Our 2025 Highlights
What a year 2025 has been!
We’ve loved strengthening connections with our members, deepening our partnerships across the country, and seeing the power of collective action in motion. Before we look ahead to 2026, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the journey we’ve travelled together - through the moments that shaped us, inspired us and reminded us why this movement matters.
Here are the highlights the Fair Education Alliance team wanted to celebrate:
Strengthening our foundations
This year, we took time to invest in our strategy, our organisational learning, and the relationships that underpin our work.
Naomi Turner, Operations Manager
“My highlight of 2025 was our first-ever staff retreat in February. We had two days focused on starting the strategy refresh process, which gave the whole team time to digest, understand and input meaningfully into the direction of the organisation. It was also a great opportunity to connect as a team and reflect on the impact we have had to date.”
Saradia McCahon, Head of Impact and Evaluation
“2025 has been a busy and rewarding year! A particular highlight was developing our Theory of Change to support the 2025–30 Neighbourhood to National strategy. Gathering input from our Youth Steering Group, members and governing groups played a key role in shaping our approach, and it was deeply satisfying to bring this together into a clear framework for how we create change as an Alliance. I am excited to see how it will ground and guide us over the next five years as we deliver our strategy!”
Siwan Davies, Director of Collective Strength
“My 2025 highlight was the Scaling CEO retreat in July. It was a rare moment to step back and celebrate everything this brilliant group of leaders has achieved. Through deep reflection, workshops, peer coaching, thoughtful walks, dining together and even a swim, it was energising to connect as humans and as leaders after a busy (sometimes challenging) and overwhelmingly impactful year.”
Catherine Sangster, Events Manager
“The highlight of my year has been building relationships with all our new team members and deepening relationships with those who have been here for years. It has been a busy and exciting year for the FEA, and it has been great to have so many good people to navigate everything with!”
Tom Bell, Communications Officer
“Mine’s easy: joining the FEA team! It’s wonderful to be working with so many brilliant and caring teammates and members to push for change in our education system, and I look forward to building on our progress in the new year.”
Raising voices and shaping narratives
Youth voice and collective perspective-taking played a huge role this year - from Whitehall to the Summit stage.
Gina Cicerone, Co-CEO
“Hearing our Youth Steering Group in conversation with the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Education in 10 Downing Street, thanks to Mission 44, and seeing the impact this has had on the Government's commitment to youth voice.”
Ellie Bulloch, Youth Engagement Officer
“My 2025 highlight was our Youth Steering Group member Subhan's 'Manchester' poem at the Fair Education Summit. His words were extremely powerful and moving, and it was a great way to kick off our place-based collaboration work!”
Sam Butters, Co-CEO
“Our Youth Town Hall and Early Childhood workshops at party conferences were my highlights from the year. Both formats were innovative: we put young people literally front and centre on the Town Hall panel and in the audience, so they could speak boldly and honestly to people in power. And we created space for members and parents to have true, open dialogue with policymakers of different levels - not just hear them speak on a panel - to discuss how we can give children the best start in life. It’s what the FEA is all about: bringing unheard voices into conversations and collaborations and helping us work better together.”
Beki Tovey, Digital Communications Manager
“My highlight of 2025 has been helping to deliver some of FEA’s biggest communications moments - from launching our Neighbourhood to National strategy, to shaping this year’s Report Card, to bringing our place-based work to life at the Fair Education Summit. Together, these moments strengthened our digital presence, elevated our storytelling, and helped position FEA as a confident, member-centred movement. I’m excited to build on this momentum in 2026 as we continue to share the impact of our members, young people and regional partners.”
Becca Weighell, Head of Youth Engagement
“My 2025 highlight was formalising the FEA's young trustee position and welcoming our Youth Steering Group Alumni, Elijah, to the Board. This means we now have young people involved as co-leaders at every level of our decision-making!”
Inspiring collective action
Across our networks, members came together to share learning, shape policy, and collaborate on the issues that matter most.
Rachel Tait, Director of Operations and Impact
“Our strategy workshops with members in the spring, especially my local one in Manchester! We learned loads from the discussions, which shaped our 2025-30 strategy, and it was great to see people enjoying some in-person time together and learning about each other's work too.”
Chris Haldane, Head of Communications
“The Member Strategy Workshops - speaking to members across the country about how we can increase our impact and what the future of the FEA might look like. So many people who care deeply about improving the lives of children and young people!”
Jane Fernandes, Collective Action and Advocacy Manager
“My highlight was the inaugural Literacy Link Annual Gathering in April. We brought together organisations that are committed to improving reading outcomes for all children and young people through strategic collaboration. The event was designed to build connections and start planning collaborations, and it was a huge success.”
Tom Symons, Head of Policy Insights
“My personal highlight would be the removal of the two-child limit. A massive step forward for children from lower-income families, and a testament to the collaboration of the various organisations that campaigned for this over the years.”
Jessica Dunks, Collective Strength Programme and Community Manager
“My 2025 highlight was the Innovation Award celebration at Bloomberg in September. It was amazing to see so many members, Innovation Award alumni, funders and mentors in the room who supported this brilliant cohort of changemakers throughout their journey. What stood out most for me? The way they’ve become more than just individual entrepreneurs. They’ve become a support system. And in a world where entrepreneurship can often feel lonely, that collective strength is powerful!”
Janeen Hayat, Director of Collective Action
“Talking to lots of FEA members to inform our collective asks for Government and launching our 2026 Report Card to underpin our policy influencing work throughout the year.”
Driving systems-change through place-based collaboration
Chloe Lam, Place-Based Collaboration Officer
“The Collaboration Partnership selection roadshow in November, travelling to Mayoral Combined Authorities with the FEA and Bloomberg teams, and Aisha, our Youth Steering Group member. And of course, seeing Aisha make the announcements at the Summit, officially launching our Place-Based work!”
Alistair Semple, Place-based Collaboration Events Manager
“Attending the Fair Education Summit - it was amazing to jump straight in alongside the team and meet so many of our members! Seeing just how many people want to create a fairer system for young people was so inspiring, and I can't wait to get stuck into our place-based work too.”
Rachel Parkin, Director of Place-Based Collaboration
“My highlights have all been about team and partner building, whether that’s building the place-based team, Collaboration Partner selection, and getting people on board for the Combined Authority Network. It’s great to be starting things off with such a brilliant group of people who all care deeply about long-term systems change, firmly rooted in specific local contexts across the country.”
We can’t wait to build on this momentum in 2026 and continue working side by side with our members, young people and partners to shape a fairer education system for all.