Cllr George Duggins and Dr Julie Nugent

Cllr George Duggins, Leader, Coventry City Council 

Dr Julie Nugent, Chief Executive, Coventry City Council

Coventry, the City Council and its Children’s Services are changing and celebrating massive improvements.

In recent years we have taken great strides, and we haven’t stopped yet.

We have been the UK City of Culture, a host city for the Commonwealth Games, and a venue for major events such as Radio 1’s Big Weekend and the MOBOs.

We have transformed our city centre, with more major change on the way, and as the home of the UK’s motor industry we are at the forefront of new autonomous, green and electronic technology.

At the same time, the Council has embraced flexible and agile working, we have adopted new  technologies to support colleagues and residents, and we are champions of diversity and equality as we build an organisation that truly represents the amazing youthful, multicultural city it serves.

We are working with our many varied communities to create a new vision for Coventry, working with our partners, organisations, charities and residents to develop our One Coventry Plan and find new ways to deliver services when and how people need them.

That partnership working and desire to change and innovate has seen major improvements and successes in our Children’s Services.

Recently, we received a rating of ‘good’ following an Ofsted inspection. That was the result of a five-year journey of change after a previous inspection revealed we ‘required improvement’.

The inspection found we had improved in all areas. It was a major achievement, but just the next step on that journey of change.

And that has not been our only success, as our Youth Justice Service was last year awarded an ‘outstanding’ grade by HMI Probation. The team’s work was described as “committed and passionate”, with the dedication to children ‘clear to see’.

Our work with care leavers also made headlines last year, when Channel 4 was given unprecedented access to film the stories of teenagers and their families in the care system – and those who support them.

The series won widespread acclaim and we are so proud of the way our colleagues and the young people and families we help were able to show the hard work and care that takes place here every day.

In recent months, we have also launched our Child Friendly Cov campaign to make Coventry a city where children and young people are valued, supported, and enjoy themselves.

We have come a long way in a short time, and now we want to go even further. We want to be ‘outstanding’ in all areas of our work and be an innovative, inspiring role model for other authorities.

We want to work with our partners and residents to make Coventry an even better city – a place where every child has the chance to succeed, where nobody gets left behind, and where everybody has a voice, and that voice is heard.

We are proud of our recent achievements, but there is much more work to do.

That is why we’re looking for the right person to help lead our teams and to make our city an even better place for its children and young people – a city where each child knows they are safe, valued and respected.