Dr Carl Ward is Chief Executive of the City Learning Trust; a 3 to 19 Academy Trust in Staffordshire. He is also the Founder and Chair of the Foundation for Education Development (FED). He has regional, national and international experience in education strategy, leadership development and school to school improvement.
In a career spanning 28 years in teaching, 20 of them in senior leadership, Carl has worked in a range of schools and organisations across a number of settings. He is one of the longest serving CEOs of a Multi Academy Trust in England, is a National Leader of Education, and has led and developed local and regional strategic boards and initiatives.
Carl was President of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) in 2017-2018 and between 2009 and 2010, was part of the Prime Minister’s Talent & Enterprise Taskforce. He has also advised the Number 10 policy unit on several aspects of education.
He served as Chair of the Careers and Enterprise Company’s Education Advisory Board from inception and has helped guide national careers strategy. He has been Chair of the Schools Cooperative Society and supported in the set-up of the Chartered College of Teaching acting as Chair of its trustee selection committee. He has been a council member of the International Confederation of Principals and is a member of the Global Education Leaders Partnership. In addition, Carl has been a member of the Education Funding Agency advisory board; DfE School and Academy Funding Group; Confederation of School Trust Board and the European School Headteachers Association.
In 2020, Carl was recognised for his impact in education and named as a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching; he was awarded Fellowship of the Leadership Council at the Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution, Washington DC and in 2024, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Bolton University for his services to education.