Tony Gallagher, Chair of the National Youth Sector Advisory Board (NYSAB), has received his OBE medal in recognition of his services to young people.
Tony was honoured by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle on Dydd Mercher 25 Medi.
Tony has committed over 45 years to his work with young people. His professional career began as a youth worker and teacher in the early 80s. He progressed to school-based youth work, as well as working voluntarily with young people in Scotland and in his local community in Suffolk.
He explained how his early career instilled in him his belief in the power of youth work to change lives:
Tony Gallagher OBE
“The young people I worked with back then were facing rural deprivation, solvent abuse and mounting unemployment, but I knew that youth work could help them build positive habits which would improve their life chances. I also knew that I could work with them when other institutions had given up on them.”
Tony Gallagher OBE is greeted by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle
Later progressing into senior management roles and subsequently becoming a Senior County Officer for Community Education for over a decade, Tony was responsible for aspects of community education, youth work and adult learning with the local authority in Suffolk, working closely with elected members to forge a role for youth work outside formal education. He also created the Suffolk Youth Partnership to foster greater collaboration across the youth sector.
Tony joined Ofsted in 1999 as one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors. The role allowed him to get to know many youth workers and the richness of the youth sector across England ranging from traditional youth clubs, to detached (or ‘street-based’) youth work, as well as faith-based organisations, outdoor education, award schemes, uniformed groups, provision for LGBT young people, youth volunteering and social action, and projects with black and minority ethnic groups.
During his tenure, he managed Ofsted’s national programme of inspections of local authority youth services and was Ofsted’s policy lead for youth matters.
“I built a strong relationship with the sector over many years, and the loss of many of the services I inspected over a decade ago has been the biggest disappointment of my career.”
Now as Chair of the National Youth Sector Advisory Board, Tony helps ensure that the collective insights of youth work sector and represented to government and policy makers. He explained:
“The NYSAB provides leaders in the sector with a unified voice. The Roadmap to a National Youth Strategy which we published last year provides a guiding light for us and I’m excited about what we can collectively achieve to demonstrate the value of youth work and attract more people into this great profession.”
Reflecting on his OBE accolade Tony said: “I feel humbled that colleagues in the youth work world have wanted to put me forward. What’s vitally important to me is that I help youth work to flourish, as it’s needed more than ever, and I’ll continue working for that cause as long as I can.”
Image copyright PA Media
