“He brought to his duties a mix of openness, systematic management, political insight and team-building skills, which was recognised by staff.” This is not the political obituary of Jim Farry, departed boss at the Scottish Football Association. It applies to another football nut, Roger Stewart, fanatical Dunfermline supporter but better known as director of education in West Lothian.
But HMI’s verdict on the authority was curiously similar to the judgment on another director who was said to have “demonstrated a good blend of wide-ranging educational knowledge, political insight and a commitment to the quality of education, both in the council and nationally”.
Eleanor Currie in East Renfrewshire was as chuffed as Stewart. Obviously, HMIs are just the chaps to review education authorities - and just before a council election, too.