INSET - Osiris Educational

Barry is professor of psychology in education in the Education Faculty of the University of Cumbria. He is an experienced secondary and primary school teacher and chartered educational psychologist, and the author of seven books and numerous papers and articles in the field of learning and teaching. He has been a national trainer for SAPERE (the Society for the Advancement of Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education), for NACE (the National Association for Able Children in Education), and for Osiris Educational and he is Consultant Editor for the SAGE journal Gifted Education International. As the Director of Still Thinking UK Ltd, Barry was a freelance trainer and educational consultant for ten years, and in this role he made keynote and workshop contributions to over 500 national and international conferences, and worked in a training and consultancy capacity with many thousands of teachers, students, parents, governors, teaching assistants and inspector-advisers.

A commitment to evidence-led, non-deterministic and learner-centred approaches to education underpins Barry’s research foci, and his writing, teaching and his in-service presentations, and he eschews quick educational fixes and a focus on teaching in favour of deep learning experiences and a focus on learning. He has particular interests in thinking skills and creativity, intrinsic learning motivation and independent learning, wise learning environments (with Deb Michel he co-founded the Centre for Wise Education in 2010) and in contextual, growth-oriented approaches to gift-creation. His Gifted & Talented Pocketbook has been a bestseller and it presents a learning-focused alternative to traditional approaches to G&T education – a theme that is also in evidence in the Routledge International Companion to Gifted Education, which Barry co-edited with Tom Balchin and Dona Matthews in 2009.

Barry has served on the National Committee of NACE (the National Association for Able Children in Education), and for five years he was the book review editor for the NACE journal Educating Able Children. He has also been an Associate Tutor at Oxford-Brookes University. In 2003 Barry’s work received international recognition when he was presented with the ICPIC (International Council for Philosophical Inquiry with Children) Award for Excellence in Interpreting Philosophy with Children. The citation for this award noted that his work “Speaks to the richness of children’s imaginative play and their ability to stretch sensory images to the fullest”.

Barry has some limited capacity for training and consultancy work in schools and LAs, and this aspect of his work is managed exclusively by Osiris Educational. These services are in high demand and if you wish to explore the possibility of Barry working in your school or LA, please contact his PA, Katie Grainger, directly: email K Grainger or tel. 01790 755783. Katie will be able to discuss issues around availability, terms, etc.

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