My charities are physical manifestations of my belief that systems must serve the individual, the human being, not the other way around.
Elliot was my firstborn son, Elliot Jonathan Whalley who died in infancy in 1976. It took me 35 years to find something worthy of his memory. I would have wanted him to be educated in any one of my TEF schools.
A thriving system of primary schools.
The Elliot Foundation (TEF) was built as a deliberate counter to the politicised standard, corporate model of education. It was Founded on the belief that children and teachers deserve joy in learning, operating as a thriving family of 36 primary schools. We have three different regions; the West Midlands, East Anglia and London serving 15,000 children.
TEF is the practical application of my deepest sense of self: that if you protect the autonomy of the individual, the teacher - and place the children at the absolute centre of the system, communities will flourish. It is a daily exercise in ensuring the system is shaped around the human, rather than forcing the human to fit the system.
Once The Elliot Foundation was thriving—sustained and championed by the exceptional talent, relentless passion, and fierce integrity of my brilliant CEO and teams, both in and out of schools—I stepped away from their day-to-day.
It is important to trust their stewardship, and watch the Foundation develop its own magnificent wings.