Edufuturists

What if the biggest problem in schools isn't teachers resisting change, it's that they're never given enough safety to try it?
In this episode, Ben and Steve are joined by Grant Wootten, founder of Edusfere, to unpack why so much of a teacher's best work disappears the moment they leave a classroom and what it would take to stop the cycle.
Grant spent a decade teaching in Southeast Asia, first with a nonprofit in rural Thailand and then at an international school in Bangkok, before founding Edusfere: a platform built to capture and preserve the instructional knowledge teachers create every day. He's recently relocated to the UK to lead Edusfere's expansion into the UK market.
We cover:
- Why teachers become "islands" and how decades of instructional knowledge gets lost every time someone leaves the profession
- The real reason schools resist change and why psychological safety, not disruption, has to come first
- What Grant believes is genuinely the hardest part of being a teacher today
- Why EdTech should meet teachers where they already are instead of chasing flashy new features
- A live debate: should the teacher or the learner sit at the centre of EdTech design?
- Whether human-to-human "formation" is automatically better than a machine's and a story that complicates the answer
- Why fear of conflict is quietly holding back adoption in education
- How to bring your most resistant, most experienced teachers along for the ride
Why listen?
If you've ever watched brilliant teaching disappear into a filing cabinet or a departing colleague's laptop, this conversation names the problem precisely and makes the case that fixing it isn't about ripping up what works, but about giving teachers the safety net to build on it. Expect a genuinely sharp disagreement about whether AI or humans should sit at the centre of education, and a story from Ben that will make you think twice about assuming human-led always beats machine-led.
Chapters
00:00 Highlights
01:30 Welcome back and the Wolfpack community update
03:25 Meet Grant Wootten: from Thai classrooms to EdTech founder
05:25 What is Edusfere and why target the UK market
07:53 Teachers are islands: the knowledge that gets lost every year
08:48 Ben's story: planning in silos at school
10:26 The hardest part of being a teacher today
15:51 Creating psychological safety before disruption
23:51 The role of EdTech in driving culture change
29:27 Should the teacher not the learner be at the centre?
33:26 Is human formation always a force for good?
38:36 Why we're afraid of conflict, and what it costs education
41:42 Bringing veteran, resistant teachers along
46:36 Three quick-fire questions with Grant
Find out more about Edusfere
Thanks so much for joining us again for another episode - we appreciate you.
Ben & Steve x
Check out all about Edufuturists
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Is kindness in school leadership a weakness, or is it the one thing that actually stops your best teachers walking out the door?
In this episode of the podcast, Ben Whitaker and Steve Hope sit down with Joanna Povall, principal, COBIS lead improvement partner, and author of Kind Leadership: Leading Schools with Empathy, Honesty and Impact. Joanna has spent 30 years in education across the UK, France and the UAE, including running a school through genuine crisis conditions in Abu Dhabi, and now carries out school accreditation visits everywhere from Tokyo to Ascension Island.
We cover:
- Why Joanna wrote Kind Leadership after coming close to burnout in a school that turned toxic almost overnight
- The difference between being nice and being kind, and why people confuse the two
- - The Al Capone quote that shaped the whole book, and what it reveals about legacy and leadership
The CHASE framework: Communication, Honesty, Accountability, Self-esteem and Ego
- What COBIS accreditation actually looks like when it's done as a relationship, not an inspection
- Whether leaders can be both liked and respected
- Why teacher and headteacher retention is a leadership problem before it's anything else
- Being kind to yourself, and the story behind the now-famous red jacket
If you lead people, manage a team, or have ever worried that being kind makes you look weak, this conversation will change how you think about it. Joanna makes a compelling, funny, and occasionally uncomfortable case that kindness and accountability were never opposites.
Chapters
00:00 Highlights
02:20 Welcome to the Edufuturists Podcast
04:14 Meet Joanna Povall: from Manchester to Abu Dhabi
06:11 Moving into international school leadership
08:53 A melting pot of cultures and communities
11:14 Inside COBIS: what accreditation really looks like
14:23 Why accreditation should build relationships, not fear
20:10 Introducing the book: Kind Leadership
20:41 The toxic experience that inspired the book
25:38 Kindness vs weakness: the Al Capone question
32:41 The CHASE Framework explained
37:31 The red jacket story: kindness to yourself
39:11 Can leaders be liked and respected?
48:48 Being kind to yourself as a leader
54:00 Quickfire Questions
Grab a copy of Joanna's book

Thanks so much for joining us again for another episode - we appreciate you.
Ben & Steve x

Check out all about Edufuturists
Want to sponsor future episodes or get involved with the Edufuturists work?
Get in touch
Grab your copy of the new Pick 'n' Mix Education book
Join the Edufuturists Wolfpack

