A personal blog from our co-CEO and founder, David Weston
As I reflect on the incredible journey of the Teacher Development Trust since its inception in 2012, I am filled with immense pride and gratitude. Our recent Ofsted Outstanding judgement is not just a testament to our commitment to excellence in teacher development but also a fitting moment for me to announce my decision to step down as one of two co-CEOs and welcome a new era of leadership at TDT.
After twelve years of a journey from teaching to leadership of the charity, receiving the confidential result of our Ofsted back in January began this thinking process for me and for TDT. This month’s publication of the wonderful Ofsted report felt like an appropriate moment to pass the baton to my incredible co-CEO, Gareth Conyard, fresh off the back of his powerful and influential work on CPD entitlement policy. In becoming TDT’s substantive and sole CEO, the charity will benefit enormously from his vision for a better way to support and grow school staff, influencing research, practice and policy to weave together the change that is still needed. It will benefit from his experience, not only at TDT (as Director of Education and then my co-CEO) but also from many years of senior experience as a Deputy Director at the Department for Education, as well as his work in governance of schools and charities. But it will especially benefit from his values as a truly passionate, kind and wise leader with some of the most admirable qualities of anyone I’ve ever worked with.
From 1st April I will be moving to six months of a part time role at TDT, as Director of Innovation, finishing here at the end of September 2024. During that period, I’ll be taking up a new part time secondment from 1st April, as Artificial Intelligence Lead at Purposeful Ventures, exploring the potential of philanthropic funding in ensuring that AI has real impact in education, particularly in mathematics, in the UK.
