David Marsh - Regional Director
Dave Marsh is Regional Director at LEO Academy Trust, supporting school leaders and working across a cluster of schools to drive sustainable improvement and ensure the highest expectations for all pupils. He is passionate about LEO’s commitment to Learning, Excellence and Opportunity and its belief that every child should have the opportunity to thrive.
Dave has extensive experience in executive educational leadership and school improvement within the primary sector, holding a Masters in Education Leadership and NPQEL, alongside being a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching (FCCT), a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI), and a Chartered Manager (CgMr). Prior to joining LEO, he served as Executive Leader at Maritime Academy Trust, where he worked directly alongside headteachers and staff to raise standards. During this time, he successfully guided schools through significant transformations, moving schools from Inadequate and Requires Improvement to Good, and securing a Good rating for one school for the first time in its history.
He has a proven track record of strengthening educational outcomes and building leadership capacity across the primary phase. In his leadership roles, Dave has collaborated closely with school leaders to foster partnership opportunities, deliver high impact leadership CPD, and work alongside fellow executive leaders to ensure quality assurance, targeted intervention, and continuous progress across schools. His system leadership also includes working alongside the Foundation for Education Development (FED) to help drive system level and system led change across the wider educational landscape.
Dave is particularly passionate about continuous learning, innovation, and knowledge sharing across the education community. A lifelong learner himself, he actively seeks out new insights and perspectives to advance collective wisdom, empower confident leaders, and build resilient professional networks where staff, pupils, and parents can flourish.
His leadership approach is relational, evidence informed, and values driven. A lifelong learner and leader, Dave believes that sustainable school improvement is built through trust, collaboration, and an unyielding commitment to learning, excellence, and opportunity, ensuring every child has the chance to thrive.
