Our insights

We are committed to ‘learning in the open’—sharing our insights openly and honestly, while actively inviting engagement and further exploration to drive collective progress towards a brighter future for all babies, children and young people.

Mapping this moment
Connect, Cultivate, Catalyse Sam Fitzpatrick Connect, Cultivate, Catalyse Sam Fitzpatrick

Mapping this moment

Why does leading a school feel heavier right now? It isn’t the familiar burden of accountability, nor even the strain of tightening budgets. It is something else. Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological map as a lens, Sam traces the root of the "current moment"—from rising poverty to crumbled services—to explore why the classroom is carrying the weight of the world.

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Striving for impact
Connect, Cultivate, Catalyse James Townsend Connect, Cultivate, Catalyse James Townsend

Striving for impact

James reflects on what we can learn from two decades of place-based work in the U.S. through the StriveTogether network, interrogating both the promise and the pitfalls of collective impact—and why the next stage of educational reform will depend on leaders who can share responsibility while holding differentiated responsibility.

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Making it real: Turning belonging and mattering into daily practice
Connect, Cultivate Mohamed Abdallah Connect, Cultivate Mohamed Abdallah

Making it real: Turning belonging and mattering into daily practice

Mohamed reflects on why mattering isn’t a soft idea but a moral necessity, and what it takes to make it real. Drawing on research and his recent reflections from the Confederation of School Trusts conference, he explores how belonging and mattering move from intention to action, and why this work sits at the heart of flourishing schools.

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