The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) leads change so that the thousands of people and volunteers working with children and young people across England are able to do the best job they possibly can.
The CWDC was created to provide support in the introduction of the Every Child Matters scheme.

We want England’s children and young people’s workforce to be respected by peers and valued for the positive difference it makes to children, young people and their families.

We advise and work in partnership with lots of different organisations and people who all want the lives of all children and young people to be healthy, happy and fulfilling.
To make England the best place in the world to grow up, we lead workforce reform, improving chances for children and young people throughout the country.

In short, we join up the way different agencies work, and bring consistency to the way children and young people are listened to and looked after. We are the voice of employers and we make sure their concerns, experiences and views directly influence workforce reform.

Our decisions and actions are informed by constant dialogue with employers, the workforce, children, young people and their families, as well as high quality research.
CWDC supports 2.6 million people who work with children, young people and their families, in sectors including early years, childcare, work with young people, education welfare, social work and social care. What we do also impacts on five million volunteers who work with children and young people.
From April 2012 onwards the leadership of CWDC’s programmes of work will be taken forward either by the Department for Education (DfE) and the new Teaching Agency or by the Children’s Improvement Board (CIB).

In November 2010 the government announced it would withdraw CWDC funding after April 2012. Since then, we have been discussing with employers and frontline staff their workforce needs for the future. We have been working hard with colleagues at the Department for Education (DfE) to find homes for our core business.
In April 2012 CWDC’s early years and educational psychology projects will move to The Teaching Agency, a new executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE).