Newham Council has announced the appointment of Emma Cockerell as the new permanent Director of Operations and Safeguarding for Children’s Services.
The decision to appoint Emma was approved at a recent meeting of the Chief Officer Appointment Sub-Committee, chaired by the Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz. The role covers a portfolio of responsibilities within the Children’s Social Care and Safeguarding Service, including corporate parenting, support for vulnerable and disabled children and young people and safeguarding.
Rokhsana Fiaz, Mayor of Newham said: “Nothing is more important than our young people. When I took office as Mayor in 2018, Newham Council was letting our young people down and was rated inadequate by Ofsted. That why we have massively increased our investment in young people, increasing our youth workers from three to 43 and our Ofsted rating is improving.
Newham’s young people deserve the best staff working for them. Emma has already demonstrated her strong focus and commitment to improving the conditions whereby good social work can thrive, taking a lead on the all the necessary improvements. I look forward to continuing to work with her to deliver better life for our children and young people.”
Emma Cockerell said: “I am delighted to become the new permanent Director of Operations and Safeguarding at Newham Council. There is still much to do on our improvement journey but we are definitely on the right track and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to see through further key developments already in progress. I am fully committed to supporting the council’s ambition that all children grow up safe and well in the borough and fulfil their potential.”
Emma brings more than 26 years experience in social work to the council, gained in a range of roles which span a child’s journey in care, from assessment to permanence. She joined Newham in April 2020 as the Assistant Director for Quality Assurance and took over as Interim Director of Operations and Safeguarding in February 2021.
During her time at Newham, she has successfully delivered social work improvements, recognised in two Ofsted monitoring visits. The most recent visit in September found services for children in care and care leavers are improving. She has introduced a range of measures to improve the services children and young people receive. These include increasing the number of staff directly supporting Newham families and on permanent contracts. She also led the development of a revised and updated Joint Strategic Needs Analysis working with key partners to ensure there is a shared understanding of risks and need for children in the borough.