speaker-photo

Sir David Carter

Former National Schools Commissioner
Sir David was the product of a comprehensive school in South Wales and was the first member of his family to go to university where he studied for a Music degree at Royal Holloway College, London. Making a difference to the lives of children has been a huge motivation to him throughout his career. He began his career as a music teacher in 1983 and went on to become a local authority music advisor, a headteacher, an executive head and the CEO of the Cabot Learning Federation, a multi academy trust in Bristol. In 2014 Sir David was appointed to be the first Regional Schools Commissioner in the South West and took up the position of National Schools Commissioner (NSC) in December 2015.
At NSC, his focus was firmly on building capacity so that the trusts that run our most challenging schools can sustain improvement over time. From 2018 to 2021 Sir David was the Director of System Leadership at the Ambition Institute and now works with a number of schools and trusts advising them on their strategy. In August 2020, Sir David published his book “Leading Academy Trusts - why some fail but most don’t” with the book having hit the target of 4,000 sales in the summer of 2022. Sir David has been a trustee at several charities including Centrepoint, the charity that is aiming to eradicate youth homelessness, a trustee of the charity that oversees the annual Teaching Awards as well as being on the board of the Talent Foundry Trust, a charity creating new opportunities through wider enrichment and support for disadvantaged children.
Sir David continues to place family, music, golf and Cardiff City FC at the heart of his relaxation time and continues to be very proud of being awarded a knighthood for his services to education in the summer of 2013.