Adele Bates is a behaviour and education specialist, an award-winning international keynote speaker & author. In her own words: “I’ve had juice poured on my head, been whacked by a skateboard – and have taught a year 7 pupil who has experienced severe trauma, how to read their first ever word…” Adele empowers teachers and school leaders to support pupils with behavioural needs and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) issues to thrive with their education. She is the author of the author of 'Miss, I don't Give A Sh*t: Engaging with Challenging Behaviour in Schools'. For more info, tips and resources, check out adelebateseducation.co.uk.

Alex Standish, Associate Professor of Geography Education, UCL Institute of Education, Subject Leader for Secondary Geography PGCE. Co-editor of What Should Schools Teach? Disciplines, Subjects and the Pursuit of Truth. Mark Taylor is a former head teacher who has worked in inner London secondary schools in the last 20 years on all aspects of school leadership and Ofsted frameworks. He has recently moved from London to return to the classroom and currently teaches Philosophy and Ethics at Stamford School. Tom Rogers is an experienced teacher and middle leader, having worked as a History teacher in state schools in the UK for 9 years, and internationallly for 4 years. Tom is the director of Teachers Talk Radio.

Alison was an inner-city Head Teacher for nearly 20 years. She has a reputation for excellence in leadership, leading schools with high social challenges to achieve exceptional attainment over time. Alison now works nationally and internationally supporting leaders with the strategic development of their schools, particularly those in challenging circumstances. She is a regular speaker and panel member at conferences, speaking on a wide variety of subjects including Courageous Leadership, Turnaround Schools, Wellbeing, Staff Retention, Breaking Through The Concrete Ceiling, Diversity, Ubuntu, and AntiRacism.

Amelia Peterson is currently part of the founding faculty at the London Interdisciplinary School. Previously, she was a fellow in the Social Policy department at the London School of Economics. Amelia is a social scientist with a background in policy and consulting. She studies how education systems adapt to societal and economic change. Prior to LIS, Amelia taught in the Social Policy department at LSE. She received her PhD from Harvard and her BA from Oxford.

Amy, a fellow of the CCT and RSA, has been in education for the past 16 years. Having started off her career teaching art in the state sector she has spent the last 12 years in the independent sector within middle and senior leadership with an ever growing focus on teaching, learning and staff development. Now as Director of Training at ISTIP, she is able to focus on the strategic vision for training of ECTs, mentor and tutors. She values creativity, integrity, fairness and authenticity in her w

Andrew Hampton was a Headteacher for 18 years. He founded Girls on Board in 2017 and now over 1,000 schools across the world use this brilliant approach to support girls in their friendships. The Working with Boys programme is Andrew's new project and is already gaining considerable traction.

Andrew Speight, 20, served as the Member of Youth Parliament for Blackpool, and as the Chair of Blackpool Youth Council twice. He was also a finalist in the 2023 Big Education Challenge with 'Emoco' - a whole-school co-production initiative looking to help embed a culture of wellbeing. He has lived experience of mental ill health as a direct result of undue pressure within the education system and now undertakes a variety of different projects & initiatives to ensure no young person has to endure a similar experience again.

Andy is the National Wellbeing Director for Schools Advisory Service and on 1st May 2021 took on an additional role as the Strategic Lead for the Centre of Excellence in Mental Health in Schools based at Leeds Beckett University. He is a Past President of the NAHT and was until December 2019, headteacher of the outstanding rated St Nicholas C of E Primary School in Blackpool. He was also a National Leader of Education and is the independent chair of the Blackpool MAT CEO group.

As a former SENCO, Senior Leader, School Improvement Advisor, and local authority SEND Advisory Teacher and Healthwatch Trustee Dr Anita Devi carries a wealth of experience in developing leaders of learning. Her own teaching career spans early years to post grad in the UK and overseas. Anita lives out her why through her belief in the joy of learning. She is an author, researcher and committed to kindness human being. Anita & her colleagues at #TeamADL have won international and national awards.

