The Alternative Path with David Robson

In this episode, we speak to Franck Corrido, Headteacher of Hopewell School, an independent special school in Dagenham. Franck shares his story, including his French heritage, his journey into teaching and his experiences in France and the UK. Throughout our conversation, Frank's warmth in character, his passion for inclusive learning environments and commitment to his school, staff and young...

David and Roger discussed the transformation of Ripple Primary School into an emotionally available school, emphasising the importance of addressing staff's emotional well-being first to better support students, and the impact of relational approaches over punitive measures in education. Roger's passion for inclusive education which will enable every young person to thrive was clear to see. We hop...

Sharon who is the Director of Educating Horizons is an award winning strategist with over 20 years' experience working in schools and focusing on children and young people (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and those who were in Alternative Provision (AP) such as Pupil Referral Units (PRUs). We hope you enjoy our conversation.

In this episode, I spoke to Clare Baker from Restlessminds UK an organisation that provides bespoke person centered support to young people and adults. Clare has experienced varied types of education throughout her career. We also discussed Clare's experience of Unschooling and her diagnosis of ADHD as an adult. We hope you enjoy our open and honest conversation. Restlessminds UK Enjoy

In this week's episode, I had the absolute pleasure of talking to Adam Dabin. Adam is the former Head Teacher of Sir Bobby Robson School in Ipswich and since then has moved on to be a Director of SEND for Unity Schools Partnership. In our conversation, we discussed balancing work and family, SEMH, Mainstream SEND and the importance of relationships and school communities. Enjoy!

In this podcast, Jack and I discussed his journey through education and his experiences. Jack was excluded from mainstream education in his middle school years, Jack discussed his experiences through his school years and throughout our conversation, he speaks about the work that was done to turn his life around once he moved to specialist provision. As someone with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (O...

In this episode, I had my second chat with Stu Evans who is the Headteacher of New Leaf Inclusion Centre in Walsall. I first spoke to Stu around the first lockdown and it was great to speak to him about the ongoing work that has been in place since he arrived at what was, at the time an 'Inadequate' rated Pupil Pupil Referral Unit.

In this podcast, James Lowe and I discussed his journey into education and the journey he has been on so far as the Founder/Director of both EdStart and Next Level Learning. After teaching sport, public services and social policy in different sectors across Manchester, James registered the school alongside Chris Irwin and a small team. From there he has been responsible for the growth of the schoo...

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking to Joe Cole who is the Founder of The RightPath. Having recently met Joe it was great to chat to him about his journey through education, the influence people had on his childhood and his vision for helping young people through their journey. “The RightPath delivers a variety of bespoke social and emotional wellbeing provisions that aid personal deve...

Rebecca Harbord – Social Channel and Brand Manager at Woodmor Foundation C.I.C In this episode I chatted to Rebecca Hardbord who is the Social Channel and Brand Manager at Woodmor Foundation C.I.C . The foundation provides unique employment initiatives which showcase employability skills for our participants. We do this by creating a digital CV called a ‘Me Movie’ which supplements traditional CV’...

Natalie Reardon – Deputy Head Teacher and SENCo at Kedleston Group In this episode, I had the absolute pleasure of talking to Natalie Reardon who is a passionate member of the Kedleston Group SLT team. Natalie is currently Deputy Head Teacher and SENCo at a SEMH / Autism School in Bury, Greater Manchester. In our conversation, we spoke about the benefits of giving young people more autonomy, respe...

Warren King - In this episode I spoke to Warren who is an Ex-drug dealer, ex-gang leader, ex-prisoner, sentenced to three and a half years in prison for possession with intent to sell Class A & B drugs, and production of a class B drug.  Warren had no qualifications before his incarceration and thought: “All I would ever be good at was selling drugs.”  I lacked confidence and had no...

Stephen Steinhaus – Principal of Solihull Academy & Frontman/Singer In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking to Stephen Steinhaus from Solihull Academy in the midlands.  Solihull Academy opened in April 2018 because Solihull needed an additional, alternative solution for a number of students for whom mainstream education is simply not working (for a range of reasons). Put bluntly, S...

