A NEW assistant director will soon be taking the lead for North Yorkshire County Council’s relationship with schools during a time of great change.

Amanda Newbold will be joining the council's children's services at the end of this month, joining from the City of Wolverhampton Council where she has worked in school improvement for the last five years.

Ms Newbold has 20 years’ experience in education, working in teaching, school leadership and governance before joining local government.

She began her career as a primary school teacher in Staffordshire in 2001, before becoming a deputy head, then headteacher.

Whilst working as a Headteacher, she improved her school’s Ofsted performance from Requiring Improvement to Good, while also overseeing the relocation of her school to a new site.

Most recently, Ms Newbold led a service at the City of Wolverhampton Council which has helped 87 per cent of schools in the city to be judged Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.

Amanda’s wealth of experience will be critical to the council as it works through the impact of Covid -19 on schools.

She said: “The opportunity to bring my skills and experience into the beautiful county of North Yorkshire and to work with a new range of schools and settings in a completely different geographical context is hugely exciting for me.

"I know that there are some tremendously strong foundations on which to build.

"I am also hoping to find the time to explore the county, its moors and dales.

“Clearly I will be joining during a most unusual time as North Yorkshire and the rest of the UK reopens and learns to adapt and live with the coronavirus."

Amanda will replace Judith Kirk, who is retiring to spend more time with family.