Shaping the
Future of Education

What if inclusion can't wait for a diagnosis, a plan or a nine-month waiting list, and every week we wait is a week a child loses? In this episode, Ben and Steve are joined by Mykhailo Kalitkin, a Ukrainian education entrepreneur who has spent more than 20 years working in education. After his son Kirill was diagnosed with autism and given a prognosis that he would never speak, Mykhailo set out to change what was possible. Kirill now studies in an international school. After relocating from Ukraine to Poland and then Portugal because of the war, Mykhailo is turning his family's story into inclusive education and STEM projects used across more than 40 projects worldwide. He explains why schools are losing the fight with entertainment, why buying technology on its own never works, and why inclusion has to look at the whole child, not just their academic gaps. About our guest Mykhailo Kalitkin is an education entrepreneur, scientist and founder with a background in physics and more than two decades of experience in education. Originally from Ukraine and now based in Portugal, he works across inclusive education and STEM. He has led national-scale programmes in Armenia, Kazakhstan (with the World Bank) and Ukraine, and developed a six spheres of development framework for assessing and supporting students with special educational needs. We cover: - How his son's autism diagnosis, and a prognosis that he would never speak, reshaped Mykhailo's life and work - Rebuilding a family and a business after relocating twice because of the war - Why falling STEM attainment means schools are "losing the fight with entertainment" - His core philosophy of spaces, knowledge and innovation, and why schools fail when they buy only technology - How AI took his business from 200 employees to 60 in-house - A Lego-style approach to implementation, and why good equipment should show scratches after a year - The case for learning from inclusion systems around the world, from Kazakhstan to Canada - The six spheres of development framework: cognitive, social, sensory, daily living, physical and speech - EHCPs, Individual Support Plans and the UK SEND white paper Why you should listen If you work in SEND, inclusion, STEM or school leadership, this episode offers a rare international view of what inclusive education can look like at scale. It comes from a parent who built the system he needed for his own son and then offered it to others. It is a reminder that the goal is not only academic progress but a child who is happy and successful in school. Chapters 0:00 Highlights 0:50 Welcome to the Edufuturists podcast 2:23 Community events update from Steve 3:13 Thanking our community leaders and the Wolfpack 4:48 Meet Mykhailo and his son Kirill 7:06 From "he will never speak" to an international school 8:51 The journey behind the projects 9:18 STEM education and losing the fight with entertainment 11:10 A family story turned into a global project 12:27 From one child to children all over the world 14:29 Spaces, knowledge and innovation: the core philosophy 16:43 How AI changed the shape of his business 17:58 A Lego approach to implementation 19:53 Why we need inclusive education frameworks 22:50 Learning from Kazakhstan, Canada and beyond 23:59 Context matters: Finland vs England 25:31 The six spheres of development framework 27:37 EHCPs, ISPs and the SEND white paper 30:12 Impact: projects, teachers trained and hours of practice 31:44 Reaching 1,000 schools in Armenia 33:34 Ukraine's inclusive reform and what relocating families discovered 35:33 Quick-fire questions Find out more about UNOWA: https://www.unowa.eu/ Thanks so much for joining us again for another episode - we appreciate you. Ben & Steve x Check out all about Edufuturists at https://www.edufuturists.com Want to sponsor future episodes or get involved with the Edufuturists work? Get in touch: info@edufuturists.com Grab your copy of the new Pick 'n' Mix Education book at: https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/picknmix-education Join the Wolfpack: edufuturists.com/wolfpack

