Advisory Board

As we develop and grow into our vision we recognise we need and want to have accountability, wisdom and guidance.

We are currently appointing two new advisory board members and will be inviting our young people to join our Youth Advisory Board which we started last term.

Dr Chris Bagley

Director of Research at States of Mind
Lecturer, tutor and doctorate research supervisor at The Institute of Education, University College London

Co-Director of Square Pegs CIC

Chris is a teacher, psychologist and writer. As a practitioner, Chris has spent many years working with the most marginalised young people and families and in particular, those subject to school exclusion, social marginalisation and the youth justice system.

As Director of Research at States of Mind and in collaboration with UCL, Chris co-delivers 'participatory action research' projects, led by young people and supported by doctorate researchers with a focus on evaluating the impact of schooling and co-producing better ways of conceiving and actioning education.

Website: https://www.chrisbagley.co.uk/

Dr Abide Zenenga

Headteacher at Riverside Education,

Birmingham

Dr Abide Zenenga is an experienced educationalist with over 25 years of working with young people with autism (14-19). Before, coming to the UK, he taught in various schools in Zimbabwe, pioneering a project to include deaf children in mainstream secondary education.

As a father to a child with autism, Dr, Zenenga has strong interest in advancing the educational opportunities of young people with SEN. In 2005 he gained a Masters of Education in Special Education Needs at the University of Birmingham. He then went on to manage a special education provision for young people whilst simultaneously completing a PhD at the University of Northampton focusing on the engagement of fathers in the education of their sons. Inspired by the findings of his PhD, Dr Zenenga founded Riverside Education in 2015 with the help of his friends, a local businessman and the University of Northampton.

Riverside Education is now one of the fastest growing providers of alternative specialist education in and around Birmingham. Since 2015, the school has grown from forty to one hundred students on three sites with plans for a fourth one. Riverside Education is currently rated by Ofsted as ‘Outstanding’ in all areas.

Dr Zenenga has written a few published academic papers and is currently working on research to explore how students with autism coped with the Covid 19 pandemic.

Fabienne Vailes

Doctoral Researcher at University of Bristol
Founder & Director of Flourishing Education

Fabienne is first of all a mother of two teenage boys aged 16 and 14, one who after three years home educating has chosen to go to sixth form college, whilst the other continues to chose to attend his local secondary school.

She is author of 'The Flourishing Student' (in its second edition) aimed at teachers and tutors and co-author of 'How to Grow a Grown Up' written for parents. Podcaster and Founder of Flourishing Education. As part of her PhD at the University of Bristol she is currently exploring how individuals, communities and the planet flourish together.

Fabienne is an educator with 27 years experience teaching and facilitating language learning (French, Spanish and English as a Foreign Language) across all levels. She has taught in nurseries, primary and secondary state schools, an independent school as well as in FE colleges, two universities and in adult education settings. This has given her great insights and understanding of what it means to be a lifelong, lifewide, lifedeep learner and what the key barriers are.

Jo Symes

Founder & Director of Progressive Education

Jo is the founder of Progressive Education, a social enterprise dedicated to raising awareness of alternatives to conventional schooling and campaigns for change within mainstream education.

Through the Progressive Education website, she curates a growing global directory of progressive schools and learning communities, alongside listings for jobs and events. The platform also provides information about different educational approaches, changemaker campaigns, resources for schools to enhance the learner experience, and support for parents and carers.

In collaboration with Limitless, Progressive Education runs a membership programme for start-up schools and learning communities. Jo also leads the Progressive Education Group on Facebook, an international network of over 11,000 parents, carers, educators, school founders, psychologists, researchers, and education activists.

She is currently developing a downloadable course on alternatives to conventional schooling, due to launch in early 2026.