Sir Anthony Seldon, formerly Vice-Chancellor of The University of Buckingham, is a leading contemporary historian, educationalist, commentator and political author. He was Master of Wellington College, one of Britain’s leading independent schools, until 2015. He is author or editor of over 40 books on contemporary history, politics and education, was the co-founder and first director of the Centre for Contemporary British History, is co-founder of Action for Happiness, and is honorary historical adviser to 10 Downing Street. His many other activities include being on the First World War Centenary Culture Committee, established by the Culture Secretary in 2013, and governor of The Royal Shakespeare Company.

Aoife, a 20-year-old, queer, third-year BASC student at the London Interdisciplinary School. Having navigated state education systems with unrecognised and undiagnosed ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia, they are familiar with the ways in which education can fail students. Having completed two research projects focusing on the disparities within education, Aoife's upcoming third-year capstone project focuses on how education can improve chances for all.

Bart has worked for over a decade on promoting high-quality education research and evaluation, using evidence to improve the life chances and attainment of children and young people. Bart’s work has covered topics such as literacy teaching (particularly for learners facing disadvantage), the use of the arts such as singing and dance in teaching & learning, film education, teacher professional development, and international & comparative educational policymaking.

Ben has been headteacher of St. Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic High School, Salford since September 2015. Prior to coming to Salford he led a school in Ayrshire and was part of a national Headteachers’ group developing Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence. He also established a successful pupil-led theatre company at his school. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the Education Policy Alliance, a college governor and advocates for inclusive education.

Ben works at a secondary school in Kent. He draws on experience as teacher, school leader and researcher contributing to various educational projects. He wrote ‘The Next Big Thing in Education’ with Prof Allen and Matt Evans. He has also written for the DofE and Ambition Institute. Ben has 2 children. He is fascinated by stories, their shape, appeal and role in shaping our worldview. He loves supporting new parents in creating personalised stories and worlds. Ask him about the friendly bear!

Dr Carlie Goldsmith grew up on the Whitehawk estate and is the spokesperson for Class Divide. Her education story is featured in the Class Divide podcast. Carlie is an experienced social researcher in the areas of crime and justice, social inequality, and public policy. She has previously held posts as a senior lecturer in criminology at Kingston University and as a research fellow for the Innovate Project at the University of Sussex. Carlie is now a community researcher at The Crew Club.

Catherine Place grew up in Newport where she currently lives with her daughter. Cat is the Headteacher of Jubilee Park Primary School. Since opening in 2017, Cat has placed great emphasis on the development of the school as a learning organisation and believes in the importance of igniting a passion for learning. Cat is a doctorate student and is researching the inter-relationship between organisational culture, collaboration and teacher wellbeing, through narrative inquiry.

Charlotte Forwood is a teacher/speech pathologist. She is the Director of Learning Design and Development at Camberwell Girls Grammar School, and a lecturer in Learning Intervention at the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education. She is interested in language, literacy, learner agency and design thinking. She is the school lead for Harvard GSE Project Zero's Idea into Action Project - leading sustainable change, and the University of Melbourne's New Metrics for Success Project.

Dr Chris Bagley is Director of Research at States of Mind, a tutor & doctorate research supervisor at The Institute of Education, UCL and Co-Director of Square Peg. He is a teacher, Educational Psychologist, writer and campaigner who has developed a specialism in relation to Youth Justice and currently practices in child prison & pupil referral unit contexts. Chris’ core purpose is to co-develop psychologically healthy educational approaches in collaboration with those subject to the system.

Claudia is a Reception teacher at School 360 who joined in September 2022. She formerly worked as a primary teacher in Australia.

I am an independent consultant. In 2013, during an assignment commissioned by Ofqual, I discovered this problem. Since Ofqual have not addressed matters, I have been running a campaign to expose the problem. I have written more than 50 blogs and articles, on platforms such as HEPI, WONKHE, LSE, TES, Schools Week, FE Week and Rethinking Assessment; I am also the author of Missing the Mark - Why so many school exam grades are wrong, and how to get results we can trust (Canbury Press, 2022).

