Children, Families and Education

Under the guidance of Managing Director Graham Badman, this directorate provides education and social care services to Kent's children, young people, their families and communities.

The vision for the directorate is:

In Kent's successful communities, achievement exceeds aspiration, diversity is valued and every child and family is supported.

The directorate delivers services to ensure children and young people are:

• nurtured and encouraged at home
• inspired and motivated by school
• safe and secure in the community
• living healthy and fulfilled lives.

We achieve this by:

• ensuring effective day-to-day organisation and operation of school and pre-school provision in line with statutory requirements
• developing and sustaining early education for three and four-year-olds, childcare for children up to 14 years (or up to 16 where a child has a special educational need and/or disability) and children's centres providing education and childcare alongside health and family support services
• improving the quality of education provision so as to raise standards of achievement for all children and young people in Kent's early years settings, schools, networks, special education and pupil referral units
• raising achievement, improving standards and meeting the needs of young people through the further development of dynamic learning communities
• developing strategy, policy and performance measures to secure better outcomes for children, young people and families
• developing ICT provision for the county through the Kent Community Network and rebuilding and refurbishing Kent schools as part of the Building Schools of the Future project
• protecting children from abuse and neglect and supporting children and families in need
• providing, commissioning and purchasing specialist services to support the care of and remove barriers to learning for looked after children and those with a learning difficulty or disability
• a quality workforce achieved through the development of leadership at all levels and effective recruitment and development of the workforce.