Following seven years at the helm of Aberdeenshire Council’s Education and Children’s Service Maria Walker has announced her intention to retire.
Over the years she has been involved in a number of significant projects and the development of new partnership working across education.
Maria Walker joined as director from Perth and Kinross Council. She has confirmed that she will leave her post in April.
She said: "Holding this post in Aberdeenshire Council has been the biggest professional privilege of my life. The time is right for me to retire after seeing my team through an exciting and eventful few years. We have won awards, improved attainment, helped shape national policy and promoted partnership working across the region.
"It may sound cliched but the work with children, families and our communities has been my driving force. In particular, developing new ways to support vulnerable children and their families has been very important to me.
“I am particularly grateful for the support and encouragement from our elected members which has been the bed rock of our success. I am so proud of the professionalism and humanity of my colleagues and all that they have achieved."
Chief executive, Jim Savege said: "I want to start by thanking Maria for all her hard work. She has been transformational within education, and has taken the service to new heights. I know she has been a role model for many within the service. She has also been a fundamental part of the Council community, leading across a range of services and priorities and has been a real role model for pragmatic and capable leadership. We really do wish her all the very best with her retirement and will now pass the baton to the next person to lead with the same energy and enthusiasm."
Leader of Aberdeenshire Council, Cllr Jim Gifford said: “When Maria first appeared at our Appointments Committee over seven years ago, it was instantly apparent that her enthusiasm for everything and anything to do with education knew no bounds – and that has proved to be the case since she joined us. I have always enjoyed working with Maria. She is a great ambassador for education in Aberdeenshire and her passion for the role is evident to all. She has expertly led her team through some significant projects and milestones over the years and she should be very proud of what she has achieved. I wish her the all the best for the future."
Cllr Gillian Owen is chair of Education and Children’s Service Committee. She said: “Working with Maria has been an interesting and rewarding experience, whilst Chairman of the Scrutiny & Audit Committee, Maria participated in many workshops on aspects within her service, she has a deep knowledge and understanding of Education at all levels, the information at her finger tips is truly remarkable. One of the key incentives of becoming Chairman of the Education & Children Services Committee was the opportunity to work more closely with her and I value the short time we have had together. I must admit to being disappointed with the news of her retirement, she will be sorely missed, as will her passion for Education and her desire to deliver the best possible outcome for every child.”
Cllr Anne Stirling is chair of the Communities Committee. She said: "Maria's remit goes much further than just education and this committee has spent a great deal of time discussing the sport and cultural aspects to her service, as well as some of the bigger capital projects. It has been a privileged to have worked closely with Maria since her appointment seven years ago. I was the council leader when we appointed her. Her dedication and commitment to the role has been inspiring and she has demonstrated exceptional leadership and passion for education, culture and sports throughout her tenure. I have appreciated Maria's advice and guidance and she will be greatly missed. Maria will continue to lead on the many important issues which face the council until her retirement in April and I look forward to our communities benefitting from that association.”
Maria will remain in post until the start of the 2018 Easter break. The process of securing her replacement will start in due course.