David has been involved in school Governance for over 12 years across a range of settings including primary, secondary, UTC and University.

As a highly experienced Governor, and National Leader of Governance since 2016, David has been involved in all areas of school Governance including significant capital building projects, revenue generation, organisational and financial restructuring, and long-term vision and strategy creation. He also has experience of advising and collaborating with the Department of Education, local and national Government and Ministers on skills, training and education across the full age spectrum of nursery through to higher education.

David is co-founder and Chair of Trustees of Peak Edge Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) - a rapidly growing primary phase MAT in Sheffield currently consisting of 10 schools with specialisms in SEND and nursery provision. Whilst Chair of Governors for 10 years at Oughtibridge Primary School he helped lead it to become a national support school, consistently within the top 100 nationally and with Sheffield’s highest KS1 and KS2 results. Oughtibridge was also the first Primary School in Sheffield to retain its Outstanding judgement during an Ofsted inspection in December 2023.

Peak Edge is a highly innovative and inclusive MAT where all schools, within varying contexts and communities, have achieved Good or Outstanding OFSTED judgements through close collaboration and accountability. It is on track to be home to 15 schools by September 2025. The Trust includes 4 Integrated Resource Units for children with SEND and 4 nurseries, this has led Peak Edge to be recognised as a leader in such specialist provision across Sheffield.

In addition to his Governance leadership at Peak Edge, David is also a Trustee of the Sheffield UTC Multi-Academy Trust where he represents the technology sector alongside assisting with general Governance. He is also a member of the Industrial Advisory Board of the Computer Science Department at The University of Sheffield, advising on strategy as well as the trends and skills requirements of industry.