Where Change Becomes Possible: Stories from Around the Global RISE Up Community
- Neil @ Future Action
- 12 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Celebrating the educators, leaders and partners transforming children’s mental wellbeing and life chances
TL;DR
• A celebration of the Global RISE Up community
• Welcoming new schools, educators and partners
• Spotlight on outstanding practice at Winston Churchill School and Greenside Primary
• Welcoming Paul Collin to the Future Action team
• How to connect with the RISE Up community
One of the greatest privileges of our work is the brilliant people we get to meet along the way.
The Global RISE Up community is a remarkable group of educators and trusted partners, united by a shared mission to transform children’s mental wellbeing and life chances.
It now spans thousands of educators and partners across five continents and has become a safe, supportive space to share learning, build connections and develop the expertise needed to make a meaningful difference for young people.
We’ve been delighted to welcome new schools, educators and extended partners into the RISE Up community this half term.
Whether you’ve joined us recently or have been part of the journey for some time, you are warmly welcomed here.
This is a community built on trust, shared learning and collective care for young people.
I am continually inspired by the passion, dedication and innovation of the educators within RISE Up.
The work you are doing, often quietly and without fanfare, is changing lives. It is a privilege to serve you and the young people in your care.
I want to shine a light on a few examples of the incredible practice happening across the community.
Spotlight 1: Amy Kovic — Making Physical Education Meaningful 🎙️
We’re proud to share a brilliant podcast featuring Amy Kovic, recorded with our trusted partners PE Scholar on the PE Insights podcast, hosted by the fantastic Nathan Walker.
Amy is Director of Sport at The Winston Churchill School, the lead secondary school in our Surrey RISE Up programme.
In the episode, Amy shares how her department has intentionally prioritised relationships first, creating a PE culture where young people feel safe, valued and confident to take part.
Having witnessed this personally at the school’s sports awards evening in October, the connection between the PE team and students feels genuinely special and unique.
🎧 Listen to Amy's podcast here:
📖 Read Amy’s RISE Up case study here:
Spotlight 2: Greenside Primary & the Power of Partnership 📊
We’re delighted to see a new joint case study published by our friends at Greater Manchester Moving, shining a light on the brilliant work of Michael Ellis and the team at Greenside Primary School.
The case study explores how combining RISE Up with the Creating Active Schools (CAS) framework has supported wellbeing, movement and belonging across school life.
What stands out from the Greenside story is how intentionally movement is being used across the school day:
RISE Up Sport Sanctuaries supporting regulation and belonging
Movement used purposefully to help children shift emotional states
Lunchtimes redesigned around play-focused, relational supervision
Positive shifts beginning to show in attendance and wellbeing
👉 Read the joint case study here:
A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this work possible:
Michael Ellis and the Greenside team for leading with compassion and consistency
Jess Simons and colleagues at Greater Manchester Moving for driving Creating Active Schools across the region
Vicky Marshall and the team at Team MCR for championing the Manchester RISE Up vision
This is a powerful example of what can happen when movement, relationships and purpose align.
📖 Read Michael Ellis’s RISE Up case study here:
Spotlight 3: Welcoming Paul Collin to the Future Action Team🌟
We’re delighted to welcome Paul Collin to the Future Action team as Director of Operations Strategy, alongside his own education consultancy, Develop2Teach, which also joins us as a trusted partner.
Paul has been part of the Future Action journey from the very beginning. As Headteacher at City Academy Norwich, he played a key role in helping to shape, test and refine the RISE Up programme, ensuring it was grounded in the realities of school leadership, staff workload and pupil need.
He later introduced RISE Up to Bohunt School Worthing, which went on to become our lead Sussex RISE Up school, demonstrating how personally relevant PE and wellbeing-led practice can be embedded sustainably at whole-school level.
Paul and I presented together at the Active Sussex PE Conference, highlighting the critical link between physical education, wellbeing, inclusion and leadership culture.
Paul is an innovative, values-led leader who consistently puts people first. His work reflects a deep understanding that sustainable school improvement is relational, practical and rooted in lived experience.
Through both Future Action and Develop2Teach, Paul brings a shared commitment to purposeful implementation, inclusive practice and leadership that genuinely supports staff and pupils alike.
📖 Read the Bohunt Worthing case study here:
As Future Action continues to grow, Paul’s appointment strengthens our capacity to support schools at scale without losing what makes RISE Up distinctive: its relational approach, its grounding in real schools, and its credibility with leaders.
Paul will help us develop:
Practical support for middle leaders, including managing up and evidencing impact
A Future Action Senior Teachers Ambassador Programme
Leadership guidance shaped by lived school and system experience
Targeted support for senior leaders navigating Ofsted’s renewed focus on inclusion, wellbeing and impact
Please join me in warmly welcoming Paul to the Future Action team. If you would like to explore how Paul’s leadership and 10 years of Headteacher expertise could support your school or trust, please do get in touch here.
Want to Join the Global RISE Up Community?🌍
If you’re curious about becoming part of this growing movement, here are two simple ways to begin. There’s no pressure and no expectation, just an opportunity to explore what support might help next.
1️⃣ Join Our Waiting List
For schools and organisations interested in future partnerships, training, consultancy, speaking, or to request a copy of Time to RISE Up.
2️⃣ Complete the School Wellbeing Scorecard
A short, three-minute reflection to help you map your current provision and identify practical next steps.
👉 Complete the School Wellbeing Scorecard here
If you’ve been inspired by these stories and would like to explore further, our Impact page brings together a wide range of case studies from primary, secondary, special and international schools across the RISE Up community.
👉 Explore the Impact page here
Final Thought💛
This community is proof that meaningful change doesn’t come from policy alone. It comes from people.
We have more brilliant case studies coming soon to shine a light on the fantastic practice happening across the RISE Up community.
If we haven’t yet heard your story and you’d like to be featured, please do reach out here. We love hearing what you’re doing for your young people.
Have a brilliant week, and thank you for everything you do to help your children feel safe, connected and ready to flourish.
With gratitude,
Neil Moggan & the Future Action Team
💛🧠💪
P.S. 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here to receive the latest wellbeing insights and practical tools for your setting.
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