WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

When leaders give their teams a sense of purpose, respect and create a positive culture engagement improves and magic happens. Research also suggests that colleagues are happier, aren’t ill as much, live longer and feel more fulfilled by having meaning and purpose!

LEADERSHIP IS ALL ABOUT PASSION!

To be really successful as a leader you need passion... passion motivates people to act. It’s contagious! Successful organisations, successful schools, successful groups link that passion to a cause, a mission and create some goals and magic happens!

TRUE GRIT!

Interestingly, people who work hard, persevere and have passion are more likely to be successful than those with high IQ or those who are simply conscientious. These qualities lie at the heart of the arts and sport... 

SKILLS MUST BE AT THE HEART OF WHAT WE DO!

High-performing countries like China, Finland, South Korea, and Singapore and those like Canada and Australia, who see a future where automation, globalisation and collaboration are changing the landscape, realise the global economic landscape has changed. In response, they are re-imagining their education systems by focusing on developing skills. We need to persuade the powers that be here that the future is only going to be secured if we develop a World Class Learning Framework to drive our learning landscape. A framework built on skills as well as subjects.

WORK HARD, STAY CONNECTED, VOLUNTEER, PRACTICE, BE PERSISTENT, BE DISCIPLINED AND GIVE TO OTHERS... PASS IT ON!

Amazing how fast this year is going and it's important to remember that research suggests that we can change and become happier and healthier just by taking small steps which can change our lives for the better.

ACTION FOR HAPPINESS' JOYFUL JUNE ACTION CALENDAR

ACTION FOR HAPPINESS 10 KEYS!

REIMAGINING SCHOOL AND LEARNING

We need to rethink and reimagine the purpose of education! Currently, our education system is focused on preparing people for jobs despite the fact that the jobs of tomorrow don’t exist yet and are difficult to predict! We don’t need to train young people for anything a robot controlled by a computer can do faster, better and more safely! As we move into the future, teachers and schools will need to create the conditions where children can grow and develop the skillset and mindset to be the designers, coaches, inventors, teachers, storytellers, carers, artisans, artists, dancers, musicians and performers of the future!

PROMISES, PROMISES!

We need a powerful curriculum offer where every child and young person experiences storytelling, art and design, dance, drama and music! We need teachers and schools that help grow, develop and nurture the designers, coaches, inventors, teachers, storytellers, carers, artisans, artists, dancers, musicians and performers of the future! Strange how in this learning landscape where creativity, imagination and ideas matter, we are still more interested in literacy and numeracy than the arts, which have at their heart the skills and attributes required to thrive and succeed at school, at work and in life. Surely the two should go hand in hand! We need to start by making a series of promises to every child and every young person... a series of promises that ensure they all have access to a rich diet of culture and the arts... whatever it takes! 

ROMEO AND JULIET

Saw Matthew Bourne’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at the Bradford Alhambra last night! Matthew Bourne’s unique storytelling put the young lovers in a futuristic asylum, and the sad tale was brought spectacularly to life by some wonderful young dancers from across Yorkshire, the New Adventures company, and new orchestrations of the Prokofiev score by Terry Davies, played live by the New Adventures Orchestra. An amazing evening and it is touring the UK. If you get a chance make sure that you go to see it!

OECD Learning for 2030

OECD FUTURE OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS 2030

SCHOOLS WITHOUT WALLS!

“A good education must develop children’s curiosity, creativity and kindness. The measure of educational success cannot simply be students’ exam results, but also the qualities of the people who come to collect their transcripts on results day; good citizens who are equipped to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives. No school teacher or leader, however brilliant and passionate, can do this important work alone. They need the help of businesses, professional bodies, arts and cultural organisations, charities and voluntary organisations, colleges and universities, all of whom can give young people the sense of agency and creative possibility that come from realising just how many ways they can find meaning and create value in the world.”

RSA ‘Schools without walls’ Laura Partridge and Naomi Bath