Co-Founder of Kidzplay Abbey Odunsi tells us how the organisation began and how food has played a pivotal part in her life. Learn what created a passion in Abbey for working with children and young people and how her skills as a chef have come into schools. Discover what Abbey cooked for Mohammed Ali and what this meant to her mum and others. Listen as she shares two musical tracks that mean a lot to her.
Founder and Director of Financial Harmony Sacha Dsane enlightens us on the hurdles she overcame to get into the finance industry and her passion for bringing financial knowledge back to the community she grew up in. Learn what the musical tracks are that mean the most and what the future holds for her financial literacy programme for young people in schools and beyond.
Co-Founder of Kidzplay Patrick Marshall shares his professional background in education and his own experience of racism while he was at school. Patrick shares his ties to Enfield and his commitment to positive experiences and interventions for children and young people. Hear the track from his youth and who he dedicates the final track to.
Meet the founder and director of The Place of Dreams, Karen Allen. Discover what the transition was like for Karen starting school in Enfield having had 3 years in the Jamaican education system. Hear about her passion for young people, her dedication to bringing the Place of Dreams strapline to life – children and young people need to be seen, be safe and be celebrated.
Hear from the headteacher of Laurel Park School in Enfield, Adele Christofi. Adele describes the approaches they’ve taken to create an environment where students are happy coming to school. Find out how they have created a flexible curriculum and discover which musical artist gets both Adele’s choices.
Programme manager of Intermisson Youth and Rudolph Walker Foundation Nana Antwi-Nyanin explains finding his own sound in music and how this helped his teenage years. Nana talks about the need to cope with being let down by young people who have been let down. He describes the process of the programmes he runs which transform young lives, hear the passion that he brings to the work he does.
Chris Lamb, headteacher of Enfield Grammar School describes the approach he’s taken at school, stemming from the resilience he built up from his own mixed education. Chris talks about the importance of meet and greet at the classroom door along with reading and how English literature set him up with the skill of empathy. Mindfulness is just one of the elements to his ethos of wellbeing at his comprehensive school – Chris is clear it is grammar in name only!.
Listen to Zoe Thompson’s vision for education at her all through 360-day school, Oasis Academy Hadley. Zoe explains what the ‘Did it here’ poster is, the bigger picture she wants create for students to make informed decisions and the relentless focus on ‘where we’re going to go’. Boredom at her own school gave Zoe a drive to keep expectations high and social capital for all the students she is responsible for.
Listen to Tanya, head of chace community school as she describes how her school values thread through everything they do. Find out about her approach to well-being and what their solution is to mobile phone use. Hear the school theme in her first musical track and the call to action in her second.
Having started a school with 1 student, Diane shares her journey to a school of 70 fifteen years later. Fresh Steps Independent school is run as a family unit. Hear about the importance of creative education and drama. Find out what wonderful Wednesday is and how proud the students are of their school and feeling they have a voice.
Listen to Kevin as he shares his journey from skateboarding and street life to youth work and education. Raised by his Indian-Trinidadian mum and not knowing his Black father, he reflects on identity, belonging, and resilience. Discover how finding a book on Black history transformed his outlook and shaped his lifelong commitment to young people. With 18 years as an assistant head at a PRU and training as a psychodynamic therapist, Kevin offers deep insight into behaviour and wellbeing. Hear his thoughts on the power of learning Black history and how he recommends three key books as a starting point — among many more that have influenced his journey. His first track captures the joy of those early skateboarding days — his second, love.
Listen to Tammy Day, head of Bishop Stopford School, as she shares what drives her vision for the school and why a sense of belonging matters so deeply—something she missed out on a bit in her own childhood due to ill health. Hear how her first musical track, reflects the importance of her sisters and the family ethos she brings to school life. Discover Tammy’s approach to leadership, her commitment to the Enfield community, and the values that thread through everything they do at Bishop Stopford. Hear why her second track represents the message which is central to her work with students.