The Education Policy Alliance is a grass-roots think tank dedicated to creating an education system centred around human flourishing. For. more details, visit https://educationpa.org.

Dr Naomi Fisher is a clinical psychologist and author of Changing Our Minds and A Different Way to Learn, both about self-directed education. Eliza Fricker is an author and illustrator. Her most recent book, Can’t Not Won’t, was a Sunday Times Bestseller. Her first book is The Family Experience of PDA. Naomi and Eliza run live webinars together on The Art of Low Demand Parenting. Follow them on Facebook (Dr Naomi Fisher and Missing the Mark) or follow Dr Naomi Fisher on Eventbrite to be the first to hear about their next webinar.

Emily Charkin is owner-manager of Wilderness Wood with a particular interest in offering the site as an alternative to school for home educating and flexi-schooling families and as a launch-pad for young adults who want to develop a livelihood based on arts, crafts and land-based activities. Emily also researches and writes about radical education as revealed through children’s experiences growing up in different kinds of communities and alternative schools.

Dr Emily Magrath is the Operations Manager for the South West, West Midlands and Oxford at IntoUniversity and previously managed the East Bristol Centre for five years. She is also Head of Developing Excellence in Delivery leading on teaching and learning pedagogy and practice for staff within the organisation. She is committed to making education fairer and working to increase the impact of our facilitators with young people through supporting them to increase their knowledge and skills.

A former special school headteacher, Frances has worked in a variety of roles across mainstream primary, secondary, special/AP and LA. Now as an LA SEND advisor and anti-racism coach for Leeds Beckett University (CRED) Frances is able to share her knowledge around the Intersectionality between RACE and SEND. Frances is passionate about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Frances is also a practicing artist.

Frank Norris MBE FCCT was HMI for 11 years and reached a very senior role in Ofsted. He was responsible for the creation of the two school inspection frameworks introduced in 2012 and the revision of the Joint Area Review Framework of children’s services in 2008. Adrian Lyons was an HMI for over 16 years, so he is one of the most experienced in the country. He led major national surveys such as ‘Getting Ready for Work’ in 2016 and in 2019 was the lead HMI for Ofsted’s research into initial teacher education (ITE) training programmes. Julie Price Grimshaw joined HMI in 2001 and carried on inspecting after she left to become a freelance adviser in 2007. Prior to joining HMI, she ran a university-based PGCE course and carried out many inspections of teacher training providers, as well as of schools. As an HMI for 13 years (2002-2014), Meena Wood inspected schools, children’s services, FE colleges, training providers, Youth Offenders’ Institutes, Youth Services and local authorities. She was Equalities Lead for HMCI Christine Gilbert, and led on thematic surveys - specifically, SEND, Disadvantaged, Looked After, and Minority Ethnic. Adrian Gray studied history at Cambridge and worked in secondary schools for over twenty years before joining Ofsted as an HMI specialising in School Improvement in 2002. His career there, up until 2015, involved responsibility for school inspection work and later internal evaluation of inspection effectiveness.

Guy Claxton is a qualified cognitive scientist with a passion for education. His books include What's the Point of School?, The Learning Power Approach, and The Future of Teaching and the Myths that Hold It Back.

Dr Harriet Marshall is Head of Educational Research at Lyfta and has worked in the field of global education over 20 years as a teacher, researcher, consultant and project leader. Harriet has a PhD in the movement for global learning (Cambridge, 2005), and has published and presented on global citizenship education, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, intergenerational learning and sustainable wellbeing nationally and internationally.

Atelier 21 was born out of Hayley's deep connection with the Reggio Emilia approach to learning, which is based on the image of young people as inherently competent and capable of building learning for themselves. Her other passions are Early Years, leadership, psychology, and horses (she has 5!). Her nursery group and consultancy is the multiple award winning, expanding Little Barn Owls Ltd in the South East. Hayley has presented in Malaysia, China and Canada, well as all over the UK.

