The International Schools Network

What can you do to attract and retain great teachers? Our Head of Community, Max Humpston, and Laura Liguori (Advisor to Educators Abroad and founding member of ISN) recently sat down with three heads of school to share practical strategies focused on a number of important themes, including how they attract and retain the best teachers. Key discussion themes: Incentives great teachers are looking...

How can you inspire a love of science in your students? How can we encourage all students to pursue science beyond the classroom? (Sponsored by DK Learning ) Max (Head of Community at ISN) speaks to three outdoor education experts from different international schools and regions around the world to discuss the importance of fostering a love of science in primary school students and the impact can...

How can you inspire a creative spark in your students? And, how does a creative spark help them thrive in their other subjects? Our Head of Community, Max Humpston, sits down with Trevor Wilson, Director of Authors Abroad , and three experts from different international schools and regions around the world to discuss how they use their own creative spark to inspire their students, how this may dif...

How can you create impactful outdoor learning opportunities? What can be done to make outdoor learning easier, safer, and more accessible? (Sponsored by Polaris Outdoor ) Max (Head of Community at ISN) speaks to four outdoor education experts from different international schools and regions around the world to discuss how you can take learning outdoors and how to use CPD to give teachers access to...

In this interview, Matthew Barnsley , Director and Founder of Polaris Outdoor , shares his journey from geology student, to teacher, to outdoor learning expert Mat is an experienced exploration geologist , specialising in remote, desert, high altitude mountain, jungle and arctic environments and has worked with the Natural History Museum Lima , the Bear Grylls production team. Mat is also an exper...

What role does personal and professional development, and safeguarding play in student and staff wellbeing? Our Head of Community, Max Humpston, sits down with Richard Palmer and Angela Milliken-Tull, Co-Directors of Chameleon PDE, and three wellbeing and safeguarding experts from different international schools and regions around the world to discuss the role personal and professional development...

What key lifelong skills can a gap year, if planned in the right way, help to develop? And, how might having a gap year help students thrive when they move into higher education and the future world of work? Our Head of Community, Max Humpston, sits down with Sahar Thomson, Admissions and Alumni Coordinator at Global Citizen Year , and three career guidance experts from different international sch...

What are the benefits and practicalities of teaching and learning home languages (or mother languages) in an international school? In this discussion, guest host Jacob Huckle (Head of Multilingual Learning at Dulwich College Suzhou) speaks to four senior international education experts from different regions and schools around the world to discuss the academic benefits of maintaining and developin...

Why is it important to make students aware of and teach climate and sustainability education in a school setting? In this discussion, Max (Head of Community @ ISN) speaks to three senior international education experts from different regions and schools around the world to discuss why all teachers from all subjects should be working to include climate and sustainability education into their subjec...

How can you create a culture of agency in your school? In this discussion, Max (Head of Community @ ISN) speaks to three senior international education experts from different regions and schools around the world to discuss what is understood by teacher agency and how a culture of agency can be sustainably implemented in a school, including some of the practical and actionable strategies they have...

How might we anticipate the world of work changing in the future? And, what is the one change every school should be making in anticipation of preparing students for the future world of work? In this discussion, Max (Head of Community @ ISN) speaks to four senior international education experts from different regions and schools around the world to discuss how the world of work has changed over th...

Why is adopting personalised learning into your curriculum so important? How is personalised learning the future of education? Max (Head of Community at ISN) speaks to six international education experts from different regions around the world to discuss personalised learning and the future of assessment, including some of the practical and actionable strategies they have implemented in their own...

How do you understand what professional development needs your staff and teachers have and how do you prioritise those needs? How can you leverage your own staff and internal expertise to optimise professional development in your school? Max (Head of Community at ISN) speaks to Ed Lawless - Executive Director, Learning & Innovation at The Qatar Foundation - to discuss professional development,...

How can you create a culture of coaching in your school? And, what benefits can coaching bring to your staff and teachers? Max (Head of Community at ISN) speaks to four international education experts from different regions around the world about how to build a coaching culture at your school, including some of the practical and actionable strategies they have implemented in their own internationa...

What should an effective post-pandemic marketing strategy look like? And, how you can avoid making the most common international school marketing mistakes Richard Gaskell, CEO of International Education Solutions, talks to three marketing experts about the ways that international school marketing has had to adapt post-pandemic, sharing some of the practical and actionable strategies they have impl...

Alice Curwood and Mark Atkinson discuss how they revolutionised professional development in their Physical Education department at the Alice Smith School in Malaysia What does an effective professional development programme look like? While there is no unique formula, there are some characteristics that make a PD session particularly useful: for example, being tailored to your – and your students’...

What are the consequences if schools cannot create a truly diverse environment for their staff and students? Kevin Simpson is an educator with two decades of experience in several countries and he is the founder of the Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color (AIELOC). A lack of diversity, he says, means a loss of perspectives, ideas, and potential to innovate. And for schools,...

How can international schools effectively cater for learners who need a high level of support? Lori Boll, executive director of the Special Education and Inclusion Association (SENIA ), tells the ISN how she set up a successful programme at the International School Bangkok. Intensive needs learners (or higher support learners), she explained, are those students who need a higher level of support –...

Lindsay Skinner, head teacher and author for Collins , shares her journey to becoming a published author and her top three tips for writing educational resources: Tip 1 - Structure your texts clearly so they are functional resources Tip 2 - Think about your syntax and craft beautiful sentences Tip 3 - Get feedback Find out what the benefits of becoming an author are, and how you can create resourc...

Robert Peel, head teacher and author for Collins , shares his journey to becoming a published author and his top three tips for writing textbooks: Tip 1 - Use concrete examples for abstract ideas Tip 2 - Don't try to put too much flare into your writing that may distract or confuse your pupils Tip 3 - What you find interesting and what your pupils find interesting are often two very different thin...

Julia Burchell, author for Collins , shares her journey to becoming a published author and her top three tips for writing textbooks: Tip 1 - It's not about setting tasks but thinking about the whole series of skills you're trying to teach Tip 2 - Timing of your writing Tip 3 - Keep your glossary and answer log as you go along Find out how getting stuck in the mud in Costa Rica led to a chapter on...

In this interview, published author Isabel Thomas, shares her top practical tips for writing educational text Isabel Thomas, science writer and children’s author for Collins , shares her journey to becoming a published author, and her top three tips for writing educational text: Tip 1 - Develop a distinctive voice Tip 2 - Ask silly questions! Tip 3 - Think about how you conduct research Listen to...

What is the role of multilingualism in international education? How can teachers best support language and literacy acquisition in English and other languages? Five experts share views and strategies (sponsored by ISN partner, DK Learning ) Five ISN members from different schools and contexts tackle the topic of multilingualism and offer practical and actionable strategies around language and lite...

Four education experts join this conversation to discuss approaches to leadership and coaching culture (sponsored by ISN Founding Partner, Making Stuff Better) In this roundtable discussion, we hear from four education experts discussing four very different journeys into leadership, how coaching has helped them succeed in their individual journeys and different leadership approaches that they have...

How can you embed outdoor learning into your curriculum? What factors should you consider when setting up a successful and sustainable outdoor learning programme? (Sponsored by Polaris Outdoor ) Max (Head of Community at ISN) speaks to four outdoor education experts from different international schools and regions around the world to discuss how outdoor education can complement the curriculum and...