GESScast

In this episode of GESScast, Millie chats with Dr Helen Wright, a highly regarded global leader with an energetic career spanning 3 decades in UK and international education. Dr Helen discusses her coaching, challenges for leaders, as well as her upcoming talks at the GESS Leaders in Education Summit Saudi Arabia. The Summit is taking place on 6 - 7 May 2024 at the Voco, Riyadh.

In this episode of GESScast, we're joined by Ewan McIntosh, Founder and Managing Director of NoTosh. We hear about his career path, starting out as a teacher, venturing out into the television and internet business, and ultimately returning back to education with NoTosh. Millie and Ewan discussed enjoying the journey rather than just focusing on the destination, and how we can encourage young people to do so. Listen to find out about one of Ewan's favourite days that was filled with laughter and helps him unwind.

In this episode of GESScast, Millie speaks to Sharon Ward about her worldwide travels with her husband and two young girls. Whilst away in different countries, Sharon and her husband combine wild-schooling, world-schooling, un-schooling, and home-schooling. Sharon shares some valuable insight into the real-world experiences her daughters are having in the different countries that they explore. It's fantastic to hear how resourceful and creative they are with the lessons and activities they plan. This is a very interesting episode that you don't want to miss!

In this episode of GESScast, Danny talks to the CEO of Chatsworth and Blenim Schools Group, one of the leading school groups in the UK. Anita talks us through her impressive journey starting off as a teacher to eventually holding several leadership positions in the education field, including being a Founding Partner and Director of Operations and Education for The International Schools Partnership which today owns 48 schools around the world. She shares very valuable insight and key pieces of advice on opening up schools abroad and expanding your brand to new territories. What were the biggest obstacles faced and how along with her team, did she overcome them? This is an episode not to be missed!

In this episode of GESScast Sarah talks to author, speech pathologist and Harvard lecturer Rebecca Rolland about her latest book “The Art of Talking with Children: The Simple Keys to Nurturing Kindness, Creativity, and Confidence in Kids". We find out about her "Rich Talk" approach and how important it is for adults / teachers to learn how to connect strongly with kids and how to approach difficult conversations honestly and directly. Rebecca also tells us why it's so urgent in the currently climate to have these discourses and how to approach information overload. 

In this episode we're joined by Russell Cailey, Director of the Centre of Innovation and Training, Think Global School. Sarah finds out about Think Global School's innovative approach to student led real world programmes, preparing students for careers of the future and how to create better schools. We also chat about the launch of the THINK Learning Studio, a global innovation, consulting, and professional training center focused on interdisciplinary real-world learning.

In this episode of GESScast Sarah speaks to Prof. Dr. Ger Graus OBE live at GESS Turkey 2022. A familiar face on the global education stage, Ger tells us about his background and story and his thoughts on how students can overcome the ceiling of aspiration. We explore more about one of his famous phrases - ‘Children can only aspire to what they know exists’ and discuss how teachers and schools can balance all the conflicting challenges thrown at them and just how great teachers are! 

In this episode, we're joined by Sarah Louise Saiger, School Development Manager at Cambridge International. Starting off as a professional badminton player that was rising to stardom and getting prepared to be an Olympic athlete, Sarah faced an unfortunate career-ending injury that stopped her aspirations short. She shares inspiring stories of how she mentally overcame the injury and adopted an "everything happens for a reason" outlook which helped shape where she is today. We hear about her career transition into education, what makes the sector so special, and her goals going forward. It's an inspiring episode not to be missed.

In this episode, we're joined by Rasha Al Najjar, Middle and High School Assistant Principal at Al Hekmah International School in Bahrain. Starting off as a Science teacher and coordinator and moving up quickly to become a member of the SLT at her school, Rasha recalls the challenges that she and her colleagues faced in the last academic year and shares the measures that they've taken this year to ensure a smooth restart to in-person learning with wellbeing of staff and students in the forefront of their priorities. We hear her views on the future of online learning and whether it's here to stay even in the absence of a crisis, her love for the environment and passion to ensure SDGs are worked towards to ensure a better future for our young learners. 

The latest episode of GESScast welcomes Niall Statham, Senior Leadership Team member and Head of PE at Hartland International School Dubai. Find out what led Niall to an overnight stay in hospital recently as well as his journey into teaching and why Dubai is such a special place to work in education. Ahead of the return to classroom teaching in Dubai, we found out how Niall and his colleagues are preparing and what this will look like for educators and students. Niall also reflects on how EdTech has been utilised successfully and not so successfully at Hartland in the context of the last 18 months and how those experiences have shaped EdTech utilization in the future. 

In this episode of GESScast we're joined by Dr. Rana Tamim, Advisor to The Provost and Former Dean of the College of Education at Zayed University. With a wealth of experience including graduate and undergraduate university instruction and supervision; adult in-service training, and K-12 teaching and coordination in different countries including Canada, Lebanon, UAE, and KSA, Dr. Rana talks about the challenges that both researchers and academics are facing at the moment, ways that higher education institutions can support in overcoming these challenges and most importantly, the need to bridge the gap between both parties to navigate through difficult times and beyond. We get fantastic insight on a project she's currently working on; a systematic review of research published in the last two years about Covid and its impact on the educational sector so that we can understand the lessons learnt and avoid repeating them going forward. 

