A 19 Year Old Heading Children and Family Services?

windmill1
Reform councillor Charles Pugsley, 19, has been given charge of Children's and Family Services
Would anyone give a job to someone who has no qualifications to do it? Has this councillor been given a responsibility no one else wants or just been set up to fail? That would be an appalling decision with public money at stake and with such an important post dealing with vulnerable children. Presumably the appointment can be and has been justified in detail by the council.

My cousin qualified as a social worker, and went out with an older colleague. She was full of stories about the state of some homes and children, but also sometimes their own parents who had no idea how to run a home either.
She said she spent more time than she should actually teaching them. She said she had no idea of the problems when she began, even with her training.
Let us hope that he does his research before making any recommendations

Yeah but Bernadette never had any executive responsibility. She was elected as a political statement during the Northern Ireland "Troubles"

spabbygirl

nanna8

A lot of social workers study at university and then straight out into the field working. So you have young people in their early 20 s working in child protection etc who have no families of their own. Should they not be allowed to do this ? Don’t get me wrong, I think there should be a minimum age of at least 25 but it is not the case here at any rate. My daughter was one of them at age 21 and she came across some horrendous cases. She is now 50 and looks back in horror at what was expected then. I still think it doesn’t matter what school they went too, though. Rough city schools don’t make for more empathetic or mature people. Sometimes quite the reverse.

I'm a child protection social worker and that used to happen a lot many years ago, but no longer. Social workers, especially new ones, have supervision & will often work with a family jointly with someone more experienced whilst they learn.
I agree with you that it doesn't matter which school someone went to

For just about any other job, I would agree that it doesn't matter what school you've been to. However, he's responsible for children with special needs and children's services and I seriously wonder how much experience of disadvantaged children he has had. If he'd been older, I would have expected him to have come across a greater variety of families and to have a better understanding of the issues parents and their children face with SEND provision.

I expect people know that the government is proposing to overhaul the SEND system, so strategic changes are going to be needed - no doubt there will be opportunities to "cut costs". Somebody is going to have to speak up for the children and fight their corner - I hope he's going to do that.

Our council here in Leicester isn't in a great position financially and is struggling to provide some vital services. These very young, inexperienced men will be responsible for important services and the budgets that go with them. It doesn't fill me with hope and confidence.

My DD became a Councillor at 23.
He wasn't given any responsibility until he was re-elected the following time.
He commented about this young man, he said will be swamped, it's a poison chalice this is one of the hardest "briefs on the council.

I for one wish him well, after all how well have the previous councillors done? Councils all over the country including my own have made some awful financial and social decisions, if the young man brings enthusiasm and new ideas to the position then good luck to him, can he really do worse than the present shower of rubbish we have in government

nanna8

A lot of social workers study at university and then straight out into the field working. So you have young people in their early 20 s working in child protection etc who have no families of their own. Should they not be allowed to do this ? Don’t get me wrong, I think there should be a minimum age of at least 25 but it is not the case here at any rate. My daughter was one of them at age 21 and she came across some horrendous cases. She is now 50 and looks back in horror at what was expected then. I still think it doesn’t matter what school they went too, though. Rough city schools don’t make for more empathetic or mature people. Sometimes quite the reverse.

I'm a child protection social worker and that used to happen a lot many years ago, but no longer. Social workers, especially new ones, have supervision & will often work with a family jointly with someone more experienced whilst they learn.
I agree with you that it doesn't matter which school someone went to

Allira

growstuff

nanna8

I really don’t think the school he went to has anything whatsoever to do with his level of maturity. I don’t know what sort of situations he has encountered in his life because I don’t know him personally.

I disagree with you, given his specific role, which is about children with SEND and family problems. He is unlikely to have come across children with difficulties during his own childhood.

I'm not sure that not having come across children with such difficulties in one's own childhood is necessary.
I've worked with people (many years ago) who had not, but they had training and experience

I doubt that someone of his age has either.

He needs to gain a real understanding of the needs of these children and their families and not be dismissive of their real problems. He won't be working with them directly anyway so will need the advice of his staff how to allocate the budget to best effect.

I agree that he won't be working with them directly, but he will have pressures on him from above to make budget and service cuts.

nanna8

A lot of social workers study at university and then straight out into the field working. So you have young people in their early 20 s working in child protection etc who have no families of their own. Should they not be allowed to do this ? Don’t get me wrong, I think there should be a minimum age of at least 25 but it is not the case here at any rate. My daughter was one of them at age 21 and she came across some horrendous cases. She is now 50 and looks back in horror at what was expected then. I still think it doesn’t matter what school they went too, though. Rough city schools don’t make for more empathetic or mature people. Sometimes quite the reverse.

No social worker straight from university is employed in a job with strategic responsibility and control of a significant budget. They will also have had work experience at university - at least, trainee social workers here do. Mr Pugsley is still at university, studying computer science, and has had none of this.

I disagree with you about the school background. Anecdotally (admittedly), I went to a highly selective independent school, just as Mr Pugsley did. There was one girl in my class who had dyslexia, but I had never in my life come across anybody with a learning or physical disability or came from a dysfunctional home. It was a huge culture shock and eye opener when I started teaching in a comprehensive school, where, for the first time in my life, I came across children who needed support. However, I wasn't responsible for strategy and the budget.