Meet Emma Loveland, Headteacher of St. Anne’s. She shares her own school experiences—including a moment where lacking Gaelic proved challenging—and the passion she brings to leading St. Anne’s, even across two sites miles apart. She discusses developing the school's behaviour policy, where de-escalation is a win, using internal mediation expertise to channel student energy and build resilience and belonging. Emma also highlights the unique benefit of the Artist-in-Residence and the powerful sisterhood of the St. Anne's Gospel Choir.
Meet Emma Robinson, Headteacher of Oasis Academy Enfield. She discusses the privilege of school leadership and explains the Oasis Way: a deeply relational approach that celebrates people. Emma details a trauma-informed culture built on consistency, aiming for every child to feel seen. She highlights vital tools including a strong PSHE curriculum and dedicated pastoral teams to understand each student's world. The episode covers co-curricular essentials, budget balancing, and the critical importance of partnering with families. Emma also shares her appreciation of mindfulness for staying present and considering your response.
Des shares a transformative journey from a traumatic teenage incident to his leadership role today as CEO of Spark 2 Life. Des speaks of the work of the organisation who currently see 300+ young people each week in 10 boroughs. He talks of the work underpinned by Alfred Adler’s psychology, focussing on building a trusted relationship and an “internal locus of evaluation”—a secure base for positive decision-making. Des has held leadership roles in the church and says that faith is the prime reason for his positive development.
Des speaks of his regular work in prison and the priorities of the organisation which include reducing school exclusions, supporting mental health and culturally competent police work (like stop and search). With 35% of staff having lived experience, Des says character and an individual’s values are the most important when recruiting. A trained therapist, Des finishes the episode with an uplifting message from a final musical track—a reminder of hope and opportunity.
Tyler and Yossi from Write 2 Speak share their own struggles in secondary school—feeling lessons weren’t relevant and unable to express themselves. They discuss the joy of seeing young people find their voice and come alive through spoken word, wanting every student to know creative expression is for everyone. Their seamless collaboration was highlighted by agreeing on their two musical tracks, showcasing how closely they work as a creative team. Listen to their inspiring journey on transforming disengagement into powerful self-expression.
This episode features Natalie Slade, Deputy Head at Chace Community School, sharing what she has achieved in her three years at Chace and why she is passionate about working with teenagers. Natalie reflects on why she describes young people as brilliant, and how at 15 she found herself bored at school and in New Zealand, where you can start driving at that age, she and friends would just go off! Natalie shares how one inspiring history teacher helped shape the kind of educator she strives to be today. She talks about what she believes good history teaching can do for young people; the importance of taking them with you and drawing them into powerful stories. Hear the track she regularly plays at the end of lessons as a message of optimism.
This episode features Cllr Greer, Mayor of Enfield, reflecting on her mixed experience of school life — from being a talented athlete and a natural team player who was often picked for sports, to facing bullying during her secondary years. Her story highlights the resilience and community spirit that now shape her work today. As Mayor, her focus has centred on community and young people, and she speaks openly about her commitment to ensuring that every young person feels seen, heard and valued. She also expresses her belief that adults must always strive to keep their word and honour their promises to young people, or at least explain when circumstances have changed. A dedicated councillor for Upper Edmonton, she continues to work tirelessly for her community. Music played a huge part in her teenage years, and in this episode, she reveals the two tracks that shaped her and why they mattered.
Meet Ayse Adil and Joe Letteri, co‑founders of Family Based Solutions—an extraordinary organisation transforming families through their groundbreaking focus on stopping the cycle with child‑to‑parent abuse. Known for never giving up on families, they champion the belief that children are never to blame and apply powerful solution‑focused approaches that they’ve travelled internationally to teach. They describe how this approach works, how it can be applied to any situation, and how it supports both children and adults. Their partnership is central to their pioneering work and to their shared conviction that the current system is failing too many young people. In this episode, explore their unique approach, listen to their musical choices, and find out who had Toots and the Maytals as their teenage track.