Welcome to The Common Room. Pull up a chair.
SEND and inclusion, leadership capacity and development, new school start-ups — expert advice and practical solutions to back it up.
The Common Room works alongside mainstream and special schools and trusts, Alternative Provisions, the independent sector and local authorities so children — and the adults who care for them — can thrive.
Our thinking
A school is not a system that contains people. It's people who make a system.
A team that walks alongside you to create meaningful change and help you demonstrate progress.
Psychology first
Psychological thinking underpinning how we understand and help you develop your culture.
Whole systems
A child centred approach to working with schools and the systems around them.
With, not to
No parachuting in. We sit alongside your people, build their capacity, and leave the expertise behind us.
Human and modern
We're genuinely curious about AI and EdTech — and equally clear that no tool replaces a trusted adult.
The Rooms
Common rooms have always been the informal heart of a school — shared, welcoming, and open to whoever walks in with something to say. We borrowed the idea, and built a Room for every way we can help.
The Blueprint Room
The plans, permissions and practicalities behind opening a new Alternative Provision or Independent school — handled properly, from feasibility to first day.
- Feasibility, market preparedness & business planning
- Registration, compliance and commissioning support
- Governance set-up
- Culture, ethos and visioning
The Improvement Room
Honest diagnosis, clear priorities and the support to actually deliver them — without exhausting your team.
- School reviews & readiness
- Improvement planning
- Trust-wide strategy
- Governance support
The Belonging Room
From individual casework to whole-school culture — the psychological insight and cultural change that decide whether a school truly includes the people it's built for.
- SEND strategy & review
- Consultation & assessment
- Culture & climate reviews
- Inclusion & anti-racism
- Pupil voice
The EdTech Room
Practical, ethical adoption of AI and technology — starting with the problem, never with the product.
Home to our own tools, BelongHub and Inclusion Tracker, built to make belonging and inclusion measurable.
- AI readiness & policy
- EdTech evaluation
The Learning Room
Sessions people talk about afterwards. Grounded in research, delivered like a conversation.
- Leadership coaching
- Bespoke INSET
- Keynotes & conferences
- Programme design
The Partnership Room
Strategic capacity for LAs — from SEND sufficiency to school improvement across a whole place.
- SEND system reform
- Area-wide reviews
- Interim & associate capacity
- Commissioner support
Not sure which Room fits? Tell us what's happening in your setting and we'll point you to the right door. Get in touch.
Who we work with
Different chairs, same table.
Schools
Primary, secondary, special and alternative provision — from new AP and independent school start-ups to established settings under pressure.
Multi-academy trusts
Central teams building coherence across schools without flattening what makes each one distinctive.
Local authorities
SEND, inclusion and school improvement teams needing capacity, challenge or a fresh pair of eyes.
Sector partners
Charities, EdTech companies and funders who want their work to land well in real schools.
Ready to pull up a chair?
No pitch decks, no hard sell. Just a conversation about what's happening in your setting.
Book a conversation