Author list

Kamalagita Hughes has been practicing mindfulness for 25 years and teaching it for 15. She is a qualified teacher and lecturer with substantial experience in the classroom and in teacher training, further education and higher education. Kamalagita is also the education lead for Mindfulness in Action and a lead trainer for the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP). 

Haili Hughes is an experienced teacher and mentor who is passionate about keeping excellent teachers in the classroom, where they make the most impact on young people. She is determined to improve teacher retention rates through the support of high-quality mentors.

View Haili's features on TES here.

Click here to read Haili Hughes' blog.

Sjanie is a psychotherapist, hypnotherapist and menstruality educator specialising in fertility. During her years in practice, both privately and as part of an integrated medical team at the Zita West Fertility Clinic, she has successfully treated many couples with fertility problems.

Sjanie developed The Fertile Body Method which is a unique approach to treating fertility problems using hypnosis and other mind-body approaches. She is passionate about sharing what she knows and continues to teach The Fertile Body Method to therapists throughout Europe and in South Africa. In September 2009 her book The Fertile Body Method: Practitioner's Manual was published, the first of its kind to outline the application of hypnosis and mind-body approaches to treat fertility problems. The Fertile Body Method: Practitioner's Training DVD produced in March 2011 brings the theory in the manual to life, with demonstrations and live therapy sessions.

Since developing the Fertile Body Method, Sjanie has trained a worldwide community of FBM therapists. She continues to contribute to the growing field of fertility and mind-body medicine through writing, teaching and most recently co-founded the new Blossom & Be online fertility support community.



Over the past few years she has further developed her work to acknowledge the menstrual cycle as the foundation for women's wellbeing at all levels. Sjanie is co-founder of Red School, pioneering a ground'breaking approach to women's physical, psychological and spiritual wellbeing based on the menstrual cycle and the journey from menarche to menopause.

Emily Hunt is an experienced primary school teacher with a passion for promoting STEM education. She regularly writes articles and speaks about STEM, and shares activities and blogs on her website www.howtostem.co.uk. Emily holds a Masters of Education from the University of Cambridge and has also worked within the US education system to deliver science outreach.

Click here to read Emily's article on TES.

Left-handed pupils: five quick-win support tips

STEM: Building early foundations

Click here to read Emily Hunt’s blog.

Roy Hunter, MS, Cht, teaches professional hypnosis and advanced techniques for professionals and teaches self hypnosis to groups and clients for personal or professional motivation. He was specially selected to carry on the work of the late Charles Tebbetts. He was awarded a PhD from Alpha University and California University with a major in clinical hypnotherapy.

Jake Hunton is head of modern foreign languages at Heart of England School in Solihull and believes in combining passionate, engaging and fast-paced teaching with a focus on the highest achievement for all students.

Click here to read Jake's insights on teaching approaches, research and challenging misconceptions in education in his interview with The Learning Scientists.

Will Hussey is an experienced teacher and author who writes about thinking ' and spy dogs. Will has a degree in physical and adventure education and reckons that's pretty much how all education should be: sedentary and unadventurous education is not much use to anyone. He's completed three London marathons and the Snowdon marathon. He's vowed never again'. He is (almost) a black belt in karate and has a wife and two children who don't take him too seriously.

Louise Hutton is an experienced teacher of RE who is currently an assistant head teacher at a large comprehensive school in Poole, where she also leads on staff development and teaching and learning. She is passionate about ensuring that her colleagues are research-informed and focused on high-quality teaching strategies in their subject areas.

Click here to read Louise Hutton’s blog.

Barry Hymer is Emeritus Professor of Psychology in Education at the University of Cumbria and Chief of Science for the leading online chess learning platform, Chessable. Barry has written 11 books and numerous papers on the subject of teaching and learning and he is one of the UK's foremost authorities on the educational applications of mindset theory.

Click here to read Barry Hymer's blog.

An English specialist with over twenty years' teaching experience, Martin Illingworth is a senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University with responsibility for English and drama PGCE. As an Independent Thinking Associate he has delivered keynote speeches and workshops across the UK, and has also worked internationally ' undertaking research in Cairo, Egypt, and at the University of Toronto in Canada.

