‘Ask the Expert’ Q&A
Online and Hybrid Schools/Learning Communities
Wednesday 11 June, 7.30pm BST
Are you thinking about setting up a school or learning community? This webinar aims to help those who are exploring the idea of running an online provision. Or perhaps you run or work at an in-person community already and are considering offering a hybrid model, whereby some of the learning will take place online.
We are delighted to introduce you to our four guest speakers who have extensive experience in these areas...
Our Expert Panel
Syd Femtinos is a passionate educational disruptor and the founder of UK Virtual School, an innovative online school offering a flexible British education for home educating families, expats, and worldschoolers.
With over 15 years of experience working closely with home educating families, Syd is deeply committed to creating safe, empowering learning environments that adapt to individual needs - rather than forcing students to conform to rigid systems.
Syd’s mission is to disrupt conventional education and demonstrate how we can reimagine learning in ways that are better suited to both students and teachers in an ever-changing world. As part of this vision, UK Virtual School is collaboratively developing learning hubs across the globe with access to science labs and creative spaces, enabling students to connect in person and deepen their learning.
International residential trips and local meetups further enrich the experience, helping students take their online learning to another level through hands-on exploration, cultural immersion, and real-world collaboration.
Hugh Viney is a firm believer that every child should enjoy school. And that it’s possible for every child to enjoy school. It’s just a matter of discovering what kind of school works best for your child.
This belief has led to Hugh's creation of two businesses:
Minerva’s Virtual Academy: An online independent school for 11-18-year-olds.
Minerva’s Tutors: A tutoring agency for 5-18-year-olds.
Jamie Whiteside is a senior leader in the independent sector, with over 20 years of teaching experience. He was instrumental in the creation and running of the Hybrid School at Portland Place.
His professional passions include raising the quality of whole school teaching and learning, along with harnessing technology to positively transform pupil experiences.
His background is in teaching Computer Science and he is passionate advocate for getting kids to code (while also reading widely).
He is now Director of Hybrid Schools for Dukes Education and brings his wealth of knowledge on school management to the hybrid project.
Ambreen Baig has been an English Teacher for 20 years. She also worked as an AQA Examiner for English for over a decade and delivers the borough of Barnet’s GCSE English revision course for all schools.
In Portland Place, Ambreen was Head of Year 12, and since the opening of Portland Place Hybrid School, she was in charge of the day-to-day running and supporting the students, families and staff. The first Hybrid School started at Portland Place and Ambreen was the Head of the Hybrid School there, overseeing the care of over 100 students throughout the four years.
She is now Director of Hybrid Schools for Dukes Education and is excited to expand this innovative project so more students can benefit from it.
Event Format and Recording
This event takes place online via Zoom at 7.30-9.30pm BST on Wednesday 11th June.
You will have the opportunity to hear a short presentation from each of our panellists about their online and hybrid schools and learning communities, and then we will open it up to the audience for your questions. Everyone who registers will be sent the recording after the event.
If you have questions but can't make the live event, please feel free to sign up and send your questions through to [email protected] and they will be asked in the session on your behalf and you’ll receive the recording afterwards.
This webinar is £20 for non-members, and FREE for members.
Note to Members: If you are a member, you do not need to register, as you will automatically receive the Zoom link in your online community portal.
About Us
This webinar is brought to you by Jo Symes at Progressive Education and Alex O’Neill from Limitless. We are education activists who have a shared passion for raising awareness of alternatives to mainstream school.
For the past couple of years Alex and Jo have been creating events and resources for start-ups, in response to the growing number of children and young people leaving mainstream education, and the urgency that parents/carers/educators feel to build new learning environments where young people can thrive.
Please join us in our membership community where you can access ongoing support and guidance on your journey to create a school or learning community.
Introducing Alex O’Neill
Alex is the driving force behind Limitless, an organisation dedicated to igniting social change with a special emphasis on revolutionising the education sector.
Through the Limitless podcast, she shares expert insights and neuroscience tips to empower changemakers to tackle the world's most pressing issues.
Alex is committed to uniting individuals who are driven to advance education and supporting them in overcoming obstacles that stand in their way.
Introducing Jo Symes
Jo is the founder of the social enterprise, Progressive Education. Her website is an inspiration hub for exploring alternatives to conventional schooling and campaigns to bring about change. She is building a global directory of jobs, events and progressive schools and learning communities.
It began with the launch of the Progressive Education Group on Facebook in 2019, which is an international community of over 10k parents/carers, educators, academics, researchers, psychologists, education innovators, changemakers and young people.