Sarah Dove Founder of Phoenix Education Consultancy and President of PRUsAP Sarah has over 15 years’ experience working in Pupil Referral Units and Alternative Provisions, ‘I am passionate about and dedicated to, ensuring every child, regardless of the severity of their vulnerabilities or complexity of their needs, are given an opportunity to embrace all components of education rather than simply...

Jeremy Dodd Co-Headteacher at The Academy of Central Bedfordshire . Central Bedfordshire School's Forum member. In this episode, I had the pleasure in chatting to Jeremy. He is an educator who has a clear passion for inclusivity and care for his staff and pupil’s. The Academy of Central Bedfordshire is an alternative provision free school and is set across two sites. The staff works holistically w...

Hannah is an award-winning leader, speaker and influencer, with a huge heart for young women and for every girl to know her true worth. Hannah founded Cherished in 2011, in response to her own personal experiences and seeing the attachment needs of young girls not being met. ‘I’ve always felt strongly about the need for girls to be understood and being a part of their journey to become strong, con...

Nikki Mears & Nick Boothroyd - The founding team behind Naturally Talented Me Naturally Talented Me (NTM) is a Community Interest Company that has been launched to address longstanding inequalities in the employment market. Inequalities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 lockdown as many millions are being displaced from previously secure and long-term jobs and are unclear as to where...

In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Ben Levinson Headteacher at Kensington Primary School in Newham, London. Ben and Kensington Primary School won Teaching Awards Primary School of the Year and TES Wellbeing and Mental Health School of the Year. Having spoken to Ben and got a good understanding of what he has created at Kensington it is clear to see that Ben, his Team, Pupils, and...

Fay Greaves - Engagement for Learning Lead (SLT SEMH School) In this episode, I chatted to Fay Greaves who is an SLT from an Essex based SEMH Residential School for boys. She has worked in the sector for over 30 years and through her love of sports in particular basketball, she has helped a number of young people re engage with education. Fay’s skills have been enhanced by the 35 years she has spe...

Aniesa Blore - Independent Pediatric Occupational  Therapist – Author Aniesa completed her degree in Occupational Therapy in  1999 at the University of Stellenbosch, in South Africa. She has since been focusing on paediatrics and sensory processing and integration. She has worked across a range of paediatric fields and has extensive experience in children’s issues from autism to learning...

In this episode I chatted to Jules Daulby who is an experienced inclusion, literacy and assistive technology specialist, writer, and public speaker. She has worked in education for more than 20 years as a teacher and in strategic and advisory roles.  Jules is also a national leader for @WomenEd and @WomenEd_Tech, both set up to support existing and aspiring women leaders in education and tech...

In the episode I had the pleasure in chatting to Steven Russell . In our chat we spoke about our own vulnerabilities and the benefit of opening ourselves up to our vulnerabilities to make us stronger. We also chatted about how we might look back on the way in which a lot of young people are being isolated and excluded. Elements is a social & emotional mental health (SEMH) support service for p...

Having only been diagnosed with dyslexia in his late thirties, Darren left school with no qualifications and had to work extremely hard to earn his previous position as regional manager for one of the largest food retailers in the UK. Darren decided that raising awareness for dyslexia was paramount for it to be recognised early and wants to inspire in every generation the knowledge that dyslexia i...

Shiraz Khan FRSA FCCT – Headteacher Primary School Brent Council This week I had the pleasure in chatting to Shiraz Khan who is a Headteacher of a Voluntary Aided, Local Authority, community Primary School in Brent. Shiraz’s career has taken him to varied educational settings which has given him a fantastic amount of experience with a diverse range of young people. In my first conversation with Sh...

This week I chatted to Adam Dabin who is the Headteacher of the Sir Bobby Robson School , part of the Unity Schools Partnership, a brand new school which caters for pupils aged between 8 and 16 who’s primary special educational need is Social, Emotional and Mental Health. We have all faced our challenges the last 12 months but opening a school in the middle of COVID-19 is something Adam, all his t...