Gail Tolley
Chair
Gail Tolley is the strategic director, of children and young people and statutory director of children’s services (DCS) for the London Borough of Brent.
The Children and Young People Department provides services for children, families and schools together with services for the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable children and young people and all children in care and care leavers.
As DCS, Gail is also responsible for ensuring that all council services (including housing, environmental, cultural, sports and leisure) and all other public services in Brent, such as health and the police, work together to improve the lives of children. She chairs Brent’s Children’s Trust.
Gail began her career in teaching and was a secondary school head teacher before moving into local government in 2004 as assistant director of Learning and School Effectiveness for the London Borough of Camden. Following this, she spent five years as director of children’s services for Milton Keynes Council before moving to Brent in 2014.
Gail is vice chair of the Association of London Directors of Children’s Services (ALDCS) and sits on the Council of Reference for the National Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS).
