DERC webinar series: An inquiry into the love of learning

This session, run as part of the Development Education Research Centre seminar series, reports on a research project that explored the beliefs, policies and practices in ten primary schools across England, who were engaging pupils well and fostering an authentic love of learning. These schools were mostly in areas of disadvantage. Although all the schools were unique there were some clear parallels between them. The webinar will outline what were they doing, why they were doing it and the remarkable outcomes across the board – for kids, teachers and families. Nothing was overly costly and everything was doable. Attendees will have the opportunity to reflect on what might be adopted in their settings and ask questions. We now need a similar project in the secondary sector!

SPEAKER Dr Sue Roffey has been a teacher, psychologist and academic. She is currently an honorary associate professor at UCL and director of Growing Great Schools Worldwide. Sue has written prolifically on aspects of wellbeing in education, including behaviour, relationships, social-emotional learning and school culture. Sue worked on this project with Dominic Boddington MBE, a secondary school teacher who set up Respect4Us to meet the needs of pupils excluded from mainstream schools in Norfolk. The book about the project, Inspiring a Love of Learning: Exceptional Practice in Primary Schools will be published by Routledge in 2027.