Council announces departure of Director of Adults, Children and Education services



Issued by City of York Council

City of York Council has today announced that its Director of Adults, Children and Education services will be leaving the organisation in April this year, to become Director of Children and Young People at North Yorkshire County Council.

Pete Dwyer joined the council in 2001 and is widely recognised for his work leading to the authority’s education and children and young people’s services being rated amongst the very best in the country. It is the only authority outside of London to be judged excellent by Ofsted in each of the four years that annual performance assessments were issued for all aspects of children’s services.

The authority has also embarked on a transformation of care for elderly people; replacing the current provision with home-based support and the construction of state-of-the-art homes and a care village with facilities for dementia patients. The plans, which include retail and leisure facilities specifically aimed at older people, meet changing demographics in York and will see a significant increase in quality high dependency care for the city.

Pete said: “My time in York has been the most rewarding of my career and I’ve enjoyed both the opportunities and the challenges which have presented themselves over the past 12 years. I am leaving confident that, whilst there is always more to be done, the service is in excellent shape and in good hands. It’s now time for me to take on new challenges and I will be looking to replicate the partnership approach that is central to York’s success.”

Kersten England, chief executive of City of York Council, said: “Pete has been an invaluable figurehead in the provision of adults, children’s and education services, but also as a key part of my senior management team. His experience and understanding of the city’s requirements in this field and his capacity for delivery has resulted in us having one of the best children and young people’s services in the country and has set us on the journey to a vastly improved provision for elderly people in York. He will be missed and I wish him well.”

Cllr Janet Looker, Cabinet member cabinet member for Education, Children and Young People, said: “Pete has made a fantastic contribution to the city over the past 12 years, particularly to those vulnerable children and young people he has worked to protect. He has made a tangible difference to the work of the council and I know he will be missed by all those who have worked with him, which is testament to his standing in the council.”

Cllr Tracey Simpson-Laing, Cabinet member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services, said: “I would particularly like to thank Pete for his support this last 18 months, as we embarked on the transformation of our city’s elderly persons homes. We are committed to ensuring that we can provide high quality residential care that meets the changing needs of older people in the future and this meant taking some brave decisions in difficult financial circumstances.”

The council also confirmed that it is not immediately seeking to recruit and that internal arrangements will be made for interim cover of the portfolio of Director of Adults, Children and Education services, pending a wider review of senior management responsibilities.



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