Sketch of a workspace with a long rectangular monitor at the top, a circular platform on the left, a notepad with a pen on the right, and a location marker icon below

Outline drawing of a brain with interconnected lines forming a network pattern.

Shonogh Pilgrim is the CEO of Whole Education.
Rylie Sweeney is a strategic advisor on youth and education policy, helping organisations and public bodies embed youth voice as a driver of meaningful change. She champions inclusive education and works to ensure young people shape decisions that affect them.
Robin Dunbar MA PhD DSc(Hon) FRAI FBA is Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford and a Fellow of the British Academy. He is best known for Dunbar’s Number, the social brain hypothesis, and his work on the evolution of social relationships.
Hywel Roberts is an experienced teacher, writer, and speaker, specialising in Drama approaches and storytelling in classrooms. His books include Oops! Getting Children to Learn Accidentally and Botheredness.
- The school as a community with Robin Dunbar: An engaging learning environment drives success. Though no school can meet every need, we can strengthen belonging by considering size, structure, shared activities, ethos, history, curriculum design, teaching approaches, and relationships.
- BOTHEREDNESS: making learning matter with Hywel Roberts: How do we get a child to care about rivers if they haven’t got a bed? How do we bring the abstract to life? What can a lived curriculum look like?
- Grange: Back from the brink and beyond with Richard Gerver: From near closure to a UNESCO World Education Award. Richard explores vision, empowered teams, and whole community leadership.
New evidence, urgent question: What pupil engagement tells us about our schools, and does engagement really matter with Agnes Fitzpatrick
This lunchtime discussion session by ImpactEd (The Engagement Platform - TEP) shares the latest emerging findings following their national Pupil Engagement Research Commission. Drawing on data from over 200,000 pupils, this session will interrogate the links between engagement and outcomes, and — crucially — what schools and trusts can actually control. We'll explore the uncomfortable question of whether disengagement is something that happens to schools, or something schools can change.
Agnes Fitzpatrick is a Regional Director at The Engagement Platform (TEP), working with school and trust leaders to use engagement data as a driver of school improvement. She trained as a geography teacher and has held senior roles at both Teach First and as Associate Director of a Teaching School Hub. She also holds positions as a Chair of Trustees at a Single Academy Trust, and a Trustee of a Multi-Academy Trust.
- Understanding disengagement in the teenage years
  With Jenny Anderson, Rylie Sweeney, Ben Whitaker and Kate Longworth
- Digital Futures: The role of digital in contemporary schooling
  With Fiona Aubrey-Smith, Allan McLean, Jo Stone and Peter Reeves
- Exploring adult engagement with school
  With Mark Moorhouse
Rylie Sweeney is a strategic advisor on youth and education policy, helping organisations and public bodies embed youth voice as a driver of meaningful change. She champions inclusive education and works to ensure young people shape decisions that affect them.

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Confirmed speakers

A young woman with red hair, wearing glasses and a black patterned top, smiling in front of a light-colored background.

Rylie Sweeney is a strategic advisor on youth and education policy, helping organisations and public bodies embed youth voice as a driver of meaningful change. She champions inclusive education and works to ensure young people shape decisions that affect them.

A close-up portrait of an older man with gray hair, glasses, and a beard, smiling slightly, with a green background.

Robin Dunbar MA PhD DSc(Hon) FRAI FBA is Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford and a Fellow of the British Academy. He is best known for Dunbar’s Number, the social brain hypothesis, and his work on the evolution of social relationships.

Portrait of a middle-aged man with a beard, wearing a navy blue blazer and shirt, smiling at the camera.

Richard Gerver is a leading expert on change and human leadership, described by Sir Ken Robinson as “one of the clearest and most passionate voices for radical change in education and business.” He is the author of four acclaimed books and an international speaker.

A middle-aged man with gray hair and a beard, smiling widely outdoors with a blurred background of trees and sky.

Hywel Roberts is an experienced teacher, writer, and speaker, specialising in Drama approaches and storytelling in classrooms. His books include Oops! Getting Children to Learn Accidentally and Botheredness.

A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair smiling outdoors, wearing a denim jacket and gold hoop earrings.

Jenny Anderson is an award-winning journalist, author and speaker who spent over a decade on staff at The New York Times before pioneering coverage on the science of learning at Quartz. She’s launched podcasts, newsletters and thought leadership around technology, parenting and learning. She is the co-host of Ask the Kids, a podcast in partnership with Transcend Education and a senior fellow at the Center for Teen Flourishing, a nonprofit in Boston. She continues to contribute to outlets including the New York Times, The Atlantic and the WSJ, among other publications.

Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith an independent consultant researcher who works closely with schools to support a deeper understanding of pedagogy and practice in a contemporary landscape. She is a PhD supervisor and examiner, and co-author of the best selling book From EdTech to PedTech: Changing the way we think about digital technology. Fiona is Co-founder of the National PedTech Partnership and Open School UK, and sits on a number of advisory and charitable boards. In 2024, Fiona was granted Freedom of the City of London, and Fiona was named EduFuturist of the Year 2025.