STEERING GROUP

Jaspar is a London based educational psychologist. He completed his doctoral training Prior to his doctoral training, Jaspar worked in a secondary school with young people who had experienced trauma, and in a CAMHS inpatient unit for adolescents with mental health difficulties. Jaspar has undertaken university research in collaboration with States of Mind as part of the Breaking the Silence project, using Youth Participatory Action Research to allow young people to reimagine the education system. His doctoral research specifically explored how Youth Participatory Action Research can be facilitated in practice.

Geoff James PhD MA BSc (Hons) is a solutions-focused coach/therapist, a teacher, an author and a biologist with forty years' experience in developing, delivering and training strength-based practice for emotional and mental wellbeing across schools, mental health and other settings.

Ruth is a School and Early Years Improvement Advisor and Curriculum Developer. Prior to her advisory roles Ruth taught for 20 years and held various senior leadership roles including Primary Headship. Passionate about Early Years, she is co-author of “Early Childhood Theories Today” and The lead curriculum developer and trainer for Oxford University Press International Early Years Curriculum. She is currently researching physical development in Early Years classrooms at the Centre for Research In Early Childhood.

Tim is a freelance teacher, author, and teacher educator with thirty years experience in education, both in the UK and abroad. Tim is author of ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Mantle of the Expert’ and visiting lecturer at Newcastle University. Tim has run many education programmes, starting with a Innovations Unit funded project in the early 2000s. He now works in schools up and down the UK, working with teachers in their classrooms developing Mantle of the Expert and other teaching strategies.

Andy is the National Wellbeing Director for the Schools Advisory Service and the Strategic Lead for the Centre of Excellence in Mental Health in Schools based at Leeds Beckett University. He is a former President of the NAHT and was, until 2019, headteacher of St Nicholas C of E Primary School in Blackpool. He has also been a National Leader of Education and created the Blackpool Teaching School Alliance, having worked in Blackpool schools for 22 years. Andy is a member of the Blackpool Education Improvement Board,and a former member of the Blackpool Opportunity Area Board and the NAHT Accountability Commission. He chaired the Primary Headteachers group in Blackpool and is currently the independent chair of the Blackpool Multi Academy Trust CEO group.

Dr Sue Roffey is a parent, teacher, psychologist and International educational consultant. She is honorary professor at University College London and teaches on the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology at Anglia Ruskin and the University of East London. A passionate advocate for wellbeing and social justice in education, Sue is a prolific writer, having authored over 20 books and numerous chapters and articles. Creating the World We Want to Live In: How positive psychology can build a brighter future was published by Routledge in 2021. You can read more about Sue’s work at growinggreatschoolsworldwide.com.

Dr James Mannion is the Director of Rethinking Education, an organisation dedicated to improving outcomes for young people through implementation science, self-regulated learning and practitioner inquiry. Previously, James worked as a secondary school Science teacher for 12 years, and spent 8 years in school leadership roles. He is an Associate of Oracy Cambridge, a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and a Bye-Fellow of Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.