March 2026 – John d’Abbro OBE

John d’Abbro OBE, former Executive Headteacher of New Rush Hall Group and founder of Dabbs Education. Twenty-eight years leading one of the UK’s most innovative networks of provision for children and young people experiencing SEMH.

From PE teacher to Executive Headteacher who gave excluded children MacBooks: John d’Abbro’s journey proves that technology amplifies relationships when leaders take risks others won’t

John d’Abbro has always worked in additional needs. Not as a career stepping stone, but because he likes to be with kids who struggle in school. From his first headship at Sedgemoor Centre Pupil Referral Unit in 1986, through 28 years building New Rush Hall Group into a network serving over 120 staff across six service areas, to pioneering work that proved excluded children with laptops achieve better outcomes than excluded children without them.

Kids need love, care and teachers who can and want to work with them. Teachers teach children, not subjects. Leadership is about responsibility, not money. Leadership is about being good enough, not old enough.

John’s tips:

• Put kids first
• Teachers should teach children, not subjects
• Leadership is about responsibility, not money
• Leadership is about being good enough, not old enough

From PE Teacher to SEMH Leadership

John qualified as a PE and music teacher. By 1986, he was Head of Sedgemoor Centre Pupil Referral Unit, giving evidence to the Elton Committee on behaviour in schools. In 1991, he became Headteacher of New Rush Hall School.

When he first went into leadership, he thought he could bring about change quicker than he did. He puts that down to being young, and believing everyone was as enthusiastic as him. To manage change, you must first manage people.

John’s tips:

• To manage change, you must first manage people
• Learn patience – change takes longer than you think

 

The Risk Everyone Laughed At

At inception in 1991, John made New Rush Hall an Apple school. Not just some equipment. Full commitment: Ethernet throughout the building, wifi, staff laptops, student laptops. It was the only Apple school in the country. Everyone laughed.

John collaborated with Mark Rogers from Apple and subsequently was awarded Apple Distinguished Educator status in 1994 – recognition that means more to him than many awards that followed. Education doesn’t talk about individuals enough. Digital creativity is personalised. Technology offered tools to make education more individualised.

John’s tips:

• Take risks others won’t when you believe they’ll benefit children
• Digital creativity is personalised
• Use technology to make education more individualised

By the mid-2000s, John was giving MacBooks and iPods to Key Stage 4 pupils. Eventually, every KS4 child at New Rush Hall got a laptop to take home. All pupils had their own laptop. Attendance climbed. Attainment improved and continued to improve. Parents reported their children’s behaviour had turned around.

When You See Yourself in Real Time, You Can Change Yourself

Macs’ usability made children feel successful. Feeling successful helped them feel empowered. Empowerment helped them begin to forge relationships, with the adults. John believes that when we see ourselves recorded in real time – creating with iMovie, building podcasts, combining photos and video into one experience – you can change how you view yourself.

Children who couldn’t make relationships at first found that digital creativity combined with group learning addressed a key need: learning to make relationships. Trust emerged when children wanted to keep access to technology they respected.

John’s tips:

• When you see yourself in real time, you can change yourself
• Use technology to help children feel successful and empowered
• Trust emerges when children want to keep tools they respect
• Combine digital creativity with group learning

John convinced Becta to survey the impact of Macs and digital learning across 11 schools, with research support from Liverpool University. The findings confirmed what New Rush Hall had proven: this worked across settings.

https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/1734/

“There’s you and there’s me and also the Macs, as learning tools,” John explains. Children used to advanced technology at home found similarly advanced technology in class. That eased dissatisfaction. Teachers learned from kids, kids learned about learning from teachers.

John’s tips:

• Technology amplifies relationships when deployed thoughtfully
• Let teachers focus on teaching, not wrestling with tools

Critics questioned giving excluded children with behavioural difficulties access to innovative technology. John’s response: “Every time we save a child from jail or a nervous breakdown, we’re saving the country thousands of pounds.”

He promised an iPod shuffle to a child who achieved a reading level of 11 years. When asked if he could justify spending £50 on that: “If I can spend £50 to convince a child to read, it’s money well spent, as they are more likely to achieve more in their schooling and adult future.”

