Harmesh Bhogal has promised to continue putting the experiences of children and young people at the heart of everything he does, after being confirmed as Bedford Borough Council’s new Director of Children's Services.
Harmesh, who first joined Bedford Borough in 2015, has been filling the role on an interim basis since June 2023, and was previously Chief Officer for Children’s Services. He has now been confirmed in the role on a permanent basis.
And having first qualified as a social worker 27 years ago, he has taken great pride in the continued improvements made by the Council over the past decade.
Harmesh said; “When I first joined Bedford Borough in 2015, we had self-assessed the service as Inadequate. In 2017, we were inspected, and rated as Requires Improvement. And at our last inspection, in 2021, we moved to Good in all areas and Good overall.
“I’ve been so proud of that progression, and of all the people I’ve worked with who have worked so hard to achieve this. That’s why I’m so delighted to have been appointed to this role, so that we can keep children’s services going from strength to strength.”
Harmesh described qualifying as a social worker as “the best decision I ever made”, and he has a clear vision for the future of children’s services in Bedford Borough.
“A real focus for me is making sure that we meet the needs of all our children and families at the earliest point possible, and that we work as hard as we can to ensure that children remain at home with their parents and families where it is safe and appropriate for them to do so,” he said.
“We’ll continue to drive up educational attainment, in collaboration with our school leaders.
“And we’ll ensure that we do everything we can for our children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), at this time of rising demand for services.”
He added: “Our children that enter the care system – and those that leave it – deserve a high-quality service and I will ensure that we meet our corporate parenting duties effectively so that our children and young people can reach their fullest potential’.
“Most importantly, I’ll continue to put the experiences and views of children and young people at the very heart of what we do.”