In this episode of the Edufuturists podcast, we chat with Andrew Young, social sciences teacher, co-director of a Teaching School Hub in York, and author of Adaptive Teaching: Culture to Classroom, published by Crown House. Andrew has spent 14 years in education, from an unexpectedly early stint as deputy head of sixth form in London to his current role co-leading a hub supporting 250 schools a year across coastal, rural and urban North Yorkshire.We cover:- Why adaptive teaching depends on the local context a school sits in, not a one-size-fits-all playbook- What an inclusive classroom actually looks like when you strip away the jargon- Why high challenge has to be matched with high support, and how "we" beats "me"- The exam overload facing GCSE students and what it's doing to cognitive load- Why the curriculum needs more breadth: arts, dance, computing, AI and citizenship- The hidden financial barriers that stop disadvantaged pupils accessing enrichment- Why success shouldn't be measured by grades alone, and what schools can do instead- The four ingredients of adaptive teaching: culture, brains, teaching and curriculum- The danger of deficit language and labelling pupils by what they can't doIf you've ever wondered why some pupils switch off from school entirely, or you want practical ways to make classrooms work for every learner regardless of the label attached to them, this conversation gives you a genuine framework rather than another vague call to "differentiate more."Chapters00:00 Highlights01:53 Welcome to the podcast04:46 Andrew Young joins the show05:26 Andrew's journey into teaching08:12 Life as a Teaching School Hub co-director10:20 Why context matters for adaptive teaching15:57 Socialisation, homeschooling and alternative paths22:24 What does an inclusive classroom actually look like24:46 High challenge, high support and the power of "we"31:13 Rethinking a one-size-fits-all curriculum32:37 "Too many vegetarians dining in steakhouses"35:02 Assessment overload and broadening the curriculum37:21 Enrichment, disadvantage and hidden barriers41:34 Alternative pathways and shifting what success means44:03 Milestones, character and personal development47:23 The four ingredients of adaptive teaching53:37 Labels, deficit language and cognitive load55:19 Quickfire questions57:31 Wrap up and where to find the bookGrab a copy of Andrew's bookThanks so much for joining us again for another episode - we appreciate you.Ben & Steve xCheck out all about EdufuturistsWant to sponsor future episodes or get involved with the Edufuturists work?Get in touchGrab your copy of the new Pick 'n' Mix Education bookJoin the Edufuturists Wolfpack

In this episode of the Edufuturists podcast, Ben gets to sit down with AI pioneer and award-winning school leader Matthew Wemyss to unpack what AI literacy actually looks like when you stop treating it as a bolt-on subject and start building it into lessons teachers are already planning.Guest introMatthew Wemyss is Assistant School Director at the Cambridge School of Bucharest, a former Edufuturists AI Pioneer award winner, and founder of the AIDucation conference. He's the author of AI guides for teachers, students and (soon) parents, and creator of the AI Lit Kit - a tool that maps AI literacy activities directly onto existing lesson plans and curriculum standards.We cover:- Life inside a British international school in Bucharest and what makes international school culture different- Growing the AI Education conference from three workshops to hundreds of attendees, and what's next for 2027- Writing AI guides for teachers, students and now parents and why the tools change but the principles don't- Inside the AI Lit Kit: turning existing lesson plans into AI literacy opportunities without adding a new initiative- Navigating the EU AI Act, evolving deepfake definitions, and what schools are legally responsible for- Why "just try it and see what breaks" beats waiting for permissionWhy listenIf you're a school leader, teacher or parent trying to work out how AI literacy, compliance and everyday classroom practice actually fit together, without piling another initiative onto an already packed calendar, this conversation gives you a practical, grounded way to think about it, from someone living the compliance side and the classroom side at once.Chapters00:00 Highlights01:53 Welcome and Edufuturists updates03:59 Matthew's route into teaching09:03 Life in a British international school in Bucharest20:29 Building the AI Education conference25:53 Writing AI guides for teachers, students and parents30:36 Inside the AI Lit Kit38:30 Is AI illiteracy the real problem?42:39 EU AI Act, deepfakes and AI governance in schools49:34 Quick-fire questions53:12 Wrap-up and what's nextGrab a copy of Matthew's new AI book (which he wrote with Ben!)Check out all about EdufuturistsWant to sponsor future episodes or get involved with the Edufuturists work?Get in touchGrab your copy of the new Pick 'n' Mix Education bookJoin the Wolfpack - our annual membership

In this episode of the podcast, we sit down with Alexandra Levit and Stephanie Loeck for a conversation about whether youth unemployment is really a "crisis" and what we should be doing about it either way. Alexandra Levit is a workforce futurist who has spent over two decades tracking the disconnect between what education provides and what employers actually need. Stephanie Loeck is VP of Strategic Development at GPS Education Partners, a nonprofit that bridges education and industry through work-based learning, a model borne out of a very real local talent 'crisis' rather than theory. Together they've co-written Make School Work: Solving the American Youth Employment Crisis Through Work-Based Learning, and their combined lens - one futurist, one practitioner - is exactly what makes this conversation land. We cover: - Whether youth unemployment is a genuine "crisis" or a slower-moving "wicked problem" - The demographic cliff, labour shortages, and the "twindemic" reshaping the future workforce - Why this is as much a moral and equity issue as an economic one - The "presentist" trap - why business adapts fast and education doesn't, and what that costs young people - Why "preparing young people for work" is the wrong goal and what to aim for instead - AI, curiosity, and the "four A's" of authentic work-based learning- Real examples of applying work-based learning thinking to your own kids' choices Whether you're a parent, teacher, school or college leader, or someone shaping policy around education and work, this episode will change how you think about what young people actually need to be ready for their future. Chapters 00:00 Highlights 01:16 Welcome to the podcast 02:49 Meet the guests 03:09 Alexandra Levit: workforce futurist 06:12 Stephanie Loeck: GPS Education Partners 09:27 Crisis or wicked problem? 13:07 The moral and equity crisis underneath it all 14:34 Presentism: why business and education move at different speeds 17:00 Why GPS Ed was built to solve a real local talent crisis 20:43 Inside the Make School Work framework 27:27 Anxiety, agency, and what work-based learning is really for 30:24 Preparing young people for the world, not just for work 34:33 AI, UBI, and the future of work 40:48 Applying work-based learning to your own kids 43:13 Curiosity beyond employment 45:55 AI and the four A's of work-based learning 50:28 Quick fire questionsThanks so much for joining us again for another episode - we appreciate you.Ben & Steve xCheck out all about Edufuturists
Want to sponsor future episodes or get involved with the Edufuturists work?Get in touchGrab your copy of the new Pick 'n' Mix Education book