A highly experienced communication expert, Karen Dempster is co-founder of Fit2Communicate, a Fellow of the Institute of Internal Communications and a certified DISC personality profile practitioner. She is passionate about raising the standard of communication in all schools in order to support better student outcomes. Prior to 2015, Karen spent 20 years in marketing and communication roles. She is also a professional photographer and lives in Surrey with her husband, son and collection of pets.
Click here to read Karen Dempster’s blog.
Dr Ian Devonshire is a neuroscientist and lecturer who has spearheaded a range of innovative, inter-disciplinary research projects involving universities, schools, private companies, charities and the government. Ian has worked in research laboratories at the Universities of Oxford and Sheffield and is currently based at Nottingham University Medical School whilst also holding an associate lectureship at the Open University.
Colin Diamond, CBE has worked in education leadership for over 40 years. In this time, he has held two Director of Education posts as well as working as a Senior Civil Servant in Whitehall. In 2018, Colin took up post as Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Birmingham. Mindful of his childhood in Liverpool, he is passionate about inclusion and social justice. He also plays in bands and supports Liverpool FC.
David Didau is Senior Lead Practitioner for English at Ormiston Academies Trust and a freelance writer, blogger, speaker, trainer and author. He started his award-winning blog, The Learning Spy, in 2011 to express the constraints and irritations of ordinary teachers, detail the successes and failures within his own classroom, and synthesise his years of teaching experience through the lens of educational research and cognitive psychology. Since then he has spoken at various national conferences, has directly influenced Ofsted and has worked with the Department for Education to consider ways in which teachers' workload could be reduced.
Read this article on the 3 reasons why you need to buy The Secret of Literacy.
Read this article on David Didau's journey to becoming an edu-sceptic in Schools Week.
On this episode of the Mr Barton Maths Podcast, Craig Barton speaks to David Didau.
Click here to read David Didau’s blog.
Armando Di-Finizio has, over the course of his career, taught in seven schools in deprived areas of London, Bristol and Cardiff. With a guiding conviction that every child can go on to flourish in life, Armando has successfully led three schools from being among the lowest performing in the country to achieving outcomes well above expectations. Armando’s innovative practices have been successfully applied in the many schools he has worked with and supported over the years.
A teacher and educationalist, and former co-owner and director of Pivotal Education, Ellie Dix has been obsessed with board games from an early age. Ellie firmly believes that board games have positively influenced her ability to solve problems, manage failure and experiment with multiple paths to success ' and she now puts her teaching skills, understanding of behaviour and experience with gamification to use by helping parents to introduce board games to family life.
Hear Ellie talk about her book below and visit Ellie's You Tube channel to find out more about her work.
Fortunes, not Feuds: 7 essential tips for playing board games with family'
13 ways playing board games benefits your child'
The Parenting Show Episode 141
Click here to read Ellie Dix’s blog.
As a teacher, leader and teacher trainer, Paul Dix has been working to transform the most difficult behaviour in the most challenging urban schools, referral units and colleges for the last 25 years. In addition to working directly with schools, Paul has advised the Department for Education on the Teachers' Standards, given evidence to the Education Select Committee and done extensive work with the Ministry of Justice on behaviour and restraint in youth custody. Paul is a leading campaigner for the #BanTheBooths campaign (www.banthebooths.co.uk) and is a member of both the IntegratEd Reference Group and the Ethical Leadership Group.
Dr David Dixon was a full-time primary teacher for 15 years before becoming a head teacher for the following two decades. In that time, he promoted the twin causes of environmental education and sustainability, which formed the central ethos of his schools. David is now a freelance education consultant, specialising in curriculum and leadership and helping individual schools to link sustainability with school improvement more generally.
Dr Eleanor Dommett is a Senior Lecturer in Biological Psychology and Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, part of King's College London. Her research focuses on models of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and mechanisms of action of therapeutic drugs in this condition. She has conducted research at Sheffield University, Oxford University and the Open University and has taught at a variety of institutions. She is currently teaching on the BSc Psychology at King's and has a special interest in technology-enhanced learning.
Chris Dyson was the proud head teacher of Parklands Primary School in Seacroft, Leeds for over eight years. Having been raised in a single-parent household, receiving free school clothes and free school meals himself, Chris' connection between his early life and that of Parklands’ pupils is rooted in common experience. He is now Deputy CEO at Create Partnership Trust, and believes that education is the key to making the future brighter.