Our improvement journey

The children’s vision: In Tameside you feel happy, safe and proud of who you are. You belong, can have fun, feel loved and are able to live your best life.

It is of the utmost importance to us that we provide high quality services that are safe, effective and ensures support for our children, young people and their families enabling them to flourish and succeed. 

We are determined to continue to improve our services for our most vulnerable children, young people and families. With our partners we are committed to ensuring all our children have the best possible start in life. 

We believe that children should grow and achieve within their own families when it is safe for them to do so. We are committed to working together to make sure our children and young people are safe and able to reach their full potential, and they remain at the heart of everything we do.

Our 4 key priorities to achieve our goals are quality of practice, working in partnership, achieving permanence and leadership and workforce whilst ensuring we work with the voices of our children and families.

Meet our Director of Children’s Services

“Hi, I’m Jill Colbert, the DCS at Tameside. I joined the council at the beginning of 2025 and was instantly charmed by the warmth, openness, and energy of colleagues. 

“I came to Tameside for one reason; because I know we can do fantastic things for our families here. 

“We’re a children’s service on a significant improvement journey. We know what needs to be different for our children and families and we’re ambitious to deliver that change.

“We have a growing range of specialist services for children, where you can test and grow your skills and practice. We have a Social Work Academy that is led by people who bring passion to learning and who know that the DCS’ of the future are right in front of them. We are working on our progression pathways so that staying in Tameside is rewarded and recognised. We have investment in innovation and improvement from the council so that we can grow services and support for families that we can sustain, from family hubs through to complex safeguarding.

“I am so certain that we can build a proud, inclusive and safe climate for great practice to flourish in Tameside. I’d love you to join me on the journey here at Team Tameside.”