Islington News: Children’s Services | Eleanor Schooling | £110,000 Salary

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Islington Tribune - by ROISIN GADELRAB
Published: 20 February 2009

Children’s services chief Eleanor Schooling

£110,000 salary for first child protection boss

ISLINGTON’S first director of child protection is in line for a £110,000 salary.
The Town Hall maintains the post is the first of its kind in England, although the incoming director of children’s services, Eleanor Schooling, has admitted it in effect amounts to a change of name.
The existing assistant director of children’s social care, David Warlock, is leaving in April and his job will be renamed director of child protection.
The advertised post offers a salary of up to £110,000 plus benefits and boasts that “being the first council to advertise for a director, child protection, demonstrates the huge importance we place on safeguarding children in Islington”.
The job description is for “a gifted leader who is committed to the protection of our children and has the drive and vision to help us build a better future”.
Ms Schooling insisted the new role was not a knee-jerk reaction to the public outcry following the death of Baby P in neighbouring Haringey.
She said: “Everybody across the country has reviewed things following the Baby P investigation but that hasn’t particularly affected this job. All these things coincidentally happened at the same time. David Warlock decided he wanted to move on and that happened just
after the Baby P investigation.”
Ms Schooling said the new title would emphasise the key role that child protection had. “The previous job title means something to professionals but not to the outside world – child protection does,” she added. The £110,000 salary was similar to that offered for the previous post.
Chairman of the council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny committee Labour councillor Paul Convery said: “This seems to be partly tied up with the strange arrangements of bringing Eleanor Schooling – an educational specialist – in to replace the director of children’s services. Symbolically, this is about beefing up the next tier down.
“Particularly in the present circumstances, people are apprehensive about safety and security. This appointment is very important. The things that are going right in Islington are led from the top. Whether you get that by offering an astonishing amount of money, I’m not sure. People who are that good don’t do it for the money.”
Ms Schooling has been seconded from Cambridge Education, the private company which runs the borough’s schools, to take over the role of director of children’s services from April.

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: