Schveta’s Story.

For Schveta, education has always been more than books and exams. Growing up she saw the value her family placed on learning but she also remembers wishing for teachers who noticed the whole child, not just the grades. That longing has quietly shaped the kind of teacher she has become.

She knows the reality of school life: the busyness, the pressure, the constant sense of never having enough time. She sees how this leaves many teachers drained and how children can so easily feel unseen. Her question is simple but radical: What if schools became places where care and belonging mattered as much as results?

Day to day, Schveta is finding her own ways to answer. With staff, she brings in small practices of reflection and gratitude, creating moments to pause and reconnect. With children, she carves out space for listening circles, where every voice can be heard and uses simple wellbeing check-ins that remind pupils they are more than their performance. For her, wellbeing isn’t an add-on, it’s something woven into the ordinary fabric of the day.

The Fellowship gave her both courage and companionship. Through the action research she explored how to embed these ideas practically and through the community she discovered the relief of not being alone: “Realising there are others trying to do this too gave me the strength to keep going.”

At the heart of her work is a belief that education should prepare children for life, not just exams. Relationships come first, she says, because without trust and belonging, learning won’t land. Her dream is of schools where resilience and joy are seen as markers of success and where every child feels ready to step into the world with confidence.

“If our children leave school knowing they belong, knowing how to listen and knowing how to care for themselves and others,” she reflects, “then we’ve given them the best possible start.”

Listen to the full conversation with Schveta.