In this episode of GESScast we're joined by Rachael Pryce, Educator and Founder of EducationYalla. With over 20 years of experience working in education taking on various roles as a teacher, head of department, pastoral care leader and STEM coordinator to name a few, Rachael talks about her career highs and lows, passion for developing STEM education, the biggest challenges facing educators at the moment and what made her start her own company to help students develop skills required for a ‘future-proof’ workforce and career. We hear inspiring stories about overcoming health obstacles, maintaining connections with former students who now hold successful positions, scuba diving and sailing around different parts of the world!

In this episode of GESScast we're joined by Charlotte Dawson, Eco Schools Leader at GEMS Metropole School. With 10 years of experience teaching in the UAE and a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from Tampere University of Applied Sciences in Finland, Charlotte talks about her career highs and lows, passion for developing environmental education and the biggest challenges facing educators at the moment. We chat about the importance of connecting students to nature and her hopes for education going forward. 

In this episode of GESScast we're joined by Eman Hamshari, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lead at Taaleem. With over 13 years of experience, Eman has covered the full education spectrum from teaching, curriculum advising and building, to adopting innovation in schools dealing with challenging cases using design thinking approaches. We chat about how the last year has been for her and what she feels are the biggest challenges facing teachers and school leaders at the moment. Eman tells us about some of the latest sustainable initiatives that she's been working on including a sustainable fashion show which she led at her school. We also find out about her passion for Art, views for the next academic year and what she hopes for the future of education.

In this episode of GESScast we're joined by Brett Girven, Principal at The Arbor School in Dubai. Having moved to the UAE from his native New Zealand, Brett has more than ten years of experience leading schools in the Middle East. We chat about how the last year has been for him and what he feels are the biggest challenges facing leaders at the moment. Brett tells us about his career and what has been his career highlight so far. We also find out his thoughts on what the future academic year might hold and his hopes for the future. 

In this episode of GESScast Sarah speaks to Bathsheba Smithen an international motivational speaker, radio personality, performing artist, author, educational consultant, English teacher, and the CEO and Founder of Cage Free Voices, LLC, an international multi-service educational entertainment company, that educates youth and young adults who struggle with self-image and identity by constructing powerful learning experiences. We hear about her many roles and projects, her Edtech experiences and her work training teachers and empowering young women to, “See themselves, even if the world is blind.” 

In this episode of GESScast, Danny speaks to Linda Parsons, Digital Lead at Deira International School. We hear very interesting and inspiring stories about her career journey and work as both a Biology teacher and Digital Lead across different schools in the region. Hear touching stories about challenges that she faced and how she overcame them through the help of peers and the education community. Linda also talks about some of the new projects that she's leading which centre around development and growth of whole school wellbeing, student agency and whole school digital literacy and citizenship. 

In this episode of GESScast Sarah speaks to Massrat Shaikh, Educational Psychologist and Advocate for Social Emotional Learning. We hear about her work with SEN students and identifying what educational needs they have, as well as her work as a career guidance counsellor and mindfulness educator. As you can imagine in the last year she has been incredibly busy! Along with her day to day job she's found the time to raise awareness on mental health, support community mental health with free mindfulness courses and give education programmes through webinars - an inspiration to us all. 

In the forth episode of GESScast, Sarah speaks to Dr Richard Churches, Lead Adviser for Education Reform and Evidence Based Practice at the Education Development Trust. We find out about Richard’s varied career from musician to teacher and beyond! Richard tells us about his latest research – around teacher led randomised control trials, expanding the areas that educators really want to know about and developing a library of cards that summarise the existing research evidence that show a practical example of how it could be used in the classroom to bridge the theory practice gap.

In this episode of GESScast, Danny speaks with Olly Lewis, Educator and Leader at The British International School Abu Dhabi, and winner of the Best use of Digital Learning in the Classroom GESS Award in 2020. We'll hear about the most pressing issues teachers and leaders are facing at the moment and how schools can help support them successfully navigate through difficult times. Olly also shares his story and reasons behind starting #LearnLiveUAE, a great initiative that came to fruition during the pandemic and helps provide educators with online professional development. 

In this episode of GESScast, Danny speaks with Sorcha Coyle, English Teacher and Founder of Empowering Expat Teachers, a 10,000+ member strong global community of expat teachers that provides best practices, support and financial advice to its members. We'll hear about the most pressing issues teachers are facing at the moment and how schools can help support educators successfully navigate through difficult times. Sorcha also shares her vision for the future as well as her personal experiences that have helped her make key decisions to boost financial wellbeing and become a financial advisor for teachers not only in the UAE, but worldwide.

In this episode of GESScast, Sarah speaks with Dr. Gilda Scarfe, CEO and Founder of Positive Ed a global and innovative educational consultancy using research to develop, implement and evaluate mental toughness, wellbeing and 21st-century skills in schools. We'll hear about the most challenging issues is the mental health of young people and how schools can put preventative measures in place to support young people. How Gilda's personal experiences have helped to frame her positive outlook and what we can do individually to help our mental toughness and wellbeing.