Renfrewshire Council

This summer saw a key appointment in our Children's Services team, with Emma Henry confirmed as our new Head of Education (Attainment, Inclusion and Wellbeing).

Emma will be a familiar face to many of you, having risen through the ranks from class teacher, to head teacher, to the department's senior management team. She had filled the Head of Education post on an interim basis since the start of the year, and following external recruitment has now been confirmed as a permanent appointment.

She will work alongside Director of Children's Services Janie O'Neill and colleagues from education and social work to help deliver the highest standards of learning and teaching for Renfrewshire's children and young people across the areas she will oversee, which include support for pupils with additional support needs (ASN), leadership and professional development, health and wellbeing, curriculum and assessment, and attainment.

We caught up with Emma to find out a bit more about her background and what she hopes to achieve in the new role.

She said: "I have worked in Renfrewshire since 1999 where I started as a primary teacher in St Catherine's Primary and Early Learning and Childcare Class. I was lucky to spend most of my career there and progressed from class teacher to depute head teacher to head teacher. I also spent one year as acting head of Paisley Pre-5 Early Learning Centre.

"This led me to the next chapter in my career as lead officer on Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), then as Education Manager for additional support needs and inclusion, and then onto my current role as Head of Education."

Helping to improve lives of our children and young people is something that can only be done through schools working closely with a wide range of other council and partner services, and some of the projects Emma has been most proud of in her time in Renfrewshire were real partnership efforts.

As she explains: "I led on the delivery of the GIRFEC refresh and the refreshed staged intervention framework. I am proud to say this has now been embedded through a shared vision and improved integrated working across all services including education, health, social work, voluntary sector and employment and training.

"I have also been delighted to be involved in the development of the Whole Family Wellbeing Service. This service offers a wide range of family support interventions including parent drop ins, parenting programmes and targeted support in establishments, and it has been exciting to watch this service develop."

When asked for her priorities in the new role, Emma's focus is clear - to help make sure every child and young person in Renfrewshire has the chance to reach their potential, no matter their background.

She said: "We want every single child and young person to have the best opportunity to learn and to thrive. As Head of Education, I am truly committed to this goal while being relentless in my focus to narrow and ultimately close the poverty-related attainment gap. I want to ensure that Renfrewshire's children and young people are supported and equipped to be successful in their learning and their life beyond school."

Published on Tuesday 20 August 2024