As a new-age Jewish traveller, growing up in a Muslim country, to later attending a London inner city state school and private boarding school, Heidi Rabia Heinemann learnt about othering early on. As Education Lead at the Roots Programme, Heidi is passionate about working alongside young people to discover pride in their identities, realise their worth and power, in order to work for a better future for all. Clare Richardson is Relationships Lead at Roots. Her life’s journey has often taken her into spaces where she has felt ‘othered’. Her work has included working with ex-offenders and hedge fund managers, older people and young children, across the blurry lines of class, culture, gender and generation.

Heidi Steel is an Education Consultant, Unschooling Parent, Qualified Teacher, Writer, Podcaster, and founder of LivePlayLearn. Her career began in Early Years Settings and Primary schools where she taught for over ten years and fed her passion for how children learn. Her own four children have always been unschooled and are happy living and learning as they go. Learning most of life's lessons from the children themselves she is passionate about SDE and play as the primary vehicle for learning.

Helen is Assistant Head and Foundation Phase Leader at School 360, a brand new primary school in Newham, London and part of the Big Education family of schools. She formerly worked at School 21.

Dr Ian Cunningham is the Founder and Chair of Governors of Self Managed Learning College. It has no classrooms, no formal lessons, no imposed timetables and freedom for young people to learn whatever they want and in any way that they want. Ian is also: a dancer (member of Three Score Dance Company); a metal sculptor (City and Guilds qualified welder); an organisation development consultant (for 45 years); a writer (9 books and over 150 published articles and papers); and a former CEO of a business school.

Ife is a bold and authentic leader who powerfully encourages her community to take up space and aim for more. Words used to describe her are passionate, resilient, inspiring, innovative and forward-thinking. Her drive to see more young people empowered is evident through her various speaking engagements, mentoring of young people and previous leadership positions.

My name is Iva and I am currently 20 years old.I am Macedonian and I moved in the Uk when I was 12 years old.I did sociology business and Ict as a levels and I am currently studying events management at the university of Winchester .

I left school with a few GCSE's, dropped out of college, and a YTS. I worked in an office and then took on a career in gym work which went well until I got bored 5 years later. I then hopped around doing temp work, the odd long term job. I see I was creating a web that gave me the essential tools to create Spiritus. The passion I have for it is unwavable

James has a very wide range of teaching & leadership experience in a multitude of educational settings in the 25 years he has been working in education. He was the founding Principal of Wac Arts College and more recently was Co-Headteacher for The New School. He was also headteacher at a specialist therapeutic setting The Pupil Parent Partnership School. He is driven by a desire to make a difference and empower people to transform their lives through the power of education.

Jen is the Curriculum Design Lead for Chartered College of Teaching. She is currently leading a national project, ‘Rethinking Curriculum. Prior to joining the Chartered College of Teaching, Jen was a Headteacher, curriculum design lead and experienced primary teacher. Jen is very interested in sustainable curriculum development and implementation, mental health and inclusion, and staff development and retention. She is a keen advocate for flexible working and is MTPT trustee.

For six years Jess was a reporter for education newspapers Schools Week and FE Week, and has also reported for The Guardian, Al Jazeera and The Independent. In 2022 she was longlisted for the Paul Foot Award for investigative journalism. She is now at investigative journalism unit SourceMaterial, focused on climate change, corruption and threats to democracy.

Joe Britto, author of "The Six Attributes of a Leadership Mindset", works with leaders across the non-profit, public, & private sectors. Psychological coach and speaker, Joe Britto founded mindset consultancy Innate Leaders in 2009. Operating in the UK and North America, its clients include intel, Coca Cola, & Bayer. In 2021 he developed Mindset VI to help leaders rethink their toughest challenges. In 2022 he developed Portrait of a School District to support school leaders enhance learning outcomes.

