”To keep talking to each other irrespective of the discipline. Its not about the idea but the sharing of how to do it and often someone from a different field bring fresh and exciting ideas”- Alison Kriel

Founder@ Interview

Interview with Alison Kriel

“To keep talking to each other irrespective of the discipline. Its not about the idea but the sharing of how to do it and often someone from a different field bring fresh and exciting ideas” – Alison Kriel

Today we feature Alison:Kriel, the founder at Above & Beyond Education . We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.

Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?

Former innercity headteacher and ceo. I’m a conscious leadership consultant, keynote speaker and founder of Above & Beyond Education.

A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?

I was born in South Africa and educated around Africa and in Ireland and the UK. My mum and my aunts were all teachers, so although I didn’t always think I would be a teacher it was inevitable that I would find myself studying teaching at North London University. I then went to work in several schools, led two schools and have experienced all the education-related challenges and joys you can imagine. I’ve set up a new school, turned around a failing school, supported a range of schools and educators and worked to transform the lives of thousands of children.

I wanted to use my experience and lessons learned as a successful Head Teacher to further support schools. I have a love of education and feel frustrated that the system has become so disconnected because we’ve been pitched against each other. I wanted to provide a platform where educators can celebrate, connect, share, support and ask for help so that we work together to make every school a great school. As a school leader I brought about change through trust and by building pupil and teacher self esteem. It led to exceptional results. The platform is designed with that model in mind. I left the security of school leadership to develop the platform. I made a promise to myself to leave a legacy and I have funded the project myself in order to kickstart it.

Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?

It is a professional platform where schools and educators can connect, celebrate, share, support, share and ask for help.

What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?

I’ve always been willing to do things differently and a creative thinker and during headship I realised there was a need for a portal like A&BE. It’s early days but I remain positive that it’s a much needed resource as we don’t have a space to share and celebrate or ask for help.

Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?

This is the second version of the platform. The first one was not written in WordPress so it looked beautiful but did not work well. That was an expensive mistake to make. The bravest thing I could do was decide to let it go and start again.

It’s going to sound strange but I’m not tech savvy and wish I has known more going into this process.

If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

I love the teaching profession and I feel grateful for all that I learned through it. I was a founder headteacher of a new school and a Trust which gave me very solid grounding on how to run a business, deliver to a community and to lead. I probably stayed on for 2 years longer than I should have – not because I was too frightened to give up a stable profession but my trustees and school community asked me to. That is not a good enough reason to stay and I should have left when it felt like the right time for me.



We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?

It’s not a tool but I would say the most important thing for me is my network. I am lucky to have a team of trusted advisors and supporters that I can lean on for advice when needed. In regards to tools and apps, I am still discovering what’s best for Above & Beyond Education, so far I have found social media has been a great platform to promote the platform to the target audience and also Google Advertising.

What do you know now that you wished you had known before?

It’s going to sound strange but I’m not tech savvy and wish I has known more going into this process.



What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?

Seeing the site work for the first time. Nothing quite as amazing as seeing the vision developed by the team. I went out and bought a ‘commitment to self’ ring.

What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?

I now need to focus on building content and increasing engagement. Ultimately the site has potential to be global and the thought of international sharing of pedagogy is really exciting. At the moment it’s very much about a privileged few having the funding to travel, observe and develop links. This platform could be a game changer so that we can all share. No country has the perfect model but it would be great to share what each country does well.

To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?

To keep talking to each other irrespective of the discipline. Its not about the idea but the sharing of how to do it and often someone from a different field bring fresh and exciting ideas

“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Above & Beyond Education “

To learn more about Above & Beyond Education Visit https://aboveandbeyond.education/

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