The Conscious Classroom

Reviews / Votes

"Having worked with Values-based Education for many years, as a long-term associate of VbE, I find The Conscious Classroom to be a definitive guide for the modern educator. Having introduced and embedded VbE, both in the trenches as a Headteacher and later as a Multi-Academy Trust leader, I have seen the transformative power of VbE in action.

In our Trust, Values-based Education has been the place where we have found alignment with all our schools and the place where we continue to grow our collaboration. With first-hand experience of developing and deepening VbE in our classrooms, we have built a cohesive ethos across our group of schools where students develop the ethical intelligence and agency to navigate an AI-driven world. This book is not just theory; it is a roadmap to creating the harmony, resilience and wellbeing that our children - and our society - so desperately need."
Cori Bateman, Chief Executive Officer, Pioneer Learning Trust.

"I have known Neil for many years, and I can say this without hesitation. This book is the purest expression of who he is as a human being and as an educator. I have travelled the world with Neil, shared stages with him, sat in deep conversations late into the night, and watched him quietly transform rooms full of teachers and leaders, simply by the way he listens and speaks from the heart.

The Conscious Classroom is not a theory-heavy manifesto. It is a grounded, deeply human invitation to rethink what education is really for. Neil reminds us that schools are not just places to pass exams, but places where character, wisdom and ethical leadership are formed. His thinking feels urgently relevant in a world that often feels loud, polarised and disconnected.

This book will challenge you, reassure you and inspire you in equal measure. If you care about children, wellbeing and the future of humanity, this is essential reading."
Gavin McCormack, Award winning teacher, co-founder of Upschool.

"The Conscious Classroom is a visionary approach to education and leadership. Neil's insights offer a compassionate and practical pathway to nurturing ethical intelligence, equipping both educators and students with the tools needed to thrive in today's complex world. This book is an inspiring guide for anyone seeking to create lasting positive change in schools and beyond."
Dr Mark Williams, Neuroscience Professor, Keynote Speaker, Author.

"Here is an inspiring book which will help every leader to think, talk with others and act to develop their school... consciously. It provides a fund of good advice, examples of effective practice and an invitation to put children first in all we do."
Professor Mick Waters, Curriculum Expert.

"Dr Neil Hawkes' latest book, The Conscious Classroom, is an essential read for any teacher, educational leader or lawmaker. Neil Hawkes brings a lifetime of experience, built around teaching, leadership and research, to the wisdom found in the concept of ethical intelligence. Ethical intelligence is about a superior consciousness grounded in self-knowing and empathy, the veritable stuff of personal, social and moral wellbeing, according to the most recent neuroscientific insights. The concept presents as a challenge to the many systems of education worldwide currently disposed to instrumentalist aims and objectives, ones focussed on easily measurable goals of a basic consciousness that is fast becoming the domain of artificial intelligence. Ethical intelligence is about a truly human consciousness well beyond the bounds of AI. The book offers both the theory and multiple practical examples of how this can be achieved in the classroom, along with its many personal and social benefits."
Emeritus Professor Terence Lovat, The University of Newcastle, Australia, The University of Oxford, UK, The University of Johannesburg, South Africa.