Mr Reitemeier will stand down in March next year. Although he will retire from full-time employment he plans to continue being involved in organisations and social causes through non-executive positions and volunteering.
Mr Reitemeier was formerly chief executive of The Children’s Society for 10 years, during which time he commissioned The Good Childhood Inquiry, the first independent inquiry into childhood in the UK.
I CAN reports significant growth and expansion into new services during Mr Reitemeier’s tenure, with key milestones including:
- Producing the ‘Bercow: Ten Years On’ report in partnership with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists on the state of the nation’s speech, language and communication service which played a crucial role in demonstrating the critical importance of children’s language development and helped increase Government investment in services.
- Initiating a training programme of more than 20 projects per year across the country, directly reaching over 6,000 professionals in the children’s workforce and equipping them to support children’s language development.
- Expanding the I CAN Talk Boost language interventions to support more than 80,000 children every year who were behind in their language development, to catch up to their peers and achieve age-related levels of speech, language and communication.
- Providing expert advice and support to thousands of parents of children with language difficulties through the charity’s dedicated Enquiry Line and the launching of a new teletherapy service for families able to provide online speech and language therapy.
Mr Reitemeier, whose career has led to him also living and working in the United States, Africa, Asia, said that it has been a privilege serving I CAN but that it is time for him to enter ‘the next phase of life’.
‘Helping develop children’s language is critical for our nation, but especially for the hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged children that so desperately require assistance,’ he added.
Roy Blatchford, I CAN’s chair of the Board of Trustees said: ‘We are incredibly grateful to Bob for his leadership, direction and dedication in spearheading I CAN’s support services to children and young people with communication difficulties, their families and engaging with the professionals and practitioners who work within the sector.
‘Bob leaves I CAN better prepared, more adept and agile to react and respond to the challenges the future brings. I would like to thank Bob on behalf of the trustees and everyone who supports I CAN, and wish him well as he embraces retirement.’
