The chief executive of Cafcass is to step down from his role next March, it has emerged.
Anthony Douglas, who has been head of the organisation for the past 15 years, will leave the post in March, a year after the organisation was rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in March 2018.
Ofsted praised the Childen and Family Court Advisory and Support Service for its continuous improvement against a backdrop of rising demand. There has been a 25.9% rise in care applications between 2014-15 and 2017-18 equating to 11,472 more cases.
Cafcass went from an ‘inadequate’ judgement from Ofsted in 2009 and one that the Public Accounts Committee said was ‘not fit for purpose’ in 2010, to an Ofsted judgement of ‘Good’ in 2014 and ‘Outstanding’ in 2018.
Anthony Douglas said: “My job at Cafcass has been a privilege and our task now, after achieving ‘outstanding’ in our recent Ofsted inspection, is to take our service to children to the next level.
“I will continue to give my all until my last day and look forward to helping our next CEO get up and running when the time comes,” he added.
Former Minister of State for Vulnerable Children and Families at the Department for Education Edward Timpson became Cafcass chair in April taking over from Baroness Tyler of Enfield whose six-year tenure ended.
