Building a Positive Team and Culture
A Webinar for Start-Up Schools and Learning Communities
Thursday 9 July
7.30-9.30pm BST
Are you setting up or running your own school or learning community?
Many founders are told that hiring a team will make life easier - the reality is that it simply creates different challenges. In this candid session, Syd Femtinos and team coach Beverley Spencer will unpack the journey from solo founder to leading a growing organisation, and share the lessons learned around communication, boundaries, leadership, culture, and trust. Through honest reflections and practical insights, they’ll explore how coaching, vision-setting, and intentional leadership helped transform a struggling team dynamic into a positive and sustainable culture.
Guest Speakers
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.
Beverley has over 20 years of leadership experience in the spa and leisure industry. She has worked with some of the most luxurious brands in the UK, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, leading teams to excel in customer service and operational excellence.
In 2017, she founded her coaching business Confidence Connoisseur, which provides career progression and leadership development for senior corporate leaders.
As a certified coach, a master NLP practitioner, and a motivational map practitioner, Beverley uses these skills and tools to help leaders find their authentic selves, improve their emotional intelligence, and develop positive habits and behaviors that lead to achieving personal, team and business objectives.
She has coached and mentored leaders across various industries and levels, helping them to overcome challenges and develop more courageous, confident, resilient and agile leaders who inspire and motivate their teams to go the extra mile and achieve outstanding results.
Beverley is passionate about helping ambitious leaders to unleash their full potential. She believes that every leader has the power to make a positive difference in the world, and she is committed to supporting them on their journey of growth and discovery.
Event Format, Recording and Ticket Price
This event takes place online via Zoom at 7.30-9.30pm BST on Thursday 9th July. Everyone who registers will be sent the recording after the event.
If you have questions on the topic of Building a Positive Team and Culture but can't make the date, you are still welcome to register for the event. Simply send your questions through to us at [email protected] and they will get asked in the session on your behalf.
This webinar is £20 for non-members, and FREE for members.
Become a Member for Further Support
Join Us!
Would you like to join the Education Start-Ups membership community to access further support? Our membership offers:
Monthly expert webinars (like this one);
Monthly group coaching for peer support and collaborative problem solving;
Online platform for sharing resources/ideas and supporting each other between sessions.
Some extra bonuses too!
You can find out more at EducationStartUps.org/community.
Note to Members
If you are a member, you do not need to register for this event. You will automatically receive the Zoom link in your online community portal.
About Us
This webinar series 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 few 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.
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, which raises awareness of alternatives to conventional schooling and campaigns for change within mainstream education. 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 11k members including parents/carers, educators, academics, researchers, psychologists, education innovators and changemakers.
