10 – 12 November 2026
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Dubai World Trade Centre Sheikh Saeed Halls 1, 2 & 3
Jonathan Newport
Chief of Learning & Global Managing Director - Team Teach Ltd
Jonathan Newport is the Global Director and Chief Learning Officer of Team Teach, an international training organisation supporting over 13,000 schools and services worldwide. A behaviour specialist with more than 30 years’ experience, Jonathan leads Team Teach’s Learning and Development strategy across the UK, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, promoting relational and trauma-informed approaches to behaviour support.
He began his career in mainstream education before moving into special education, including 17 years leading Barnardo’s largest residential special school. There he embedded positive behaviour and wellbeing into curriculum design, achieving national recognition and a significant reduction in behaviour incidents.
Now in his global role, Jonathan works with education ministries, leaders, and teachers across multiple regions to build inclusive, prevention-focused approaches that prioritise safety, wellbeing and belonging. His work bridges research and practice, demonstrating how understanding behaviour as communication creates calmer, more connected learning environments.
A sought-after speaker and consultant, Jonathan has presented internationally on behaviour, wellbeing, and school culture, and continues to shape global thinking on how education systems can support both staff and students to thrive.
Speaker Sessions
GESS Talks Live
1628
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When Behaviour Speaks: A Relational Approach to Behaviour Across the GCC
Session Summary:
Join Jonathan Newport, Chief of Learning & Global Managing Director at Team Teach, for an engaging session exploring how a relational approach to behaviour can transform learning environments across the GCC.
Across the region, schools are increasingly prioritising inclusion, wellbeing, and student-centred learning. Yet behaviour is often still seen as something to manage, rather than to understand. This session invites educators to reframe behaviour as a form of communication, a signal of unmet needs, stress, or disconnection, and to explore how responsive, relationship-based strategies can make classrooms calmer, safer, and more inclusive.
Drawing on Team Teach’s evidence-informed framework, Jonathan will unpack what “listening to behaviour” looks like in practice, and how small shifts in language, environment, and staff response can reduce incidents, strengthen relationships, and build a culture of belonging.
Participants will leave with practical tools to individualise support, promote emotional regulation, and create inclusive environments where every learner feels safe, respected, and ready to learn.
Speakers:
Jonathan Newport
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Chief of Learning & Global Managing Director - Team Teach Ltd
Categories:
Higher Education
Pre-school and Early Years
Primary Education
Secondary Education
Special Education Needs (SEN)
Wellbeing and Mental Health
// GESS EDUCATION INSIGHTS
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