John’s tips:

• Justify technology spend by outcomes, not optics
• Small investments in motivation create long-term achievement
• Don’t expose kids to things they aren’t ready for

Building New Rush Hall Group

By 2000, John had created New Rush Hall Group – a network serving children experiencing SEMH across the full school age range. Over 120 people across six service areas: an all-age school, Three pupil referral units, the education department of an adolescent psychiatric unit, a behaviour support outreach team, and an early years provision. Seven headteachers worked alongside and reported to him.

John’s tips:

• Build networks that consolidate services
• Work with allied agencies to strengthen support
• Allocate budget to enhance services, not just maintain them

In 2008, he chaired the Pan London PRU “Back on Track” Project. By the end of the project no PRU in London was judged as failing by Ofsted. New Rush Hall School was granted Teaching School status in 2014. The group maintained Outstanding Ofsted judgements whilst continuing to innovate.

Leading People

Love children. Individualism is a strength. If kids trust you, they will learn from you. Treat people as you want to be treated. Lead by example. Effective leading is a feeling thing. Leading children and adults are similar – both require trust.

John’s tips:

• Love children
• Individualism is a strength
• If kids trust you, they will learn from you
• Treat people as you want to be treated
• Lead by example
• Leading children and adults are similar

Recognition and Policy Influence

John was awarded an OBE for Services to Special Education in 2007, the same year he received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of East London. In 2006, he received a Headteacher of the Year commendation in The Teaching Awards.

He gave evidence to the Elton Report (1988), the Alan Steer Report (2009), and the Charlie Taylor Report (2012). In 2011, he gave evidence to the House of Commons Education Select Committee, the Centre for Social Justice, and the Children’s Commissioner. In 2010, he was selected as Headteacher for Jamie Oliver’s “Dream School” on Channel 4 and designated a National Leader in Education.

He was a member of Tom Bennett’s Department of Education Working Party in 2015 and served on the Education Endowment Foundation’s Advisory Panel for the “Improving Behaviour in Schools” Guidance Report in 2019. By 2005, John was keynoting at Apple Expo in Paris. In 2009, he spoke at “Exploring ICT in Education” in Qatar and has subsequently spoking in Naples and Wellington.

AI and the Calculator Analogy

Everyone should learn about AI because technology can amplify ability. John uses the calculator analogy: introducing calculators into schools didn’t make maths obsolete, they freed people to focus on mathematical thinking rather than computation. AI can improve pedagogy in the classroom, make it more social, bring it back to human relationships.

John’s tips:

• Everyone should learn about AI – technology amplifies ability
• Use the calculator analogy to explain AI’s role
• AI has the real potential to make teaching more social
• Technology should bring us back to human relationships

Dabbs Education

John stepped down from NRHG in 2019 after 28 years. He now runs Dabbs Education as a freelance educationalist, supporting schools, coaching and mentoring Headteachers with the challenges he spent decades navigating.  https://www.dabbseducation.co.uk/

Advice for Aspiring Heads

Know yourself. John says he’s better at pulling than pushing. Appoint people that can do the jobs you can’t do. Know your own weaknesses. Know what you want and how to get it.

John’s tips:

• Know yourself – understand whether you pull or push
• Appoint people who can do what you can’t
• Know your own weaknesses
• Know what you want and how to get it

Society Gets the Children It Deserves

“I don’t think any of the kids I work with chose the start in life they got. We can ameliorate that start by supplying good kit and interesting learning environments. Society gets the children it creates; our children represent us. Anything we can do to make kids feel better about themselves without making other people feel bad is a success to me.”

How This Relates to Meta Pedagogy and AI

John gave excluded children MacBooks in the 1990s when everyone laughed, knowing technology would help them feel successful and empowered whilst building relationships. His calculator analogy captures what Meta Pedagogy advocates: technology amplifies ability when it serves human relationships. We support schools to deploy AI in ways that create space for human connections that enable learning. When you’re ready to implement AI that amplifies relationships, we’re here to support your work.

Ready to implement AI that makes children feel successful?

Book a free 30-minute consultation to discuss relationship-focused AI implementation.