A lot of social workers study at university and then straight out into the field working. So you have young people in their early 20 s working in child protection etc who have no families of their own. Should they not be allowed to do this ? Don’t get me wrong, I think there should be a minimum age of at least 25 but it is not the case here at any rate. My daughter was one of them at age 21 and she came across some horrendous cases. She is now 50 and looks back in horror at what was expected then. I still think it doesn’t matter what school they went too, though. Rough city schools don’t make for more empathetic or mature people. Sometimes quite the reverse.

growstuff

nanna8

I really don’t think the school he went to has anything whatsoever to do with his level of maturity. I don’t know what sort of situations he has encountered in his life because I don’t know him personally.

I disagree with you, given his specific role, which is about children with SEND and family problems. He is unlikely to have come across children with difficulties during his own childhood.

I'm not sure that not having come across children with such difficulties in one's own childhood is necessary.
I've worked with people (many years ago) who had not, but they had training and experience

I doubt that someone of his age has either.

He needs to gain a real understanding of the needs of these children and their families and not be dismissive of their real problems. He won't be working with them directly anyway so will need the advice of his staff how to allocate the budget to best effect.

TerriBull

19 year old, transwoman Lily Madigan appointed by Corbyn as a Woman's Officer back in 2017, caused a furore at the time not only for the same reason as in this case, too young to have much in the way of life experience, but also in their case hadn't been a woman for very long either

That was stupid of Corbyn, but possibly not surprising. No wonder there was a furore, but at least Corbyn wasn't in government and didn't have actual responsibility for anything.

nanna8

I really don’t think the school he went to has anything whatsoever to do with his level of maturity. I don’t know what sort of situations he has encountered in his life because I don’t know him personally.

I disagree with you, given his specific role, which is about children with SEND and family problems. He is unlikely to have come across children with difficulties during his own childhood.

I really don’t think the school he went to has anything whatsoever to do with his level of maturity. I don’t know what sort of situations he has encountered in his life because I don’t know him personally.

19 year old, transwoman Lily Madigan appointed by Corbyn as a Woman's Officer back in 2017, caused a furore at the time not only for the same reason as in this case, too young to have much in the way of life experience, but also in their case hadn't been a woman for very long either

Kandinsky

Let’s face it - absolutely anything reform do will be viewed negatively on this board, because they’re despised by so many on this site.
They could find a cure for cancer & some on here would still moan about it.

Ha! That's OK! Reform gets plenty of positive PR elsewhere. Some balance is needed.

Freya5

Chocolatelovinggran

Further to my comments on Reform's vetting drawbacks, a local councillor in Cliftonville, Kent, has stood down as he is under investigation by the police.
The allegations include threatening and lewd communications, and plotting to kill his wife.

Does that fall into the same category as Mike Amesbury, Kate Osman, who was elevated by starmer after threatening a reporter, and of course the very infamous Ricky, kill them all, Jones. Who even now has not been fast tracked into prison. All Labour. So guess there are rotten apples everywhere. Wouldn't you agree. Or is it just Reform that you're after.

I believe they were all made to resign. Mr Taylor has been charged, but I don't know when the trial is. If he's found guilty, I trust there will be a by-election.

Kandinsky

If Labour had done this it would be seen as enterprising.

Not by me. It would have been seen as downright irresponsible.

Of course it's the paid officers who are responsible for delivering the services. However, ultimately it's the responsible councillor who is responsible for policy and allocating the budget. Difficult decisions need to be made based on experience and priorities. Leicestershire County Council's spending on SEND and children's services in 2024 was £384,802,540. The council is under pressure to reduce that at a time when demand is rising. It's the councillor's responsibility to decide on policy and where the cuts will be made. Mr Pugsley will be told by his party string-pullers to conform and agree to cuts because they have made it clear that they don't see SEND or children's services as a priority.

If Labour had done this it would be seen as enterprising.

Chocolatelovinggran

Further to my comments on Reform's vetting drawbacks, a local councillor in Cliftonville, Kent, has stood down as he is under investigation by the police.
The allegations include threatening and lewd communications, and plotting to kill his wife.

Does that fall into the same category as Mike Amesbury, Kate Osman, who was elevated by starmer after threatening a reporter, and of course the very infamous Ricky, kill them all, Jones. Who even now has not been fast tracked into prison. All Labour. So guess there are rotten apples everywhere. Wouldn't you agree. Or is it just Reform that you're after.

Let’s face it - absolutely anything reform do will be viewed negatively on this board, because they’re despised by so many on this site.
They could find a cure for cancer & some on here would still moan about it.

Isn’t this more about his age and limited experience rather than which party he represents? I think that’s somewhat irrelevent. As a councillor in charge isn’t he guided by paid officers of the council who do have the knowledge and experience or who should have as it’s their career? Each councillor is usually given a role for overall responsibility for something. If it goes pear shape presumably the chair of Council will do a reshuffle and replace him.

Grandmabatty

I don't think we can ignore the impact of covid and a lockdown on vulnerable children either. That should be taken into account.
I've known many wise and sensible 19 year olds, however I've also known many unwise and not sensible ones too. I hope he has good advisors and listens to them.

The increases in SEND numbers started before lockdown.