Manchester City Council is pleased to announce that Sean McKendrick has been appointed to the role of Strategic Director of Children’s and Education Services.
As strategic director, Sean will be part of the Council’s senior leadership team responsible for the care and stewardship of children and young people across the city, as well as spearheading initiatives that will improve the lives of young people as they grow up in Manchester, supporting their long-term happiness and prosperity.
During the rigorous external recruitment process a range of engagement sessions took place including a Youth Panel interview, and visits to a family hub, a local school and Manchester Youth Hub, providing Sean the platform to demonstrate the skills which meant he was the right candidate for this role.
Sean has been serving as the Council’s acting strategic director of children’s and education services since May 2024.
With close to three decades of experience working in children’s services and local government, Sean has a proven track record of being able to deliver high quality family-focused services which improve outcomes for children and young people.
Qualifying as a social worker more than 30 years ago he began his extensive and varied career in Glasgow working for the city council there. In Glasgow he played a lead role in the integration of health and social care, led significant transformation in youth justice services and played a national role in influencing legislation and Scottish Government policy in its approach to working with women involved with the criminal justice system.
Sean joined Manchester City Council in 2017 as the Council’s Deputy Strategic Director for Children’s Services. He led a service and partnership approach which oversaw significant practice and service change and remains focussed on continuous service improvement.
Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council said: “Sean has done a fantastic job as our interim director and I am delighted to welcome him into the role on a permanent basis. Sean brings both experience and insight to the role and I am confident that he will be a great asset to our senior leadership team.
“We recently launched our 10-year strategy for the city, based on the thoughts and ambitions of more than 10,0000 Mancunians, who told us what they wanted for the future of themselves and their families. It puts children front and centre of our priorities over the next ten years and commits to making every one of them feel that their health, wealth and happiness are improved because they are Mancunian.
“We have big ambitions in Manchester, and we know all too well how important it is that we foster and support the next generation of Mancunians. Whether it is our work to being a UNICEF recognised Child Friendly City, or the recent commitments we set out in the Our Manchester Strategy 2025-2035, we know that any future success we all share has to start with the youngest in our society.”
Sean McKendrick, Strategic Director of Children’s Services and Education said: “I am incredibly honoured and proud to have been appointed to this role. Manchester means a great deal to me especially as the values and ambitions it has for children and its residents align closely to my own. I want to make sure that every child growing up here feels safe, heard, cared for, healthy and able to live their best lives. I look forward to guiding that ambition recognising the value young people play in realising these ambitions.
“I have devoted my professional career to supporting, championing and helping young people I am looking forward to leading our service and partners in the next stage of our improvement.”
Chief Executive of Manchester City Council, Tom Stannard, said: “Sean was the outstanding candidate for this role and his track record spoke for itself when the time came to make this appointment.
“He shows a deep understanding of both the opportunities and challenges that we face in Manchester and gave us confidence that working alongside our partners he will be able to lead further improvements in services for children and families in Manchester, building on the excellent record of improvement he has led in the City since 2017.
“We know this will be a big task however based on his experience and clear passion for this job I have every confidence that he will succeed over the years to come, and I look forward to working with him as part of Manchester’s new Corporate Management Team.”
