Norma Redfearn
| Norma Redfearn | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of North Tyneside | |
| In office 2013 – present | |
| Preceded by | Linda Arkley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wallsend |
| Political party | Labour |
| Residence | Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear |
Norma Redfearn is a Labour politician, now directly elected Mayor of North Tyneside who won on the first ballot held on Thursday, 2 May 2013 with 55.35% of the votes cast on a turnout of 32.07%.[1]
A daughter of a shipyard worker, Norma left school at 14 but later achieved a BPhil at Newcastle.[2] After a variety of teaching roles, she left Wharrier Street Juniors, where she was Deputy Head, to take on the Headteacher role at West Walker Primary School (June 1986 - July 2000) on the edge of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.[2] She became the first headteacher to receive the prize for Public Management Leadership, awarded to her by the Office for Public Management in 1997.[2] Soon after, she was also chosen by the think-tank Demos to serve as an example of civic entrepreneurship.[3]
Held Riverside ward seat from 2004 [4] until election as Mayor. Previously was Cabinet Member for Children and Young People on the authority between 2005 and 2009.[3][5]
Kings Priory Academy controversy One of the first acts of Norma Redfearn as elected Mayor in May 2013 was to make a legal challenge to the formation of the proposed Kings Priory Academy,a merger of the fee paying Kings School and the local Priory Primary School.Mayor Norma Redfearn said "The impact of the proposed Kings Priory Academy on the wider school system in North Tyneside has not been properly considered" A rebuttal from the Woodard Academies Trust Chief executive David Bilton[6] said:"It is inaccurate and highly disingenuous of the Mayor to suggest that consultation has not been carried out to anything but the highest of standards." Both local[7][8][9] and national[10][11] press coverage showed that Mayor Norma Redfearn's decision to make this legal challenge has proved to be controversial. There are complaints being made by some parents in the area who had not been informed and by some local schools who had concerns about the effect on other well performing schools in the area. The merger was seen by some as a way of reducing the debt of Kings School [12] as it was losing many pupils due to the recession. The Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove has now approved the merger.[13]