Joe Hallgarten is the Chief Executive at The Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY). Since starting his career teaching for five years in urban primary schools, Joe has accumulated over twenty years of experience leading and influencing education change as an educator, programme leader, researcher and policy analyst. Joe still teaches one day a week in primary schools in Tower Hamlets.

John Carden is a qualified mathematics teacher and a researcher at the University of Sussex. Prior to teaching, John worked as an analyst and organisational consultant. At School 21 he was Oracy lead for sixth form, and led on student voice activities. As head of the Awen Project, a democratic setting in Wales set up by Charlotte Church, he established a coherent educational philosophy and set of practices through supervision. John would love to talk about education with you!

Jon's corporate career was spent bringing complex multi-million-pound, multi-organizational, multi-disciplinary, pioneering innovative - never be done before - engineering projects back on track. He operated in the space between the organizations and the disciplines involved. When it became clear that helping some of the best engineers on the planet to work together had been the perfect preparation for home-educating his two neurodivergent children - He gave up work to home-educate.

Jonas Andrew-Phillip (JAP) is a Young International Multi-Award-Winning TEDx Speaker, Workshop Facilitator and Host. He facilitates career and personal progression workshops, programmes and speeches for young people. Using his own personal transformation story of wasteman to winner Jonas supports his peers to have an understanding that they have the untapped potential to achieve whatever they want in their life irrelevant of their background or circumstance.

Joshua Coombes is a hairdresser, community hero and movement maker. In 2015 he started to reach out to men and women experiencing homeless in his city and offer them free haircuts and began using the hashtag #DoSomethingForNothing. He passionately believes in giving dignity to the homeless and how pushing past stereotypes and preconceptions allows us to find real connections with people.

Juliet is an experienced home educator who is passionate about encouraging and empowering parents to educate their children. She has home educated (seven children) for over 25 years and draws from her social work background, and her experience gained from working with home educating parents, running groups/activities, and conferences. Juliet is engaged in national and international initiatives relating to home education. She is the co-ordinator of the annual Learn Free Home Educators Conference.

Kamalagita Hughes has been practicing mindfulness for 27 years and teaching it for 20. She is a qualified teacher and lecturer with substantial experience in the classroom and in teacher training, further education and higher education. She is the author of 'The Mindful Teachers Handbook: How to step out of busyness and find peace' (Crown House). She is also the Education Lead for Mindfulness in Action (www.mindfulnessincation.co.uk/education) and a lead trainer for the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP).

Kat Stern (@KatStern4) is a behaviour consultant for secondary educational settings, and a part-time teacher. She is the author of 'The Excludables: From mainstream classroom to prison education', which is a research-focused examination of permanent exclusion. Tony Meehan is a practitioner of Non-Violent Resistance (NVR) supporting families where child-to-parent violence is a feature. His 30-year career as a teacher includes over eight years as head of an inner-London Pupil Referral Unit, working with vulnerable pupils excluded from mainstream school and with their families, before retiring in 2017. Adele Bates is a behaviour and education specialist, an award-winning international keynote speaker and author. She is the author of the author of 'Miss, I don't Give A Sh*t: Engaging with Challenging Behaviour in Schools'. For more info, tips and resources, check out adelebateseducation.co.uk.

Child Poverty Action Groups Youth Panel brings together a diverse range young people aged 13-19 from across London who have been working together to explore how poverty is having an impact on young people growing up. The Youth Panel members are passionate about tackling the stigma often associated with growing up in a household that has less money. They want to reach other young people to raise awareness of the realities of poverty and support more young people to speak out.

Kate is a Speech and Language Therapist and mum. She spent 17 years working for the NHS in South London, supporting children and adults who stammer. Kate has been home educating her daughter for the past year, following challenges with school attendance.

Dr Kulvarn Atwal - Headteacher of Highlands Primary School and Uphall Primary School, Ilford, and author of The Thinking School and The Thinking Teacher.

