practice, and ensure that every child in Swindon receives the support they deserve.

Amidst this journey, we are proud to highlight areas of excellence. Our Youth Justice Service has been rated Outstanding, a testament to the dedication, innovation, and impact of our teams working with some of the most vulnerable young people. This service exemplifies what we are capable of achieving and serves as a model of best practice across the region.

Looking ahead, we are committed to working alongside our Prevention and Communities service area, which includes Education and SEND, to enhance our early help and prevention offer. This collaboration is central to delivering on the ambitions of the Families First for Children reforms, the Best Start in Life programme, and the NHS Long Term Plan. Together, with partners and communities we are developing a more integrated, place-based approach to neighbourhood working, ensuring that families receive the right support at the right time, as close to home as possible.

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of Children’s Services in Swindon. You will be joining a council that is ambitious, collaborative, and deeply committed to improving outcomes for children and families.

Swindon Borough Council has always had a good reputation as an employer.  We care about our workforce, and we want to do everything we can to help them succeed and achieve their ambitions.  We are determined that our Council should reflect our town’s increasing diversity, particularly in leadership roles, so that we are even better placed to ensure that no one is left behind. 

We are working together to build a Council that helps every young person reach their potential.  We want to enable Swindon to punch above its weight as a UK town, as a place to live, for investment, and as a great place to work.  We have also reaffirmed our ambitions for net zero, becoming a beacon for green industries and powering up our economy. 

Our Chief Executive is committed to building an organisation culture that is supportive, challenging, outward-looking, progressive and creative.  Our political leadership is ambitious for our Borough, passionate about our towns and communities, and supportive of our workforce’s endeavours, talents and expertise.  This is the most exciting time to come to Swindon, you will never have a better opportunity to help build a Fairer, Better, Greener Swindon for our children and families.

Kind regards,

Clare Deards

Corporate Director of People