Joanne Lockwood

Creating Belonging for Every Learner

Joanne Lockwood is an internationally recognised Inclusive Culture Expert, CPD keynote speaker and registered speaker with School Speakers. Through honest conversation, lived experience and a good dose of humour, she helps schools and colleges explore inclusion, belonging, leadership and the human impact of AI.

With a professional background in technology and many years of experience working with people and workplace culture, Joanne brings a refreshingly human perspective to the future of education. She encourages educators and learners to look beyond what AI can do and ask a more important question: how can we ensure technology supports people fairly and does not leave anyone behind?

One of Joanne’s key education talks is “Creating Inclusive Learning Environments: Belonging for Every Learner.” In this engaging seminar, Joanne explores how schools and colleges can build cultures where every learner—including those with ALN/SEND—feels seen, understood, and properly supported. She invites educators to think about the everyday words, behaviours, systems, and decisions that shape whether someone feels they truly belong.

Joanne understands that schools are busy, complex communities and that inclusion is not always straightforward. She does not arrive with a list of perfect answers or tell people what they have been doing wrong. Instead, she creates a welcoming space where school leaders, teachers, support staff, and students can reflect honestly, ask questions and discover practical ways to make a difference.

As a transgender woman, Joanne draws on her own experiences of identity, acceptance and belonging. She shares her story with warmth and openness, helping people challenge assumptions and understand experiences that may be different from their own. Her sessions can also explore inclusive leadership, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, psychological safety, wellbeing, allyship, and preparing learners for an increasingly AI-enabled world.

Whether Joanne is speaking at a student event, staff conference, INSET day or leadership programme, her aim is simple: to help people leave the room thinking differently and feeling confident enough to act. Audiences take away practical ideas, fresh perspectives, and a stronger understanding of how they can help every learner and colleague feel that they matter.