Six questions with... Heather Sandy
Heather Sandy is Executive Director of Children's Services at Lincolnshire County Council.
This role provides strategic leadership for the quality of Education, Children's Public Health and Social Care services across the county. Children's Services in Lincolnshire are among the best in the country and the Council is proud to be a Partner in Practice with the Department for Education, developing innovations in social care and supporting other areas on their improvement journey. Heather is a passionate advocate and champion for children; she strives to make Lincolnshire a place where they can be safe, happy, and thrive. Heather comes from an educational background and has worked in schools across Lincolnshire, moving them from poor performance to rapidly improved outcomes for young people. Heather led the group of head teachers that implemented the Lincolnshire Learning Partnership; a sector led improvement system which has improved outcomes and reduced exclusions across the county, particularly for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Lincolnshire.
What’s your favourite way to greet people?
I love meeting new people and my role involves working alongside some fascinating people from lots of different professional and personal backgrounds. How I greet them depends hugely on the situation…
At work: a big smile and a friendly handshake is my usual style. I am aware of responding to how other people like to be greeted and always try to respond to the other person's approach.
At home: A hug… always! I like to feel close to people and have always been very tactile – I have a large family with many aunts, uncles and cousins so arriving and leaving family occasions involves a lot of hugging.
What conversation makes you happy?
I love conversations which involve excitement and passion – when a colleague has a great idea and wants to share how it might be implemented, when my son has a great cricket match and talks me through it in detail or my daughter describes her aspirations for the future.
These conversations have such potential and joy – people's faces light up and their genuine excitement flows through their body language.
What conversation topic makes you nervous?
The conversations which make me most nervous are the ones where there I am to receive news to give – which could be good or bad – and the other person already knows the outcome. I feel nervous in the anticipation of what is to be said, and the desperation of trying to read from their body language to see what they already know or have decided.
I am aware that at times, this scenario is flipped, and I am the one in the conversation who knows the outcome before the recipient – I try very hard to manage that well.
What makes you laugh?
I love real life funny stories – when the person telling you the tale cannot get their words out because they are remembering the incident and it is so funny, they dissolve into laughter themselves and cannot speak.
If you could ask someone, dead or alive, anything - who and what would you ask them?
This is a very hard question – I have really struggled to answer it! I would love to talk to Florence Nightingale about her legacy in nursing and public health. I'd ask how it felt knowing her discoveries would transform nursing care forever.
What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?
It is probably a really corny response but for me, the bravest thing I've ever done is bringing up my children… it is the most wonderful part of my life but, my goodness, it can be challenging at times. I can doubt myself, doubt the world and worry endlessly – you have to be brave over and over again, let them take risks and be ready to support them if things don't work out.