In 2022, I designed and facilitated a project funded by Salesforce UK, to support schools to innovate in deep collaboration and implement a more expansive education offer, based on the principle of balancing Head (academic learning), Heart (relationships and wellbeing) and Hand (skills and creativity).  

The Rethinking School (formerly Next Big 10) project now has around 25 schools from across the UK and also internationally in three cohorts.  It works with the support of the Edge Foundation to provide video and written case studies, resources and handbooks to support schools beyond the network.

The project uses a Design Thinking methodology to support innovation along with professional development on implementation theories, including learning on impact evaluation, codification, social network analysis and adopter theory.  Topics explored by schools have included:

• Developing teaching and learning through enabling teacher agency

• Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging under the nine protected characteristics

• Real world learning

• Sustainable schools and tackling the climate crisis

• Digital technologies, including artificial intelligence

• Progressive teaching of non-subject competencies including metacognition, collaboration and creativity

The project held its first annual Next Generation Schools conference in October 2024.