Nick J. Thorpe is a journalist, writer and editorial consultant whose work has been featured by media organisations around the world. As well as trying new things for a year he has driven a black cab to Mongolia and attempted to have a cup of tea with someone from every country in the world. He now lives in Hong Kong, and is still trying new things.

Nina Jackson is an international education consultant who has a breathtaking grasp of what makes classrooms, children and their teachers tick. She's a leading practitioner in all areas of teaching and learning with particular expertise in special educational needs, digital technology and mental and emotional health. She has transformed learning and teaching in some of the most challenging schools in the UK as well as working extensively with schools on the international circuit.

An accredited Apple Teacher, winner of the IPDA International Prize for Education and described by the TES as an inspirational, evangelical preacher of education', Nina is a tour-de-force when it comes to enlivening teaching and learning for all.

Nina is one of the happiest, most effervescent personalities in education today and puts her own learning, and the learning of others, at the heart of everything she believes in.

Ninjas and Sherbet Lemons ' Nina Jackson in the Time Out Room ' PP179

Click here to read Nina Jackson’s blog.

Lenore F Jacobson was principal of an elementary school in the South San Francisco Unified School District in 1963 when she started a correspondence with Harvard psychologist Robert Rosenthal which led to the influential Pygmalion Effect study.

Charismatic and possessing a profound ability to bring out the best in people, Dr Tad James was a staunch believer in the inexhaustible inner potential of human beings. He was an exciting, dynamic and  transformational seminar leader, and a pioneer in the field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). As a successful personal success coach and NLP Master Trainer, Tad was the creator of a revolutionary new paradigm for human change known as the Time Line therapy technique.

Tad James taught NLP, Time Line therapy and hypnosis for over 35 years, and served as President of the American Board of Hypnotherapy for over 20 years. He was the author of seven books and numerous audios and videos in the field of NLP, including the bestselling The Secret of Creating Your Future, which shows people how to realize their goals in life. In 1999 Tad wrote Hypnosis: A Comprehensive Guide, a bestseller in the hypnosis field, and in 2001 he co-authored Presenting Magically, which details all his training expertise and secrets. Actors James Brolin and Linda Gray loved his work so much that they hosted an infomercial with Tad in 1994 that promoted audiotape versions of his book, The Secret of Creating Your Future. In addition to his interests in NLP and hypnosis training, Tad was a student, researcher and respected teacher of the healing and shamanistic science of Hawaiian Huna. His two volumes of The Lost Secrets of Ancient Hawaiian Huna were published in 1998. 

Tad James attended Syracuse University and graduated with a master's degree in mass communication. He began his career as a manager of a radio station, and went on to manage his own station at a later date. At this time, the plight of the small businessman led him to become a business consultant. While doing business consulting he realized he could not help everyone he wanted. Even though his master's degree was in mass communication, he found something missing in the art of communication between humans. He began to research into powerful ways of communicating and creating change within both people and  organizations, and this led him to the field of NLP. Made the second NLP Master Trainer by Richard Bandler, one of NLP's founders, Tad quickly recognized the value of high involvement and shorter trainings.

Because of his dedication, hard work and unmatched discovery of the Time Line therapy technique, it did not take long before Tad rose to become a leader in the field of NLP. His name duly became synonymous with NLP excellence: he trained and certified more successful trainers than even the founders of NLP. His sole aim was to give his best and to bring out the best in every person he met in his trainings.

Tad James was the first NLP trainer to do a Learn NLP Training in an accelerated format. A leading advocate for expanding human potential and efficiency, he designed and implemented the seven-day NLP training program before anyone else did. His innovative spirit sometimes led to controversies, however. Initially met with opposition, his accelerated seven-day format (with pre-study) has since become the industry standard.

In 1988 his research became more widely known with the publication of his first book, Time Line Therapy and The Basis of Personality. Since then, Time Line therapy techniques have become a major modality for creating powerful change in business, education and therapy. Time Line therapy utilizes a person's own internal Time Line' to work with their unconscious minds in a variety of ways, including healing emotional
traumas and eradicating unwanted thoughts, emotions and behaviors. It has been so successful in its results that thousands of people ' including psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family counselors, social workers, life and business coaches, and even athletics coaches ' have utilized it for over a decade. It is so highly regarded that the Council of Psychotherapy in Croatia asked to be trained by Tad in Time Line  Therapy so that they could help many of the victims of the war who were suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Tad appeared on hundreds of local and national television programs throughout North America, Europe, Australia and the UK ' sharing his breakthrough techniques and empowering his students. Throughout his career Tad had only one dream: to empower people to find their best potential both inside themselves and collectively in order to transform the planet'. Tad traveled extensively while delivering trainings and seminars in the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Asia and Australia, sometimes being away from home 11 months per year.