#Edufuturists #FutureOfEducation #AIinEducation What if the biggest problem in education isn't workload, personalisation or even AI, but the things we've simply never stopped to question? In this episode, Ben and Steve are back in the studio for The Big Review Part 18, looking back at eight recent conversations on the future of education. From heart-led leadership and the myth of AI personalisation to Pick 'n' Mix Education in real life, evidence-based teaching and inclusive learning for neurodivergent children, they pull out the big ideas, the moments that stuck with them, and the threads connecting them all: human first, professional second. We cover: - Why the hardest part of teaching might not be workload, and why teachers need safety to try new things - Leading with heart: character, humility over ego, and psychological safety in schools and organisations - Why we should stop calling it "personalisation" and put human wisdom at the centre of AI strategy - Being interviewed about Pick 'n' Mix Education: one size fits all means one size fits none - Why education and school are not the same thing, and why parents need a permission slip to choose differently - Trudi Barrow on creative fidelity, the DfE AI toolkit, and getting our Sundays back - Pick 'n' Mix Education in real life: hybrid, online and home learning with Minerva Virtual Academy families - What if nothing we do in education has ever been tested like a new drug? Randomised trials, AI tutors and social mobility - Fleeing Ukraine, navigating autism, and building inclusive learning systems used by hundreds of thousands of learners - A sneak peek at upcoming guests, including Hamilton musical director Julian Reeve Why you should listen If you only have time for one episode, make it this one. It's a fast, honest tour through some of the most important questions facing schools, colleges and families right now, and a perfect starting point for diving into the 350+ episodes in the Edufuturists back catalogue. Chapters 0:00 Welcome to The Big Review Part 18 1:16 Why we keep doing this: the best CPD there is 3:11 Building the rocket ship: organised chaos and the new Edufuturists website 4:30 Episode 356: The hardest part of teaching isn't workload with Grant Wootten 9:05 Character, heart and leadership with Dave Jones and Stephen Klemich 11:15 Leading with love: humility over ego 14:38 Stop calling it personalisation with Laura Knight 16:56 Human first, professional second 17:43 Brilliant Festival (ad) 18:44 AI reviews in schools: culture, not tick boxes 20:23 Ben and Steve in the hot seat: David Cameron on Pick 'n' Mix Education 21:07 One size fits all means one size fits none 23:18 A permission slip for parents: education isn't the same as school 24:29 Edufuturist of the Year 2026 Trudi Barrow 27:46 AI policy gaps, the DfE toolkit and creative fidelity 29:41 Live at Minerva Virtual Academy's fifth anniversary 31:39 Pick 'n' Mix Education in real life 34:03 Testing education like medicine with Dr Yusuf Ben-Tarifite 36:13 Social mobility, randomised trials and AI versus human tutoring 38:01 Inclusive STEAM learning with Mykhailo from UNOWA 40:48 Fleeing Ukraine, autism and navigating change 42:06 Coming up: Ashish Bansal, Julian Reeve and more 43:05 Wrap up, Wolfpack and Uprising 2027 #EducationPodcast #EducationLeadership #PickAndMixEducation #EdTech #InclusiveEducation Grab your free ticket for Brilliant Festival on 10th November in Liverpool: https://www.brilliantfestival.com/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=partners&utm_campaign=edufuturists Thanks so much for joining us again for another episode - we appreciate you. Ben & Steve x Check out all about Edufuturists at our new website: https://www.edufuturists.com Want to sponsor future episodes or get involved with the Edufuturists work? Get in touch: info@edufuturists.com Grab your copy of the new Pick 'n' Mix Education book at: https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/picknmix-education Join the Wolfpack: edufuturists.com/wolfpack

In this episode of the Edufuturists podcast, Ben and Steve sit down with Dave Jones and Stephen "Klem" Klemich to unpack Heart Styles, the character development framework built on 18 years of research into what really drives effective leadership, teaching and learning. Dave Jones is the founder of Uplift, a coaching and leadership consultancy based in High Wycombe, UK. He is an accredited Heart Styles practitioner whose career has spanned youth work, church leadership, and running a school hub for Oasis UK's multi-academy trust in South London, before moving into full-time leadership consultancy. Klem is the co-founder of Heart Styles, a global character development methodology now used across corporate, education and sporting organisations. Based in Sydney, Australia, he spent over 40 years in people development and 18 years researching the principles behind effective and ineffective leadership behaviour. We cover: - What Heart Styles is and the 18-year research behind it - Why fear and ego-driven pride quietly sabotage classrooms and leadership teams - The shift from fight and flight into flow, and what it does to the brain - Why humility, not control, is what actually builds trust and results - Moving schools and organisations from a parent-child dynamic to adult-to-adult culture - The "smart plus heart" model for raising a whole person, not just a result - Why celebrating mistakes builds nimble, high-performing teams - Klem's own story of undiagnosed dyslexia and the teacher who nearly broke him Why listen? If you lead a team, a classroom or a school and you've ever wondered why "getting tough" only works for so long, this conversation reframes leadership and teaching around humility and love as performance drivers, not soft add-ons. It's a direct challenge to fear-based, exam-obsessed culture in education, backed by two decades of research and lived experience. Chapters: 00:00 Highlights 00:40 Introductions 03:06 Meet Dave Jones 03:47 Meet Stephen "Klem" Klemich 04:53 Klem's origin story: moving schools, undiagnosed dyslexia, and finding purpose 07:28 Dave's path from youth work to Heart Styles 11:15 What is Heart Styles? 11:57 18 years of research: fear, ego, humility and love 17:53 Fight, flight and flow explained 26:59 Why leadership is shifting toward vulnerability 28:01 From parent-child to adult-adult culture 34:26 The energy of humility vs ego 37:17 Why control-based leadership fails long term 40:14 Bringing love into work and education 41:39 Klem's dyslexia story: the power of encouragement 45:18 Quickfire Questions Read Dave's blog post about the Heart Styles Model: https://uplift-consulting.co.uk/blog/blog-4 Find out more about Heart Styles: https://heartstyles.com/ Grab a copy of Klem's book, Above the Line: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0062886835 Thanks so much for joining us again for another episode - we appreciate you. Ben & Steve x Check out all about Edufuturists at https://www.edufuturists.com Join the Wolfpack Community: https://www.edufuturists.com/wolfpack Want to sponsor future episodes or get involved with the Edufuturists work? Get in touch: info@edufuturists.com Grab your copy of the new Pick 'n' Mix Education book at: https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/picknmix-education