Meet our directors
Our directors tell you a bit more about their roles in Gloucestershire's Children's Services.
- Andy Dempsey - Director of Partnerships and Strategy
- Wendy Williams - Assistant Director for Integrated Children and Families Commissing
- Chris Spencer - Director of Children’s Services Gloucestershire County Council
- Kirsten Harrison - Director of Education
- Ann James - Director of safeguarding and care
Kirsten Harrison
I was delighted to join GCC as the new Director of Education in September 2021 - after 32 years working in schools, starting my education career in Wiltshire as an English teacher and going on to work in Lancashire, West Yorkshire and then coming into Gloucestershire in 2004. In Gloucestershire I have undertaken a wide range of senior leadership roles in three different secondary schools in the west and south of the county as well as Gloucester city, leading two of those schools as Headteacher.
I have worked as a South West region Ofsted Inspector for 6 years alongside serving as the Chair of the 15 Gloucester City schools’ heads’ cluster, the Vice Chair and Chair of the Gloucestershire Association of Secondary Heads; sitting on the Schools Forum and serving on the governing body of my children's primary school, the management committee of an alternative provision setting and on a range of Local Authority boards and working groups; all of which I hope, illustrates that education and working for children and young people has been my life’s work and it is an absolute privilege to continue this work at county level in my current role.