Since 2001, his wife Dr Adriana James joined him in his work, and together they founded The Tad James Co., one of the world's leading and most innovative NLP companies. The couple quickly emerged as a dynamic team, and together they developed new techniques and paradigms for prosperity, health and success. Their legacy of life focuses on the success and accomplishment of all their students. Tad's books, audios, videos and seminars have been used by hundreds of thousands of people around the world to create happier, more fulfilling lives.

The 'NLP Lifetime Contribution Award, awarded following a public vote, was presented to Tad James at the 2017 NLP awards ceremony.

Richard James has been teaching and organising chess for children since 1972. Between 1975 and 2006, Richard ran the highly successful Richmond Junior Chess Club, whose members included Luke McShane, Jonathan Rowson and other future grandmasters. He is also the author of Chess for Kids and The Right Way to Teach Chess to Kids, and has written extensively on chess history and trivia.

Discover Richard's websites:

Chess with Richard – Transforming children's lives through chess

Sian James manages a national creative learning programme with the Arts Council of Wales and has supported over 700 schools and their teachers to explore innovative pedagogy and prepare for the introduction of a new expansive curriculum. Having gained her Masters at Trinity College, Sian started out as a television researcher, going on to spend over a decade working within Communications for the Arts and Heritage sector in Wales. Sian is passionate about the arts, and the sector’s positive engagement with education.

Lisa Jane Ashes is an experienced professional development provider for all things teaching and learning. Lisa has worked in many school-based roles, ranging from classroom support to leadership, and her ability to create collaborative curriculums that allow all learning to be taken forward, used and improved comes from her many and varied experiences in schools.

Click here to listen to Lisa on the Pivotal Podcast.

Click here to read Lisa's article on Innovate my School.

Click here to read Lisa Jane Ashes' blog.

Kay Jarvis was a tutor in the faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of Lincoln, where she spearheaded the Parents and Children Working Together Project. She regularly ran training courses for parents on lifelong learning skills, and was a high school governor. Kay now spends her time on research, travel and writing.

Jaz Ampaw-Farr is a writer, international speaker and self-described ‘resilience ninja’ whose enthusiasm is both infectious and hugely motivating. Her background as a stand-up comedian and teacher, combined with her commitment to empowering teachers, makes her talks both engaging and resourceful. Named "The British Oprah" by US audiences and three-time winner of Speaker of the Year, Jaz's raw honesty and humour have already inspired millions through her viral TED talk and headline keynotes for organisations from Google to Gucci.

100 Years, 100 Women: Jaz Ampaw-Farr' - click here to listen in.

'Dear Teacher, I Know my Behaviour Makes you Mad, but you Need to Understand what my Life is Like- - click here to read the full article on teachwire.

Jaz has been named a TIME Person of the Year' 2017 - see her video here.

Interview with Jaz Ampaw-Farr ' how to be 10% braver.

Angela Jenkins has extensive experience in English education and school improvement having worked as an adviser in three different local authorities and two multi-academy trusts in the last 20 years. As well as providing link adviser support for individual schools she also took strategic responsibility for English and assessment. Recently, Angela has worked as an independent consultant, providing specialist advice and support for the development of exceptional curriculum, pedagogy and assessment both in primary and secondary settings. She is currently co-chair of the National Association of Advisers in English (NAAE).

Jill has taught for thirty years in six different schools, both state and independent, and was a head for the last ten years of her time in schools. She has also taught at GCSE and A-Level in the evenings for several years. Since then, Jill has completed a doctorate that explored the transition into headship, wrote a book about it; Making The Leap: Moving from Deputy to Head and carried out an extensive range of leadership development work. She has also given a TEDx presentation on the subject ‘Take a Second Look: Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Others’, which you can watch here and has published three short novels.