Sarah-Jane Smedmor appointed as new executive director for children and young people by Suffolk County Council

A new executive director for children and young people has been appointed by a council.

Sarah-Jane Smedmor, currently director of children’s services at Central Bedfordshire Council, will joining Suffolk County Council (SCC) from July.

Her new role will include children in care, SEND, education, youth justice, fostering and adoption.

One of Sarah-Jane’s priorities when she starts will be to oversee the continued improvement of SEND services, including the delivery of the priority action plan as agreed by Ofsted following an inspection last November.

Matthew Hicks, leader of SCC, said: “This role carries huge responsibility, including the safeguarding of our most vulnerable children and young people, and demands exceptional skill and expertise, leadership and compassion.

“For a post of such significance, it is right that we went through a thorough and exhaustive national recruitment process to find the right person.

“Sarah-Jane has had an impressive career with children and young people and has a wealth of experience which will hugely benefit the services we deliver to families in Suffolk, including the effective engagement of families and partner organisations.”

Sarah-Jane started her career as a social worker.

She worked her way to head of safeguarding and standards at Cambridgeshire County Council and then corporate director care and protection for children’s services at Dorset Council before moving to Central Bedfordshire.