All of us at Challenge Partners are devastated by the loss of Dave Baker, a trust and system leader who embodied the spirit of professional generosity and collaboration.
Dave joined our Trust Leaders’ Network in 2020, motivated by a desire to connect the collaboration he was leading in the South West with learning from elsewhere. His enthusiastic engagement in TLN activities (of which, tellingly, he missed very few) and deep commitment to trust-to-trust collaboration were integral to their success. His national impact intensified further when he joined the Trust Advisory Group steering Challenge Partners’ work on trust-led school improvement.
In 2021, Dave approached us with an innovative idea to deepen collaboration between a group of trusts in and around Bristol. Thanks to Dave’s vision and ability to convince others (including our CEO) to do things they are initially sceptical about, in 2022 and 2023 we worked with Olympus, Cabot, Cathedral and Futura to pilot a pioneering new approach to locality-based trust peer review. In our 2023 Impact Report, Dave described the difference it made to Olympus and locally, and it is now established as a model for others - all thanks to Dave’s collaborative vision and persistence.
Dave’s generosity and care for others was evident on a personal level too. Our CEO, Kate Chhatwal always appreciated what she called his “warm South West welcome”, with Dave taking care of everything to make visits smooth and enjoyable - from going miles out of his way to drive her to and from schools and stations, to arranging good food and company for evening stays. He was also a willing partner in early-morning runs on our Trust Leaders’ Residentials, despite Kate’s flat refusal to join in his preferred routine of a cold water swim before breakfast.
We will miss Dave dearly for the vision, passion and joy he brought to the trust system and the adults and young people in it.