What is the Virtual Staff College?
The Virtual Staff College is the Professional Development arm of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services.
The College designs and organises professional development opportunities for local authority children’s services and children's trust managers, advisers and practitioners working in the leadership, management and delivery of services to children, young people and families throughout the UK.
It is supported by a wide range of organisations such as; the Association of Directors of Education in Wales (ADEW), the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES), the Regional Training Unit (RTU) in Northern Ireland, the Improvement and Development Agency (I&DeA) , The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), The Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Government.
Aims
The College has been established to support the development of leadership and management capacity in local authorities and their Children’s Trust partner organisations and, through this, contribute to the improvement of locality services for children, young people and families. As the CPD arm of ADCS, the College will seek to:
- Develop current and future leaders
- Provide timely and appropriate CPD opportunities for all ADCS members
- Horizon scan and anticipate emerging challenges for local authorities and their CT partners
- Support and lead on new developments to meet these challenges
- Be instrumental in developing the “collective intelligence” of the children’s services community
- Respond to systemic and organisational changes in children’s services
