Speakers

Sam is Chief Executive of DBE Services, a company owned by six Church of England Diocesan Boards of Education in the north of England.  The company specialises in delivering capital, maintenance and servicing work to school buildings across the region, and since 2020 has built an outstanding school improvement offer.

Through DBE Services Sam has delivered over £17M of decarbonisation projects in Church of England schools, and has been successful in four PSDS bids.  This work has included taking some schools from being the worst energy-efficient and carbon-heavy schools into decarbonised schools through upgrading their fabric and insulation, installing air or ground source heat pumps, and adding solar panels and LED lighting.  The programme won the Church Times Green Award in 2021 and was highlighted by both the Church of England and the Department for Education at COP26.

Since May 2023 DBE Services has been the Central Co-ordinator for the creation of a National Framework for Net Zero Carbon Church of England Schools, and is now working with all dioceses to move forward on this agenda.  Sam has spoken at national Education Estates Conference on the decarbonisation of church schools, as well as at individual diocese conferences. 

Prior to his role in DBE Services he was Deputy Director of Education for Blackburn Diocese and served as a Director and Vice Chair of Cidari, the Blackburn Diocesan Multi Academy Trust.