Leading Stories
A regular deep dive into the fascinating and compelling stories of leaders who are making a difference in their companies, communities, schools, organisations and families. Interviews with people working in real world settings facing the challenges and opportunities that we experience in the post pandemic world.
Episodes
29 episodes
On technology in education: Emma de Goederen, Matthew Clark, Rhiannon Phillips-Bianco - 'Leading Stories'
Emma de Goederen, Matthew Clark, Rhiannon Phillips-Bianco, Richard Human and David Porritt discuss their experiences of how technology is utilised in schools and colleges across Britain, Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands. From primary and seco...
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44:56
What did David and Richard learn from Season 3 of 'Leading Stories'Episode
David and Richard discuss the episodes that have made up Series 3 of 'Leading Stories'. In this episode they share their reflections and learning having spent time with more wonderful people.
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48:51
On the business of education: Jing Lai and Robert Zou - 'Leading Stories'
In this week's episode of Leading Stories, we sit down with two remarkable individuals shaping international education and commerce. Hanjing (Jing) Lai is the Co-founder of Peng Ge Learning Center, an innovative institution bridging cultural an...
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39:43
On being a project leader and not a maintenance leader: Tony Sainsbury - 'Leading Stories' Part 2
Tony Sainsbury OBE has dedicated his career to disabled sports since the mid-1970s, when he began coaching at the Manchester & District Disabled Sports Club. He served as Great Britain's Paralympic Team Chef de Mission from 1980 to 1996, ma...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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21:06
"If they can do that, what can I do?": Tony Sainsbury - 'Leading Stories' Part 1
Tony Sainsbury OBE has dedicated his career to disabled sports since the mid-1970s, when he began coaching at the Manchester & District Disabled Sports Club. He served as Great Britain's Paralympic Team Chef de Mission from 1980 to 1996, ma...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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34:50
On being curious without memory and desire: Linda Wes - 'Leading Stories'
Linda specialises in coaching leaders who navigate complex organisational environments and manage diverse stakeholder relationships. She understands the unique challenges faced by executives who find themselves juggling with competing demands, ...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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32:48
On life-long learning and the importance of higher education: Nina Arnhold - 'Leading Stories'
Dr. Nina Arnhold, an expert in international higher education, currently spearheads higher education operations and analytics in South Asia, with particular emphasis on India at the World Bank. As Global Lead for Tertiary Education, Nina also h...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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32:06
On finding joy: Dawn Aytoun - 'Leading Stories'
Dawn Aytoun is an accomplished education professional who has recently transitioned into a Product and Programme Manager role at Life Lessons Education. Since June 2024, she has been working in a hybrid capacity between Cornwall and London, lev...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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28:49
On being an international educator: Lisa Dooijeweerd - 'Leading Stories'
Lisa Dooijeweerd is the Assistant Head of the Early Years Campus at Bromsgrove International School Thailand. Her journey in international education began as part of the first cohort at NHL Stenden, where she studied International Teacher Educa...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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31:11
On a life in sport, law and business: Rowena Samarasinhe - 'Leading Stories'
Rowena Samarasinhe is the Founder of GENSport and a Consultant at LEVEL. With almost 20 years of dedicated experience in the sports industry, she has made significant contributions across football, athletics, and other Olympic sports. Her early...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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46:16
On servant leadership and working with others to find 'wet ground': Dr Matt Paschall - 'Leading Stories'
Dr. Matthew Paschall serves with United World Mission in Budapest. He has served 15 years in pastoral ministry in California and New York and 15 years in cross-cultural mission in France, Senegal and Hungary. Matt earned his Masters of Divinity...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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39:31
What did David and Richard learn from Season 2 of 'Leading Stories'
David and Richard discuss the seven episodes that have made up Series 2 of 'Leading Stories'. In this episode they share their reflections and learning having spent time with eight wonderful people.
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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37:15
On possibly being sacked by Microsoft and then becoming a YouTube star: Andy Haslam - Leading Stories
Andy began his educational journey at Queen Mary’s Grammar School in Walsall. Despite not excelling academically, he managed to secure a place at Staffordshire Polytechnic (now Staffordshire University), where he studied Computer Science. His f...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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40:50
On cross-cultural coaching and the benefits of therapy: Sara Lodge & Mark Sykes - Leading Stories
Sara Lodge is director of Beehive Coaching & Leadership Development Ltd. Apart from a couple of breaks, one working in marketing and one on the Leadership Fast Track of the West Yorkshire Police, she has been in the field of learning and de...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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34:24
On the importance of asking for help when times are tough: Teacher and Wellbeing advocate, Rhiannon Phillips-Bianco - Leading Stories
In this episode Rhiannon shares the time when her own mental health suffered and how this changed her view of what is important in life.As a passionate class teacher and wellbeing leader, Rhiannon works closely with staff, students and ...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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44:52
On successfully changing careers midlife: Andy Homden - Leading Stories
Andy trained as a teacher in the UK and Australia, and has worked in international education for most of his career. As a teacher and school leader he specialised in curriculum design and school start-ups. He is now CEO of
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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34:32
On the importance of helping others: Firefighter, Bike Restorer and YouTuber: Andy Ferns - Leading Stories
A passionate and avid cyclist, Andy Ferns is driven to help others in every way possible to repair, customize, and restore their bicycles. When not tinkering in his workshop or out riding, he splits his time between his wife Tina, their childre...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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35:00
On the importance of not giving up: Serdar Ferit - Leading Stories
Fuelled by a vision to inspire future generations to create positive change, filmmaker Serdar Ferit and his partner, Paulina Tervo, established Lyfta in 2016. Their platform was meticulously crafted to empower educators with cutting-edge tools,...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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37:45
On changing history and supporting female entrepreneurs: Jill Pay - Leading Stories
Jill Pay is a retired official of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. She was Serjeant at Arms in the House of Commons. Jill is the first woman to have held the position. Her appointment was unusual in that the position had hitherto normally ...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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41:39
On Leadership, Culture, Learning & Reflecting: Season One Finale
In this finale episode of the first series, hosts David and Richard take a look back at the incredible guests they've had the privilege of speaking with over the past 9 episodes. From Paralympic gold medalist Marc Woods, who shared his inspirin...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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37:06
On leading in the Maasai community in northern Tanzania: James Laizer - Leading Stories
James Laizer has over 20 years of experience working in natural resources management in Africa, terrestrial and marine and public and private sectors. He was a socio-economic and ecological researcher, working with indigenous communities, local...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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33:40
On the power of coaching young people: Heather Torrens - Leading Stories
Following a successful career as a professional musician, Heather moved into education where she has enjoyed responsibilities such as Senior leader at St Clement's CE Infant and Bethany CE Junior Schools, Specialist Leader of Education fo...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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38:42
On Reluctant Leadership, Resilience & Building Your Professional Network: Nick Escritt - Leading Stories
Nick is a husband, father, cyclist and contracts and procurement professional with over 30 years project execution experience in the international engineering construction industry. In this episode Nick shares how his love of partying brought a...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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33:59
On being a life-long learner: Dr Sam Mathis - Leading Stories
Dr. Samantha Mathis has had a far-reaching journey, herself. She is a retired Royal Air Force officer with more than 25 years of experience in the defense, development/NGO, and diplomatic sectors. Now an experienced professional, career, and le...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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30:01
On What It Takes To Become A Great Teacher & Leader in Education: Matthew Clark - Leading Stories
Matthew Clark is the current Director of Primary Education at Tenax Schools Trust in Kent. He is also a Fellow at Chartered College of Teaching and a Visiting Fellow at the Ambition Institute. In this episode Matthew shares h...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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37:08