Neath Port Talbot Council has appointed Andrew Thomas as its new Director of Education, Leisure and Lifelong Learning.
Mr Thomas, currently Head of Transformation at Neath Port Talbot Council, was chosen for the post at a special meeting of the council held in December.
He will replace Aled Evans who earlier this year announced his intention to step down from the role in March 2021.
The Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council, Cllr Rob Jones, said:
“We’re delighted to welcome Andrew as our new Director of Education, Leisure and Lifelong Learning following a rigorous recruitment process which threw up a strong field of candidates.
“It’s a strong appointment and we now look forward to working with him in meeting the challenges the coronavirus pandemic has presented but also in continuing to develop and modernise our school estate which we have been doing via our ambitious 21st Century Schools programme.”
Currently Mr Thomas is Head of Transformation at Neath Port Talbot Council with responsibility for Inclusion, Finance, School Reorganisation and Leisure and has a passion for improving the life chances for children and young people.
Prior to that he worked as the Coordinator for Leisure, Sport and Physical Activity within Neath Port Talbot and before that had operational responsibility for the council’s leisure facilities.
Mr Thomas has experience of working at a regional and all-Wales level, giving advice and guidance to ADEW (Association of Directors of Education Wales), the Welsh Local Government Association and Welsh Government. He also represents the authority on the Early Action Together (EAT) project which tackles the impact of adverse early child experiences, is a member of the Western Bay Adoption Board and was part of the Neath Port Talbot Taskforce which helped Blaenau Gwent Council respond to recommendations of an inspection of its education services.
