The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

Luke Ramsden

Luke Ramsden is an award-winning senior deputy headmaster and senior safeguarding lead at St Benedict’s School in Ealing. He started his teaching career at Tonbridge School where he was head of history, and becoming a housemaster at Ampleforth College before moving to Ealing.

In his role as senior deputy head he is responsible for the day-to-day running of the school, as well as the pastoral oversight of all the students and overseeing the school's PSHE programme (among a number of other roles). In Luke’s time at St Benedict's the school has become a flagship school for safeguarding and pastoral care, with the happiness of every student placed firmly at the heart of all the school does. This led to the award of Pastoral Leader of the Year 2021-22 by the NACPE (National Association for Child Protection in Education).

Luke regularly speaks at educational conferences, and also writes on safeguarding, pastoral care, and in particular the use of data to inform excellence in both these areas. Among other positions Luke holds outside St Benedict’s he is chair of the Independent Safeguarding Advisory Board for The Safeguarding Company, is a trustee of the Schools Consent Project charity, and has recently joined the National Executive Committee for the NAPCE.

Latest blog posts

Luke Ramsden

Clearing the haze: Combatting vaping in schools

Teen vaping has become an unwelcome phenomenon in schools. Luke Ramsden addresses this burgeoning concern, the insidious marketing that permeates young people’s minds and explores how to mitigate the risks of vaping. Vaping is a growing health concern in schools up and down the country. With more...
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Luke Ramsden

Teaching empathy

In the age of AI, what skills will distinguish humans in work and life as machines take over more tasks? Luke Ramsden explains why empathy is crucial for success and tips for modelling in the classroom. With the dawn of a new era in Artificial Intelligence, it is more critical than ever for schools...
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Luke Ramsden

Teaching creativity: how design thinking can help

Are you teaching your students creativity? Luke Ramsden suggests how to do so and discusses removing the fear of failure. One way that schools can encourage creativity is by introducing design thinking as a structure for problem-solving. Design thinking is a process that involves: empathy...
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Luke Ramsden

Looking ahead to changes in the ISI inspection framework

What can independent schools expect from the proposed changes? Luke Ramsden discusses. It is very likely that the vast majority of the proposed new framework will come in for September 2023, not least because some of the elements are already in place, and other changes are in line with the new...
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Luke Ramsden

What do DSLs need to be prepared for?

What challenges does the upcoming academic year hold for safeguarding leads? Luke Ramsden shares his reflections on the impact of KCSIE, Everyone’s Invited and Covid-19. With teachers around the country reaching their well-deserved summer breaks (ignoring for the moment the inevitable fallout of...
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Luke Ramsden

Navigating digital media: an essential part of the school curriculum?

Luke Ramsden makes the case for the explicit teaching of media and digital literacy to equip young people for a world of limitless information. If you look at the front page and mission statement of any school around the country you are likely to see that they boast that they are teaching for a ‘...
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Luke Ramsden

Thoughts for safeguarding leads on returning from lockdown

Safeguarding lead Luke Ramsden reflects on experiences of the return to full schooling and implications for the summer term and new academic year. School staff around the country were delighted when we realised that we could all return in person for the last three or four weeks of term. Now that we...
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Luke Ramsden

A day in the life of a safeguarding lead in lockdown

Luke Ramsden reflects on the 'new normal' of life as a safeguarding lead during lockdown and beyond. At a time when the media has generally described schools as ‘closed’, teachers have in fact been busier than ever, trying to adapt well-practised lesson plans and schemes of work to a world of...
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Luke Ramsden

How the role of the DSL is set to change in 2021

Luke Ramsden explores the implications of proposed changes to Keeping children safe in education for the ever-expanding role of designated safeguarding lead. There’s been a lot of focus recently on the government consultation around assessment and exams for summer 2021. However, there’s another...
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