Sir David Carter

Sir David was the product of a comprehensive school in Cardiff, and was the first member of his family to go to university. Making a difference to the lives of dis-advantaged children has been a huge motivation to him throughout his career. He began as a music teacher in 1983 and over the next 37 years has held a number of leadership roles at school, trust and system level. Before joining the Civil Service in 2014 initially as RSC for the South West, Sir David was the founding CEO of the Cabot Learning Federation, a trust based in Bristol. He was appointed to the post of National Schools Commissioner (NSC) in February 2016 where his focus was firmly on building capacity so that the trusts that run our most challenging schools could sustain improvement over time. Since leaving the NSC role, Sir David has become a trustee of 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 a charity creating new opportunities through wider enrichment and support for dis-advantaged children. In November 2018 Sir David took up the role of Executive Director of System Leadership at Ambition Institute. 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.