Carly Speechley

Carly Speechley joined Barnsley Council in July 2022 as Executive Director – Children’s Services bringing extensive experience in Local Government including fifteen years at senior leadership level across Children’s Services and a track record of leading performance improvement. Since qualifying as a social worker in 1999, Carly has undertaken a number of Assistant Director roles in Children’s Social Care within the Yorkshire & Humberside region; more recently in Sheffield for five years before joining Barnsley, as well as management roles in Youth Justice, SEND and Commissioning Care.

Carly’s specialities include leadership, strategic planning, transformation, change management, challenging the status quo, service reviews and re-design, strategic commissioning, business intelligence and performance, workforce development and stakeholder engagement across the political arena.

Since joining Barnsley Council, Carly has led an Ofsted FV for Care Leavers (Jan 2023) and more recently a full ILACS Inspection (Sept 2023) with an overall ‘GOOD’ rating which acknowledged that, since her appointment, an in-depth review of all service areas had taken place leading to a self-assessment that accurately measures the services and experiences of children in care, resulting in positive changes for Barnsley’s children and young people and continues to drive forward improvements in practice. Carly is also actively engaged in regional sector-led improvement work and a currently chairs the White Rose Regional Commissioning Board.

Carly is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.