David Thomas

David Thomas (Dai) is Headteacher of Portmead Primary, a school of around 230 pupils just North of Swansea City Centre. David has been teaching since 2004 and has experience in a range of schools in both Swansea and Neath and Port Talbot. David was Deputy Headteacher in Tonmawr Primary School before taking up post as Headteacher in 2015. 

Since 2021, David has been seconded to Swansea’s School Improvement Team as a School Improvement Adviser and has led the team since September 2022. 

As an Associate, David is looking forward to collaborating with educational leaders from across Wales to build a system that is underpinned by effective self-reflection and improvement. 

David lives with his partner Bethan and their three-year-old son Ioan. Bethan has recently retrained as a teacher and will take up post as an NQT in September. Both David and Bethan come from families of teachers. It’s in the blood! 

Outside of work, David is a keen sailor and enjoys all water sports. In the past, this love has taken him to different parts of Europe supporting children and young people through recreational and elite sailing programmes. He is a volunteer crew aboard the RNLI’s Mumbles Lifeboat and has served for 23 years in a variety of sea-going roles.