Children's Workforce Network (CWN)

CWN disband

CWN decided at its board meeting 10 September 2009 to disband itself. It made this decision in light of the following changes to the landscape of children's and young people's workforce reform:

• the new National Children and Young People's National Workforce Partnership that now meets regularly to support and challenge government policy.
• the creation of the one workforce group within the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to ensure that workforce issues for the whole of the children and young people's workforce are considered together.
• the government review of  the remits of several workforce development organisations including extending the work of the National College to include leadership in children's services. 

Board members agreed that CWN has achieved real partnership working over the past four years. The products created by these partnerships have true value for people working with children and young people. For example, the shared principles and values for integrated children and young people's services and for induction, and the emerging Integrated Qualifications Framework (IQF), will support integrated services well into the future. 

The board concluded that with these changes in the workforce environment and the strength of partnerships created through CWN, current and future work can be delivered successfully through different arrangements. 

The interim chair of the CWN board, Hilary Emery, would like to thank board members for the professional and constructive way they arrived at their conclusion that CWN has achieved much of what it set out to do, and can safely  allow activity to continue in the absence of board meetings.

A more report on the implementation plan for disbanding CWN is available. This report was signed off at the final CWN board meeting on 17 December 2009.

For more information on the Children's Workforce Network and the disband, please visit www.childrensworkforce.org.uk.