Highland Council appoints Chief Officer Education - Primary and Early Years

22nd April 2025

The Highland Council has appointed Bernadette Scott as Chief Officer Education - Primary and Early Years.

The appointment completes the new senior management structure of the Council's People Service Cluster under the leadership of Kate Lackie, Assistant Chief Executive – People.

Bernadette Scott is currently employed by Perth and Kinross Council as Service Manager, Early Years and Childcare and is a committed education professional with over 30 years’ experience. Most recently, Mrs Scott’s remit has included taking an overview of services for all children (aged 2-18), with responsibility for improvement in Early Learning and Childcare settings, Primary and Secondary schools. Her strategic remit included raising attainment, performance and reporting and leadership, learning and development of all education staff.

Prior to her current role in the Central Management Team Bernadette was a Quality Improvement Officer and spent 12 years as a Head Teacher in Perth Primary Schools, leading school development and driving improvements in learning outcomes.

Convener of the Council Cllr Bill Lobban said: "I would like to congratulate Bernadette on her appointment and welcome her to The Highland Council. She brings with her a wealth of Education, Early Learning and Childcare experience and leadership to the Council.

“With this latest appointment I am pleased to see the Council’s senior management structure progressing with continued pace. The new structure is forecasted to initially deliver savings of £370,000 as part of the budget savings agreed by Council in February 2024, and it is anticipated that savings will eventually equate to around 20% of senior management team costs as part of a more streamlined management structure."

Bernadette will be starting with Highland Council on 1 June and is looking forward to leading the journey of improvement, working collaboratively to raise primary attainment, support inclusion and deliver the best outcomes for all children and young people across the Highlands.

As previously intimated in Highland Council’s budget plan for 2024/25, a new senior management structure is being implemented following approval by the Council on 14 March 2024. It reconfigures the senior management team into two layers, rather than three and brings Highland Council into line with other benchmarked authorities.