Our Inspiration
Role Models is an impact driven education provider. We focus on life skills that promote social & emotional wellbeing and dynamic thinking, helping young people to thrive in life; both at home and their future workplace.
Research & Thought Leaders
Our online and offline content has been carefully created by our own in-house education team. The team is led by Director of Character Education Louise Treherne, who’s experience includes a psychology degree, 12 years teaching, a deputy headship and a coaching qualification.
Frances Waller is the Education Team Executive. She was a teacher for 13 years in both the state and independent sectors in London, Leeds, and internationally in Shanghai. Frances has a wealth of experience teaching children from ages 3 to 11 and has recently completed an MSc in Psychology.
When we talk about ‘life skills’ we are focusing on those that promote social and emotional wellbeing, and dynamic thinking. We focus on developing the types of skills highlighted in the Partnership for 21st Century Learning framework and bring these skills to life.
We know development of these life skills has a positive impact on:
mental health & wellbeing
increased academic attainment
future job prospects
We are constantly inspired by key research and thought leaders in this space and have referenced a selection of these below. These not only inspire the topics and content of our work but provide important scientific evidence on the positive impact work such as ours can have.
Who we work with
Our course content is ambitious, fun and engaging. It is developed by a team with many years of education, coaching and psychology expertise. We work with families and schools to ensure each young person is able to be the best version of themselves through delivering a range of courses for 3-15 year old children, both offline and online. Our courses combine active learning with serious fun.
Our Scholars
Dr. Carol Dweck
Dr Carol Dweck coined the term Growth Mindset and is one of the leading researchers in the power of our mindset and how it can impact our approach. At Role Models, we have developed a series of transformative courses addressing many of the key areas that Dweck identifies.
Mindset Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential, Dr Carol DweckTed Talk: The power of believing that you can improveMartin Seligman
Martin Seligman is the Director of the Penn Positive Psychology Centre and is the founder of modern-day positive psychology. His work on human flourishing and happiness have informed our work on resilience, particularly the PERMA model.
Dr. Lucy Hone
Dr Hone is the co-director of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience and adjunct fellow at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. Hone’s research is published internationally, and her PhD was acknowledged for its outstanding contribution to wellbeing science at the World Congress of Positive Psychology in 2019.
The 3 secrets of resilient peopleTed Talk: The new era of positive psychologyDr. Brene Brown
Dr. Brene Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston. She is also a visiting professor in management at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. She has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy, is the author of 5 number 1 New York Times bestsellers, and is the host of the weekly Spotify Original podcasts Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead.
Her Ted Talk: The power of vulnerability is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world with over 50 million views.
What is empathy?Dr. Angela Duckworth
Angela Duckworth is the founder and CEO of Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance scientific insights that help children thrive. They provide actionable advice to parents and teachers based on science. She is also a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and in 2013 was named a MacArthur Fellow.
What is grit?The Anna Freud National Centre of Children and Families
The Anna Freud Centre is a world leading mental health charity for children, young people and their families which has developed and delivered pioneering mental health care for over 60 years.
Within the Role Models Education team, we have training in the psychodynamic therapy approach and draw on a lot of the research developed by the Anna Freud Centre.
Harvard University Centre on the Developing child
Harvard University Centre defines resilience as having a ‘good outcome in the face of adversity’. We draw on research published by Harvard University Centre on the developing child in order to inform our content and ensure we are addressing and supporting children in the most important and beneficial areas.
What is resilience?VIA Institute of Character
The VIA Survey is at the core of the VIA Institute. It is a psychometrically validated personality test that measures an individual’s character strengths. When you discover your greatest strengths, you can use them to face life’s challenges, work toward goals, and feel more fulfilled both personally and professionally. In turn, researchers and professionals can access years’ worth of survey results data to advance the science and practice of strengths.
Character strength researchVIA websiteThe Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues
The Jubilee Centre is a pioneering research centre which focuses on character, virtues and values in the interest of human flourishing. It was established in 2012 and is an established source of information in this area of character development both for individuals and societies. There is a wealth of resources accessible for teachers and parents, as well as research projects reflecting on policy and practice.
Additional Information
Below are links to further studies highlighting the importance of teaching life skills as discrete areas to supplement the academic curriculum.
Can we teach character?Character Education Research (Nfer)Is there a need for character education?80% teachers say Character Education would improve students’ grades