Highland Council congratulates Area Care and Learning Manager Norma Young on her retirement

Area Care and Learning Manager, Norma Young, retires today after 40 year’s dedicated service to Highland young people’s education.

Chair of the Education Committee, Councillor John Finlayson, said: “I have worked with Norma for many years as a Head Teacher colleague, Quality Improvement Officer and as an Area Care and Learning Manager. Her contribution to education across the Highlands and in particular the West Area, has been huge. Norma has great experience and a wealth of knowledge that cannot be replaced easily. She will be missed across so many services not just in Education.

Her efficient approach will also be missed by Head Teachers, parents, communities and members, along with her leadership and contributions to Gaelic Medium Education both Highland wide and nationally.

I wish Norma a long and happy retirement and I thank her personally and also on behalf of our schools, for all the effective, relevant and passionate contributions she has made to support young people and education over many years”.

Head of Education, Nicky Grant, said: “Strong women don’t have attitudes, they have standards and boundaries. Norma displayed these qualities in abundance and will be very difficult to replace. As Head of Education, I am proud to have worked side by side with her. I would like to take this opportunity to wish her and her family best wishes in the next exciting step of their journey”.

Executive Chief Officer for Education and Learning, Paul Senior, said: “In the short time I have worked with Norma it has been a pleasure to learn from her experience. It is clear that she has made a huge contribution to education in the communities she has worked in due to her commitment, energy, work ethic, and exceptional knowledge and she is held in very high respect across the whole area.”

Norma began her career with Highland Council in 1980 as a class teacher in Highland. Over the span of her career, she has worked in various roles that were focused on delivering quality and improving Highland’s education system. Norma has held the posts of Head Teacher, Quality Improvement Officer, Area Education Manager, and Area Care and Learning Manager.

In addition to Norma’s work with Highland Council, she also worked in partnership with Edinburgh University as an associated tutor whose aim was to assure the quality of teachers that trained in their own communities via distance learning.