Ed Cooper joined Central Region Schools Trust in 2022 as Head of IT and was promoted to Head of Operations in 2025. He leads the trust’s operational functions across IT, Estates, Governance and Data, and has led the trust’s digital and data strategy, overseeing IT service delivery, central data operations, cyber security and data governance. Central Region Schools Trust is a 14 school, mixed phase trust serving communities across the West Midlands. Ed’s work focuses on removing non academic barriers to learning, enabling school leaders to focus on pupil outcomes. He uses technology and data to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness, with a strong emphasis on system and process integration and strategic data use. A core focus of his role is strengthening data governance, cyber security and vendor due diligence in an increasingly digital and AI enabled landscape, ensuring technology is secure, well managed and ethically used.