Jim Knight, The Rt Hon Lord Knight of Weymouth, works in education, medtech and as a legislator. He is the Chief Education and External Officer at TES Global Ltd, the news, training, jobs and resource sharing service for teachers. His responsibilities include Tes Resources and Communications and Public Affairs.  He previously founded Tes Institute in 2014 which is now the fifth largest qualifier of teachers in England.  Jim is a founder of XRapid, an innovative business using artificial intelligence to power the diagnosis of malaria and asbestos fibres using iPhones.

As a UK government minister his portfolios included rural affairs, schools, digital and employment.  He was a member of Gordon Brown’s Cabinet 2009-2010, before joining the Lords after the 2010 General Election.  He is also a visiting Professor at the Knowledge Lab of the UCL Institute of Education and Chair of Whole Education.

Website: www.youngminds.org.uk

Emma Thomas joined YoungMinds, the UK’s leading children and young people’s mental health charity, as Chief Executive in July 2018. Prior to joining YoungMinds, Emma worked as a consultant with a range of youth organisations on digital adoption and strategic development and was Chief Executive of The Mix (formerly known as YouthNet).  Emma has wide-ranging experience across commercial and third sectors, as well as working at the BBC developing new digital services and campaigns. For the past ten years she has worked within the youth sector advocating for young people to have a greater voice in society and in improving services. 

Emma is a member of the NHS England Independent Advisory and Oversight Group, the NHS Long Term Plan steering group, the NHS Advancing Mental Health Equalities Taskforce, the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, the Children’s Commissioner’s Inpatient Taskforce Oversight Board and the ITV Mental Health Advisory Group.

Website: www.weareflourish.co.uk

Jo Morton-Brown is an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy.  Currently working as an Emotional Health Practitioner for her own business ‘Flourish’, Jo is a passionate and committed advocate for the improvement of mental health.

Combining her academic knowledge with first-hand experience, Jo is able to offer fellow professionals the chance to gain a better understanding about mental health and emotional wellbeing affecting children and young people. And to remind ourselves about the importance of maintaining our very own wellbeing. Nowadays, there is so much more to teaching than just the role of being a teacher.

Whilst schools are closed, Jo has adapted to the change and is continuing to support students but now throughout the country via her new YouTube channel called ‘Flourish with Jo Morton-Brown’, which is highly recommended by schools and organisations. The channel can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUFB1XwKcbymlIJCzyeo6eg

 Jerome is a distinguished actor who has appeared on our screens in award-winning and popular TV series such as ITV’s Solder Solder, BBC’s Ripper Street, Netflix’s Black Mirrror and HBO’s Game of Thrones.

As well as being an international TV and film star, Jerome is an experienced meditator who told us that “taking up meditation and practising mindfulness was probably the single most important thing I did in my life… it’s been a gift for me, having had fame come to my door early, because I saw early on that that wasn’t going to make me happy, that wasn’t what I was about, that wasn’t what life was about…”.

“The Dalai Lama said that if all of the children on the planet practised mindfulness there would be no more conflict in the world… I can’t imagine how I would have managed at all to navigate healthily or happily through life if I hadn’t made that journey of reconnection through meditation and mindfulness. For me, there’s nothing more important than how we love and rear, educate and support our young people. Caring for the wellness of our young people and the wellness of the whole that’s what I’d call real progress.”