Northern Alliance appointment for Aberdeen director

27 October 2017

The Northern Alliance has confirmed the appointment of Gayle Gorman as its Regional Improvement Lead.

Gayle will be seconded from her current role as Director of Education and Children's Services with Aberdeen City Council.

The Regional Improvement Lead will work with the eight authorities which make up the Northern Alliance to develop better collaboration within their education and children’s services provision. Closing the attainment gap and helping young people make the most of their opportunities is a fundamental aim of the Alliance. However, it is much more than a schools initiative, drawing on the expertise and desire of social workers, community education workers and psychologists and others to work together to make a difference to all of our communities.

Shetland Islands Councillor George Smith, Chair of the Northern Alliance Convention of Convenors, said: "I would like to warmly congratulate Gayle on her appointment. It is thanks, in no small part, to her high standards and professionalism that Gayle has secured this appointment and we are all confident that she will continue to bring enthusiasm and expertise to this post.

"It comes at an exciting time, when partnership working in the world of education is firmly in the spotlight, and I am hopeful that we can use this as a springboard to keep growing and developing.

"We are an ambitious group, working with our communities across an enormous geographical area with one shared ambition - achieving the best for all of our young people."

Gayle Gorman said: “I’m enthusiastic about the challenges the role of Regional Improvement Lead brings and look forward to working with the skilled and dedicated teams across all eight of the local authorities in the Northern Alliance to build on the work we have done and move forward with the plans we have for the evolution of the collaboration. There is a shared commitment to make positive and lasting change to the young people we serve – and the energy and expertise of the Alliance is vital to achieving those goals.”

The Northern Alliance is a partnership between eight local authorities in the North of Scotland: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Highland, Moray, Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles and is often held up as a leading example of Councils working together. It exists to make a difference in the lives of their children and young people by ensuring that the professionals who work with them collaborate for improvement by sharing best practice developing networks of professional support and pursuing partnership approaches to educational development.