Visionary Education

Education Consultancy

OUR AIMS

Effective education must anticipate the needs of learners in our ever-evolving world. To do so requires visionary leaders, inspirational educators and proactive approaches to quality assurance and improvement planning. The aim of Visionary Education consultancy is to look beyond current provision and work with schools, higher education institutions, nurseries, extended services and businesses in achieving a new vision for education.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

The world of education is constantly evolving and it is sometimes difficult to predict what the long term future holds but we do know that reflexive teachers, able to critically integrate research, theory and practice, are best prepared for their role as educators, not just for the next three years but for the next thirty years. Visionary education consultants have both the experience and the expertise of working with both experienced and trainee teachers in developing the skills, knowledge and understanding which will equip them for their professional development throughout their career in education.

WHO WE WORK WITH

We work nationally and internationally with all stakeholders and our approach is both personalised and flexible. We know that all schools are different with their own particular strengths, needs, and areas for development. With over twenty years of delivering high quality support and training to teachers, from trainee teacher to senior manager level, support staff, governors and parents, Visionary Education consultants are skilled in working with individuals and institutions to identify how best we may support you in achieving your individual vision.

Keira Sewell

Keira Sewell has over 20 years experience of training teachers through Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes. Participants use words such as ‘inspiring’, ‘motivating’ and ‘challenging’ to describe her training and her passion and enthusiasm for learning are clearly evident. Her approach is underpinned by the philosophy that theory, research and practice are integral to the development of the professional and her own love of learning is clearly evident in her Masters, (‘Moving to the BIG school: Pupil Perceptions of Transfer to Secondary Education’) and doctoral (Factors affecting one secondary school’s efforts to combat bully/victim problems) theses. Her research foci also demonstrate her commitment to listening to the voice of the learner in strategic development and educational change. Her expertise in strategic management and improvement planning has evolved over many years at senior management level in higher education institutions, through her role as external examiner and expert on validation panels to a number of prestigious institutions and through her experience of working with schools as an advisory teacher, in delivering CPD for teachers and as Chair of Governors in a large junior school. She is experienced in a wide range of areas from the development and implementation of quality assurance measures, including leading inspections and review (both QAA and Ofsted), to managing and implementing strategic review and improvement planning in both the curriculum and staff development. She has been influential in the development of the now well-established PGCE at Masters level, having led one of the first UK validations of this award, and has written key texts on the subject for both ESCalate and Sage publications (Doing your PGCE at M level: a guide for students).

Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time

Rabindranath Tagore

Experience

In her career as an initial teacher trainer, Keira has taught on primary and secondary routes at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and on employment-based routes. She has also taught on foundation degrees and undergraduate Education Studies awards. Her work with qualified teachers has been wide-ranging and includes continuing professional development in science, assessment, transition from the primary to secondary phase, the effective management of bully-victim problems, support for newly qualified teachers, coaching and mentoring for school senior leaders and supervision of research students on Masters and doctorate programmes.

Promoting science education

Alongside over twenty-five years of teaching science at secondary, primary and foundation stage, Keira has also been committed to promoting the importance of science education more widely. She was a member of the editorial panel of the primary journal of the Association for Science Education and has been commissioned by companies such as Rolls-Royce, British Nuclear Group, Teachers TV, Cleveland Wildlife Trust and Yorkshire Watch to develop curriculum support materials and work on specific primary science projects.

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Our Services

Our range of services is extensive and we will tailor our training to meet your individual needs. Provided are some examples of the services we offer but please contact us to discuss your specific requirements.

STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

Working with schools and Higher Education institutions, we offer support in a range of areas including improvement planning, quality assurance, review and self evaluation, pre- and post-inspection and review planning (including governor training), curriculum design and development and mentoring and coaching.

SCIENCE EDUCATION

We offer bespoke training packages in a wide range of areas to support quality teaching and learning in science. Our central aim is to support teachers in developing and delivering a creative science curriculum which will inspire and motivate both pupils and teachers and promote independent and critical thinking.

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP

Supporting the development of the curriculum through business and industry partnerships is an exciting and innovative way in which to relate the curriculum to the real world and make subjects come alive for learners. We offer support for developing curriculum materials and review and evaluation of new or existing provision and funding.

INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION

The role of our new teachers is critical in the evolution of education and we can support this through our work with teacher trainers in universities and colleges, SCITTs, teaching schools and those on employment-based routes. We also offer courses for those wishing to improve their success in applying for initial teacher education courses in the UK. Click here for further details and current courses.

Contact Visionary Education