Laura Kerbey has been working with autistic children and young people for over 21 years. Laura has worked as a lecturer in FE Colleges and been the Head Teacher of a specialist School. She now runs Positive Assessments Support and Training (PAST) and KITE Therapeutic Learning Services. Laura is the author of "The Educator's Experience of Pathological Demand Avoidance" which is illustrated by Eliza Fricker and published by Jessica Kingsley Publishing.

Hi, I’m Lox. I’m 11 and I love telling stories through any way possible, be it film, writing, dancing or acting. In this workshop I want to show the education system as it is and the future through my own way and skill set. So join me at Parliament Hill School and let’s Abandon Ship!

Lucia Quadrini is a young campaigner for equal-access education and structural reform, as well as being a finalist at the University of Cambridge. She is involved with various education think tanks and advocacy groups - including Private School Policy Forum, Edge Foundation, and Abolish Eton - but here speaks in support of Time's Up for the Test. TUFTT campaigns for an end to academic selection and the introduction of inclusive schools in every community.

Lucy Stephens is the Founder and Director of The New School in South London, an educational charity and independent democratic school which currently receives no central government funding, and doesn’t charge fees to parents. Freya Aquarone is an education practitioner and researcher who has worked in a number of educational contexts, including mainstream settings, alternative provision, and democratic schools. Freya has just completed a PhD at King’s College London exploring democracy in post-16 education. Alison Macdonald is an Associate Professor in Social Anthropology at UCL. Her research focuses on critical exploration of educational systems and pedagogy with a specific focus on alternative approaches and provisions for education in England. Caroline Oliver is a sociologist and co-Director of the Centre of Sociology of Education and Equity at the UCL IoE, whose research focuses on identity-making and inclusivity in the context of educational institutions.

Maia and Rosie Finlayson were home educated through to GCSEs, and are currently studying A levels at sixth form college. Maia is an avid reader, writer, and aspiring physicist. Her sister Rosie is interested in history, politics, and law, particularly education laws.

Marcelo is the author of ‘The Joy of Not Knowing’ (Routledge, 2021) and a former scientist and Primary School Headteacher. Marcelo is a Lecturer in Education at the University of Sussex and joint course leader of the BA Primary and Early Years Course. Marcelo has recently worked on behalf of UNICEF with policy makers in Uzbekistan and he speaks regularly at national and international events. Marcelo’s work was recognised by being named as a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.

Mark Deacon worked in schools for 30 years doing every job in a school: academic leadership, pastoral leadership and senior leadership including an acting Headship. Following a disagreement with an academy chain it seemed like a good idea to find something else to do. Mark now trains teachers at The University of Buckingham and the University of Brighton. He works on BA, PGCE and MA programmes. To prevent boredom Mark is studying for a doctorate at Buckingham University.

Mark has over 20 yrs experience as a teacher, school leader & trainer. Between 2018-22 Mark worked as Equal Parts Education to deliver a turn around program for permanently excluded students across the Midlands, as well as working in partnership with schools & universities to deliver training & coaching to staff. Since 2022, Mark has led on Behaviour & Wellbeing across the nine very different secondary schools in The Mercian Trust. Mark is a published author & likes an early morning run.

Martin Illingworth is Senior Lecturer in Education at Sheffield Hallam University, consultant teacher with The National Association for the Teaching of English and Associate Speaker with Independent Thinking. Rhythmical Mike is a spoken word artist from Derbyshire. He performs across the UK and has made recent appearances in venues as diverse as YNot festival, Boom Town festival, Ronnie Scott's Jazz Bar, London’s Southbank Centre and Sheffield Hallam University.

A teacher of 20 years, Matt has extensive experience of teaching across all Key Stages, with a specialism in Early Years. Currently working as Head of Early Years and Development Lead for a school in South London, Matt teaches full time as well as running regular external training for teachers, senior leadership and parents in London Boroughs and beyond. Matt has recently launched Future Mind Foundations to allow more children to access these foundational tools.

