Council departments

Children's Services Directorate

Director

Sharon Hubber pictured in Number One Riverside.

Sharon Hubber

Sharon Hubber - Children's Services Director.
Email: sharon.hubber@rochdale.gov.uk

The postholder is responsible for schools, children's social care, early help and prevention, Youth Justice Service, Emergency duty team (EDT) and special educational needs and disability joint commissioning.

Responsibilities include:

  • Early help, early intervention and early years services
  • Children with disabilities and special educational needs
  • Services to schools and school improvement
  • Children's social care
  • Safeguarding unit
  • Youth Justice Service
  • Practice improvement, performance and quality assurance
  • Children's joint commissioning
  • Youth service
  • Raising participation and skills
  • Strengthening families

Assistant Director 

Abu Siddique - Assistant Director, Children's Social Care.
Email: abu.siddique@rochdale.gov.uk 

Responsibilities include:

  • First Response
  • Achieving Change Together (ACT) and complex safeguarding
  • Adoption services
  • Fostering services
  • Children's homes
  • Child protection response
  • Cared for children
  • Care leavers
  • Emergency Duty Team
  • Youth Justice services
  • Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC)
  • Children with Disabilities (CWD)
  • Early Help and Safeguarding Hub (EHASH) and initial response

Assistant Director

Jane Sowerby - Assistant Director, Early Help and Schools.
Email: jane.sowerby@rochdale.gov.uk 

Responsibilities include:

  • Special Education Needs and children with additional needs
  • School organisation and development schools
  • Services to schools
  • Early Years and Family Hubs
  • Early Help and Stronger Families
  • Youth Service

Assistant Director

Charlotte Mitchell - Assistant Director for Integration and Health.
Email: charlotte.mitchell@rochdale.gov.uk

Responsibilities include: 

  • Special Educational Needs and Disability
  • Joint commissioning and integration, including:
    • Children's Services local authority commissioning
    • Children's health (mental, physical, acute, palliative care)
    • Maternity and perinatal

Head of Safeguarding and Quality Assurance

Bev Paris - Head of Safeguarding and Quality Assurance.
Email: bev.paris@rochdale.gov.uk

Children's Services Principal Transformation Lead

Samantha Sirisambhand - Principal Transformation Lead.
Email: samantha.sirisambhand@rochdale.gov.uk