Through you, I am me: how to help learners and teachers feel that they belong in school, and what happens when we get it right.

Belonging – feeling accepted, supported, included and respected by those whose opinions matter to us – is a fundamental human need. For students, families, teachers and leaders alike, feelings of belonging matter and are correlated with a range of important outcomes. In this webinar, EBE’s Prof Dr Stuart Kime will talk about going down the research rabbit hole on motivation and belonging (and how they link to learning), sharing his take on the best available evidence, and highlighting practical, evidence-based techniques to help build belonging.

Speakers:

Professor Dr Stuart Kime:

Prof Dr Stuart Kime, Co-founder and Director of Education at Evidence Based Education (EBE). Stuart’s work at EBE focuses on innovating pragmatic and evidence-based professional learning experiences for educators. He is a qualified teacher of English, and worked as a classroom teacher, middle leader and senior leader in secondary schools between 2001 and 2011. Stuart studied for his doctorate with Profs Rob Coe and Steve Higgins at Durham University, developing interests in the areas of evaluation design and teachers’ professional learning. In 2014, he took on the role of Policy Fellow in the UK Government’s Department for Education. Stuart currently holds the title of International Visiting Professor in the Hector Research Institute for Education Sciences and Psychology at the Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen. He is Chair of the Partnership Enhancement Board at the University of Teesside, a member of the Editorial Board of Impact, and serves on the International Advisory Board for the German federal project to enhance teacher development, lernen:digital.

Phil Banks:

Phil Banks – Pen Portrait. Phil been a class teacher, a school inspector, held four headship and executive headship roles and founded a large, Multi-Academy Trust. He worked as a school inspector in Dubai for two years, establishing the American Advanced Science programme in Emirati Schools, before returning to Cornwall in 2020 to take up the role of CEO for the North Cornwall Learning Trust. In 2024, NCLT then merged to become part of Westcountry Schools Trust, where feel now holds a Director role and has recently been appointed as CEO of St Christopher’s Trust. Phil is passionate about belonging and is currently researching his PhD focused on the impact of ‘Belonging’ in schools. He authors the blog https://thebelongingcollective.blog

Anna Upton- Deputy Trust Leader, Embark Federation