Meena Wood is an International speaker, trainer, leadership coach and author of ‘Secondary Curriculum Transformed; Enabling All to Achieve’ (Wood and Haddon, Routledge 2021). She is an Honorary Fellow of ELA at the University of Birmingham. Meena is a former HMI Ofsted, Local Authority Adviser, Principal of an Adult College and Principal of a Secondary Academy. She advises schools in UK, Dubai and India on curriculum, assessment and self-evaluation, conducts teacher training in India and is a UAE inspector.

STEAM Co. is a non-profit which champions, inspires and ignites creativity by running pop-up days in schools and community settings across the UK. With a new clutch fitted in his #StarShip22 after 4 months on the road at 12 festivals and a week-long collab with McLaren at the British Grand Prix, he'll be attempting to build #OurSeeMonster in the playground from Cardboard, Code and Creativity - as a beacon for the #CreativityRevolution23 he says our children, communities and country need like never before.

I have over 15 years teaching experience in various roles and am a lifelong learner and passionate advocate for educational equality. I help schools with CPD, curriculum design, leadership and learning to learn interventions, using an energetic, thoughtful, and evidence-led approach. I have been regognised as an expert practitioner and granted fellowship of the Chartered College of Teaching. Above all else, I believe there is a better, kinder way of leading educational change.

An associate professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Dr Pete Dudley leads Camtree at Hughes Hall, and is a member of the Oracy Cambridge. He taught for over a decade and has another thirty years' experience in local, national, and international educational leadership roles developing and implementing evidence-informed, collaborative improvement built on teacher research, middle-leadership agency and system/policy leadership transformation.

Dr Poppy Gibson is a Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, Essex, whose key interests involve children’s psychological development and mental health and wellbeing. Find Poppy on Twitter: www.twitter.com/poppygibsonuk Alfred Russo is a freelance cartoonist and illustrator from Italy and a history graduate from Goldsmiths University, London. Alfred is passionate about the educational potential of sequential art and illustration. In his projects, he explores how illustrations can help a child to reflect on complex emotions and challenging concepts such as death and displacement.

Rebecca Leek has been a headteacher, CEO, a Senco, a primary and a secondary school teacher. She has also been involved with sustainable growing projects and community arts and enterprise for many years. She has written widely, is especially interested in systems thinking, inclusion, holistic leadership, and is currently writing a book on school governance with Bloomsbury. She also loves a long run (current record, 71 miles) and gets angry at the world and how it treats her three daughters.

René Kneyber is a former mathematics teacher and currently a consultant and book publisher in the Netherlands. He was a member of the National Dutch Education Advisory Council and wrote 18 books, among which Flip the System: Changing Education from the Ground Up.

Rocktopus is an award-winning children's rock band and school workshop provider. Rocktopus are a real life rock band for kids and families with two albums on international release and a whole load of exciting live shows and festivals under their belts! They've written a whopping 650+ songs with children during their school workshops which combine their experiences as trained primary teachers and rock stars, to create songs and even music videos about school values, PE, health and fitness.

Roger read philosophy at Oxford, graduating in 1975. After teaching for 5 years in a junior school, he took an Open University degree in maths, which he then taught at a secondary school for 10 years. In the early 90's he trained in Philosophy for Children with Matthew Lipman and creative thinking with Edward de Bono, and became a freelance educator in P4C and thinking skills, especially critical thinking. He was an advisor to the IBO on ToK, and designed the IGCSE, 'Global Perspectives'.

Roy Leighton is founding partner of Positive Peace Cambridge with Professor Hilary Cremin (head of the faculty of Education at Cambridge University). He is also creative director for Undiscovered Country and a senior associate at Independent Thinking Ltd. He works with schools, universities, businesses, and communities in the UK and internationally to help develop cultures of 'positive peace' to support engagement, transcend conflict and improve outcomes.

Sarah Davies is the Author of Talking about Oracy and is currently an assistant headteacher supporting the induction if trainees and ECTs in an academy in the north west. She has also written articles for SecEd, TES, The Headteacher, Teaching Times and TeachIt.

