The problems with the status quo are well rehearsed; we are failing too many young people, but also failing those who seemingly succeed. The world has changed beyond recognition, but the education system has not.

Innovation has been stifled under mounting pressures of exam results. Many schools know they need to change and want to do so, but lack the skills, and courage to really achieve their vision. Many schools simply do not have the capacity to do this expansive work under mounting pressures of exam results.

Big Education believes that most children in most classrooms most days are experiencing a narrow and ‘partial’ education and that school can and must be better. They are ambitious for the whole system and much of their work is focused on how they can be part of changing mindsets, practices and policies, so that more children across receive a more expansive education.

In 2019, Big Change funded the first cohorts of The Big Leadership Adventure - a two year, deliberately different, leadership programme for leaders in schools and social enterprises, who are ready to think more expansively about the challenges faced in the education sector. Since rebranded as the Big Education Leadership Programme, they have delivered an annual cohort ever since, designed as a "what's next?" alternative to the current national leadership qualifications offered in England.

The challenging two-year programme develops leaders who are committed to going on a personal and professional journey of being a change maker in their organisation and system, encouraging them to push the boundaries in education, growing as leaders, thinkers and doers.

Big Education is working to create a growing coalition of schools and individuals who are demonstrating the leadership needed to bring about real change. In their most recent impact report, they noted that the programme has "made a powerful difference to leaders... and to those in their immediate sphere of influence".

In 2020, Big Change also funded Big Education to deliver the "Learning from Lockdown" project which aimed to answer the question, what can we learn from lockdown that will improve education when schools return? Through a blog, and accompanying playbooks and toolkits for educators, they curated some of these ideas and insights, so that the extraordinary forced experiment of lockdown schooling could genuinely have lasting legacy and real benefit. The playbooks were downloaded over 500 times and the website had 94,366 page views with visits from every region of the UK as well as visitors from USA, India, Australia and Netherlands.

Liz Robinson is a school and system leader, passionate about asking bigger questions about what school can or should be about and working with others to make that a reality. Liz began her headship back in 2006, and leads from a clear vision of education which acknowledges the reality of children as ‘whole beings’ with multifaceted needs and capabilities, who live within families and communities. She has worked throughout her career to design school practices which embrace this truth and avoid simplistic or reductive assumptions and approaches.

Liz is the co-founder and CEO of Big Education, a Multi-Academy Trust running schools in underserved communities in inner London. Liz and the team are seeking to act as changemakers in the wider system by modelling practices which embody ‘a big education’ - an education of the ‘heart, head, and hand’. They run a number of projects and programmes, including Rethinking Assessment, Rethinking Leadership, the ‘Rethinking School’ project and the Big Education Leadership Programme, to facilitate innovation, build capacity in others and advocate for change. Liz is part of the Bell childcare review for the Labour party.

Liz has a particular interest in developing values-led leadership, and has worked extensively as a speaker, trainer and coach. As mum to two young girls, Liz works flexibly to manage her roles. She’s also made lots of mistakes in her career and tries to model being a learner and avoid the trappings of ‘superhero’ leadership.