The Problem

Humanity is facing a seismic change,
education is lagging behind,
it needs a new model for the future.


“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.”

― John Dewey

The Research

Videos that question if our current standardised national education system is fit for purpose.

Changing Education Paradigms

RSA Animate have used cartoon to depict one of Sir Ken Robinson's iconic talks on education for the future (2010). (11:20mins)

Future jobs and industry: responding to the speed of change 


A 2017 promo by Skills Development Scotland to show how they are helping Scottish schools build curriculums for the future. (2:19mins)

Prince EA's 'What is School For?'

Prince EA is working with Innovation Playlist to help introduce a new framework for schools globally, www.whatschoolcouldbe.org. (7:30mins)

Reimagining Education by Breaking the Silence

"We are breaking the next generation by not giving them the necessary skills for the future..." "By not fostering individuality in education, our generation is being set up to lack self determination, ambition and self-esteem. We do not want to conform, we want to make the world a better place..." Part of a letter from students to the head of OFSTED (2019).


Studies exploring the links between our current education system and the rise of student stress and mental health issues.

"England’s obsession with
high stakes exams
goes against teenage
brain science."

"We've only known this research for 20 years...GCSE's were developed before we knew anything about how the teenage brain develops." "Young people cite exam stress and fear of academic failure as their most prominent worry (in multiple large surveys)" Research by Sarah Jayne Blakemore (2021).

“Higher stress levels, anxiety, depression, fear, isolation.” 

"This is just one of many eye-opening responses from our recent student-led study, which gathered young peoples’ views about the impact of the education system on their mental health and wellbeing." The impact of school on young people's mental health: a UCL doctoral student shares his findings, (2020).

"Strict behaviour policies can cause trauma and aren't effective."

"90% who expressed an opinion claimed that a zero tolerance behaviour policy does not help improve behaviour. One of the key messages of the survey is that all behaviour is a form of communication - whether disruptive, masking or non-attendance - and signals an underlying need." Square Peg & Not fine in School survey for the DfE (2021).


Reports into how our current education system is not providing the necessary skills for the 21st century.

Many of today’s school children will work in new job types that do not yet exist, most of which are likely to have an increased premium on both digital and social-emotional skills.

"As globalization and rapid advancements in technology continue to transform civic space and the world of work, education systems have grown increasingly disconnected from the realities and needs of global economies and societies. Education models must adapt to equip children with the skills to create a more inclusive, cohesive and productive world." Schools of the Future: Defining New Models of Education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Report by The World Economic Forum" (2020).

44% of employers feel that young people leaving school, college or university are not ‘work ready’.

"The world of work is rapidly changing, with globalisation and technological advancements altering the way we work and attributes we’ll need to navigate the workplace of the future. This means school, society and business need to work together to make sure our education system can keep up...Employers also told us they were concerned about curriculum narrowing and the decline in pupils taking creative subjects like design and technology, music and art." 'Education and learning for the modern world' Confederation of British Industry & Pearson Education report (2019).

If we are to prepare successfully for the twenty-first century we will have to do more than just improve literacy and numeracy skills. We need a broad, flexible and motivating education that recognises the different talents of all children and delivers excellence for everyone.

"Many of those who have contributed to our inquiry believe that current priorities and pressures in education inhibit the creative abilities of young people and of those who teach them. There is a particular concern about the place and status of the arts and humanities. There is also concern that science education is losing its vitality under current pressures." Government Report - 'All our Futures: Creativity, Culture & Eduction" (1999).


Books that question the one-size-fits-all, high-stakes exam model, does it enable all students to achieve their potential?

Competition in the form of target grades can be demoralising. “When the classroom culture focuses on reward, “gold stars,” grades, or class ranking, then pupils look for ways to obtain the best marks rather than to improve their learning

"Pupils who encounter difficulties are led to believe that they lack ability, and this belief leads them to attribute their difficulties to a defect in themselves about which they cannot do a great deal. Thus they avoid investing effort in learning.” -Inside the Black Box: Raising standards through classroom assessment by D. Wiliam & P. Black, (1998).

...it is no longer a question of what schools can do for their students, but what students can do for their school.

"This has to do with the question whether we are indeed measuring what we value, or whether we are just measuring what we can easily measure…so that targets and indicators of quality become mistaken for quality itself...There is a real risk that data, statistics and league tables will do the decision making for us.” 'Good Education in an Age of Measurement' by G. Biesta (2016).

40 students, many vulnerable, are excluded every day across all of the schools in the UK

"In the age of AI and technologies, the 'human skills' that compromise creativity, critical thinking and conceptual thinking, originality, persuasion, problem solving and negotiation are much in demand by further/higher education and employers. A knowledge-based curriculum, by definition, does not structure opportunities for all young people to develop these necessary skills." Secondary Curriculum Transformed: Enabling All to Achieve by Meena Kumari Wood & Nick Haddon (2021).