Sarah is a Child, Community and Educational Psychologist. Sarah has a particular interest in involving children and young people in understanding and developing their strengths and ensuring they feel thought about and listened to. Sarah is passionate about promoting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people and exploring how education can facilitate wellbeing and bring joy.

Sian James manages a national Creative Learning programme with the Arts Council of Wales, supporting over 600 schools and their teachers to explore innovative pedagogy and teach creatively and for creativity across the new curriculum. Rosie McConnell has over 30 years experience of working in and around education, both formally and informally across all age ranges. She joined the Arts Council of Wales' freelance team of Creative Agents in 2017 and now helps to design and deliver creative education programmes across Wales.

I have taught as a mainstream primary school teacher for the past 8 years. My life dream was to open a farm school, but I pushed it aside and started my family and kept the job that paid the mortgage. Fast forward to September 2022, my eldest daughter started reception at the school I taught at.. and lasted 12 days. Her whole character changed and that's when I knew I had to make the jump. I now run an alternative centre, in the process of becoming a full independent primary school in Beds.

Sophie is the Founder of Mindfulness for learning. Her passion and commitment to enhance and support the lives of families and schools came after she recognised the decline in mental health and wellbeing during her decade of teaching in Inner London Primary Schools. She specialises in the Early Years Foundation Stage and as a Mental Health Lead has worked closely with parents and educators to initiate and develop strategies to better the wellbeing and mental health of school communities.

Dr Sue Roffey has been a teacher, psychologist, academic, social activist and parent. She is honorary a/professor at University College London and Director of Growing Great Schools Worldside. Sue has written numerous books, chapters and articles on aspects of wellbeing in schools, including Creating the World We Want to Live In. She is currently writing ASPIRE to Wellbeing and Learning for All. The Principles Underpinning Positive Education - both published by Routledge.

I am a teacher of Religious Studies at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys in Birmingham. From September 2023, I will be Subject Lead for Religious Studies at Colmers School and Sixth Form College.

Tim Taylor works in the UK and internationally, developing and promoting innovation in teaching and learning and ways to engage children in education. Much of his time is spent in classrooms working with students between the ages of four and eleven, demonstrating learning with imagination and supporting teachers. Tim is author of 'A Beginner’s Guide to Mantle of the Expert' (2016), 'Try This...' (2023, co-authored with Viv Aitken) and is the web manager for www.mantleoftheexpert.com.

Tom Sherrington is an education consultant and author. He writes the popular blog teacherhead.com and his books include The Learning Rainforest and best-seller Rosenshine’s Principles in Action. Most recently he co-authored the Teaching WalkThrus series with Oliver Caviglioli. With 30 years' experience as a physics and maths teacher and school leader, Tom now works with hundreds of schools and colleges providing training and consultancy support on improving the quality of teaching through the Walkthrus materials. He is a founding trustee of the National Baccalaureate Trust.

During a 30+ year career as a primary school teacher/leader and 12 years as a mindfulness coach, Tracy has worked with thousands of children and hundreds of teachers and parents, in the UK and internationally. She has an absolute passion for understanding and supporting mental health and for rethinking and restorying the beliefs that drive our actions. Her master’s degree (2018) was the catalyst to take action on a much greater scale, to implement change now and consequently to establish CHERISH

I am a secondary school history teacher, British daughter of two Pakistani parents who came to the UK for medical care for my sister which was not available in Pakistan. This has always prompted me to look at the complexities of new found countries and their access to basic necessities of society.

Valerie Hannon is the co-founder of Innovation Unit (UK and Aus/NZ) and of the Global Education Leaders Program. Her influential books include THRIVE and FutureSchool.

Victoria Bagnall, is a world renowned speaker on executive functioning, brain development and behaviour. She is the co-founder of Connections in Mind and has dedicated her life to raising awareness about neurological differences, executive functioning and brain states. Her work strives to bring about significant societal change by fostering a culture of neuro-inclusion. As a teacher by profession, her skill lies in communicating complex neuroscientific findings simply.