Blog Posts

Holding Space Without Burning Out: Understanding Compassion Fatigue and How We Safeguard Ourselves

In caring professions – and in deeply relational roles, holding space for others is sacred work. Whether you are a therapist, coach, nurse, social worker, teacher, spiritual leader, or simply the person everyone turns to in crisis, you are entrusted with stories that carry pain, trauma, grief, and vulnerability. But holding space comes at a cost if we do not tend to ourselves. Compassion fatigue i

25/02/2026 Read more

Growing Up Between Boxes

What does it mean to grow up mixed-race in a world that is obsessed with tidy boxes and simple definitive answers, and what does a journey towards belonging look like? It took me a long time to understand that ‘belonging is not a destination – it’s a journey’. It was journalist and broadcaster Afua Hirsch that first shared this nugget of wisdom with me during an interview on my podcast 

25/02/2026 Read more

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 Consultation

On 12th February 2026, the Department for Education published a new draft of the statutory safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges: Keeping Children Safe in Education.  Amongst other changes, the new draft guidance includes an amended section titled ‘Children who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual’; and a new section titled ‘Children who are questioning their gender’.  Since the draft

25/02/2026 Read more

Curriculum and Assessment Review Analysis

Steps in Evolution? The work of Becky Francis and her team should be commended. It is no small feat to be able to manage a volume of feedback and try to create something new. The Final Report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review is comprehensive. This analysis intends only to consider the evolution of diversity in the curriculum in the Final Report.  So what does the Final Report tell us?&

23/11/2025 Read more

Seen, Valued… and Able: Designing Classrooms for Social and Academic Belonging

Belonging isn’t separate from academic teaching. Strategies that build knowledge—when done correctly—also build belonging. A heartfelt card from reception (kindergarten) child to a headteacher, which says: “I love it how you always pay attention to me when I am talking.” I know the headteacher who received this on the last day of term. She kneels to students’ height, meets their eyes and listens w

23/11/2025 Read more

Disagreeing Well in The Age of Disconnect

It’s the interview question that every medical school applicant is expecting to be asked: “ Why do you want to be a doctor ?” All around the world, aspiring doctors like me somehow managed to say in one way or another: “ I want to help people .” Thankfully,  University College London (UCL) Medical School  gave me the chance to prove it. As a paediatrician, I played a crucial role in the

23/11/2025 Read more

Deficit Language: The Invisible Barrier We Do Not Talk About

We do not just describe people with our words – we define their possibilities. And sometimes, we unintentionally define them by what they lack. Too often, the language we use to describe communities puts the blame on individuals instead of the systems that fail them. This is what we call deficit language. Why is Deficit Language Problematic? As we strive to become more inclusive, we really need to

15/10/2025 Read more

Whose Values Are They Anyway?

This blog is based on a provocation I gave to the Practical Wisdom Network to the question of “Whose values are they anyway?” I approach the provocation through the character lens of practical wisdom.  Walk into any school or scroll through a Multi-Academy Trust’s website, and you’ll see them: Respect, Aspiration, Ambition, Integrity, Courage. Neatly framed, laminated and polished like a bran

15/10/2025 Read more

Belonging in the Classroom: responding to a divided world

It’s a Sunday morning—my favourite time of the week. Coffee in hand (with collagen and creatine, of course), I wander around the house while the kids are already asking for ice cream, Lego time, and the TV (yes, it’s only 8am). Usually, this part of the day comes with a little doom-scrolling, some memes, and a few oddly satisfying cleaning videos. But today feels different. As I scroll, I’m pulled

15/10/2025 Read more

Distorted Mirrors, Fogged Windows: A Call for Deeper Representation in Education

The concept of  “mirrors, windows and sliding doors,”  introduced by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, has become a foundational framework in conversations around diversity in children’s literature and multicultural education. In her metaphor,  mirrors  reflect readers’ own identities and lived experiences,  windows  offer insights into lives different from their own, and 

01/07/2025 Read more

Nurturing Student Growth

As educators, we often encounter students who challenge the structures and expectations imposed upon them. These students, who may not fit neatly into standardized molds, compel us to reconsider how we approach learning and behavior. Much like many of our students, there are times when we, too, long to respond with greater patience, understanding, and freedom from ingrained patterns. The complexit

01/07/2025 Read more

Why Black History Is More Than Just a Month: Embedding Legacy, Learning and Leadership All Year Round

As we mark five years since the murder of George Floyd, the question many of us in education and leadership circles are still grappling with is this: how do we move from reactive to proactive when it comes to race, equity, and inclusion? How do we ensure that Black history is not confined to a single month in October, but becomes a golden thread woven through every aspect of our curriculum, polici

01/07/2025 Read more

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in Leadership: Shaping the Future of the Teaching Workforce

In today’s educational landscape, fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) feels essential for creating a supportive and effective teaching workforce that reflects the lived experiences of the students we serve. This blog post offers some thoughts on the importance of DEIB in educational leadership and highlights the challenges and opportunities for improvement. Understanding I

16/05/2025 Read more

Women of a certain age: The menopause at school

Developing an anti-misogynist culture in your school starts from the top. There must be a commitment from leadership at all levels, and it must be threaded throughout all school practices and policies. However, women remain under-represented within school leadership (Bergmann et al, 2022). In England, the school leadership characteristics and trends report (DfE, 2022) reveals that at primary level

16/05/2025 Read more

Supreme Court Ruling - Key Information for Educators

Introduction  On Wednesday 16th April the UK Supreme Court shared their ruling on the case For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Minister, which interprets the legal definition of the word ‘sex’, as used in the context of The Equality Act 2010.  Since the court handed down, the ruling has been spoken about extensively in the regulated media, unregulated social media, and in Parliament. W

16/05/2025 Read more