A COUNCIL director will be leaving Warrington Borough Council to take up a top job at Ofsted.

Kath O’Dwyer, who currently works as the council’s director of families and wellbeing, has been offered a job as the national director of improvement in social care at Ofsted.

Mrs O’Dwyer will start her new job in the next three months at the body that regularly inspects schools, colleges and children’s centres.

Chief executive Steven Broomhead said Mrs O’Dwyer ‘led a complete shake-up' of Warrington’s children’s services, from frontline practitioners through all tiers of management.

He added: “When Kath O’Dwyer came to Warrington Borough Council four and a half years ago, she hit the ground running.

“She brought in a back to basics training programme for all social work staff, as well as new training for front line managers.

"She improved performance in a way that gave colleagues real confidence in the quality of the services they were providing.

“The result was simply better council services for young people in Warrington, whether those services were adoption or fostering, youth work or turning round the lives of young offenders.”

Mrs O’Dwyer said it had been a ‘privilege’ to hold the role of executive director at Warrington Borough Council.

She added: “It will be with considerable regret that I will leave Warrington. I have become very attached to the town and the people here.

“I’m sure that the services within Warrington will continue to be ambitious for our residents and will maintain a priority and focus on protecting the most vulnerable.”