IBSC Ideas Lab
Professional Conversations About Student Voice in Boys' Schools
Starting November 5, 2026
IBSC Ideas Lab invites pastoral and student support leaders in boys' schools to connect virtually using the free online tool Zoom. Limited to 14 participants plus the facilitator, this IBSC Ideas Lab includes three one-hour sessions for participants to discuss relevant topics.
Designed as an interactive exchange among colleagues, IBSC Ideas Lab engages dedicated educators who learn and grow together. Before each session participants engage with relevant resources to provide a foundation for discussions. Together we surface fresh ideas and build mutual support structures and enduring professional friendships.
Available exclusively to IBSC member schools, first-time participants who can commit to joining all three sessions get preference in registration to support the success of each small group. No more than two participants from one school may register for an IBSC Ideas Lab.
In the spirit of open dialogue and collaboration, IBSC Ideas Labs are not recorded, allowing participants the freedom to express themselves openly and share their experiences candidly.
Who Should Attend?
Heads of students, deans of students, heads of well-being, and assistant or deputy heads with a pastoral portfolio
Format
IBSC Ideas Lab attendees participate in three scheduled one-hour calls using Zoom. Douglas Broadbent, head of teaching and learning (acting), and Stuart McCormack, head of students, both of Shore School (Australia), facilitate each session.
Conversation Topics
Conversation 1
The Gap Between Voice and Influence
Thursday, November 5, 2026, 4:00 PM EST, 9:00 PM GMT, 11:00 PM CAT
Friday, November 6, 2026, 5:00 AM AWST, 8:00 AM AEDT, 10:00 AM NZDT
Check the event time in your time zone.
60 minutes
What happens to a boy's opinion once he has given it? In many schools, student voice is collected through surveys and committees, yet rarely shapes what happens next. The evidence linking voice to engagement, belonging, and achievement is strong, and in boys' schools, it connects further to agency, identity, and a boy's sense that he matters to the place he attends.
Join a conversation with peers from boys' schools worldwide to name where voice actually sits in your own school today: heard, consulted, or genuinely acted upon. Share the structures you already have, from well-being surveys to student committees, and test them against a simple question: Does this build agency or does it just perform it? The conversation sets up the practical work of conversation two.
Conversation 2
From Consultation to Real Partnership
Thursday, November 12, 2026, 4:00 PM EST, 9:00 PM GMT, 11:00 PM CAT
Friday, November 13, 2026, 5:00 AM AWST, 8:00 AM AEDT, 10:00 AM NZDT
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60 minutes
Is your student council making decisions or reporting back on ones already made elsewhere? Most boys' schools have some structure for gathering student input, but consultation, representation, and partnership are three different things with three different levels of agency attached. Knowing which one you are running, and why, changes what boys experience when they raise a hand.
Bring one structure from your own school, a council, a survey, a mentoring program, and put it to the group for a practice audit. Explore what moves a structure from consultation toward genuine co-design, drawing on models colleagues are already running, including partnerships where boys sit alongside staff on decision-making committees. Leave with a concrete redesign to test back at school.
Conversation 3
Designing Voice Into School Systems
Thursday, November 19, 2026, 4:00 PM EST, 9:00 PM GMT, 11:00 PM CAT
Friday, November 20, 2026, 5:00 AM AWST, 8:00 AM AEDT, 10:00 AM NZDT
Check the event time in your time zone.
60 minutes
What would it take for student voice to survive a change of principal, timetable, or budget? Programs end; systems persist. Global thinking already treats young people as partners in shaping policy and boys' schools have a particular reason to care, given how much agency matters for the boys most at risk of disengaging.
Work with fellow educators to sketch a 12-month plan for one focus area in your own school, whether that is well-being, learning, leadership, or belonging, naming the target group, the model of voice, and the specific structure you will build. Test your plan against feedback from the group, then commit to one action you will put in place within four to six weeks.
Registration
IBSC member rate: US $185
Refund Policy
If you are unable to attend, you must cancel your registration in writing by emailing IBSC@theibsc.org by October 22, 2026. IBSC will refund 90% of registration fees if a written request is received via email by this date. No refunds will be made for cancellations received after this date. Schools seeking to register an alternate to replace a participant unable to attend should contact IBSC@theibsc.org.
Please note: Watch your email for login information for this IBSC Ideas Lab by October 29, 2026. If you registered later than this date, watch for login information within 24 hours.
Participation certificates: Participants present for all three conversations will receive a certificate of participation within two weeks of the final session.
Facilitators
Douglas Broadbent
Douglas Broadbent serves as the head of teaching and learning at Shore School (Australia) in Sydney. He has contributed to several IBSC initiatives and values learning alongside educators from a wide range of contexts.
Broadbent holds master's degrees in theology, history, and education from universities across three continents and is currently completing a doctorate exploring teachers' conceptions of collaboration. His work focuses on encouraging thoughtful reflection on effective teaching and learning and he is keen to explore how schools can partner with students in this process.
Stuart McCormack
Stuart McCormack is head of students at Shore School (Australia) and a member of the school’s executive leadership team. He has extensive experience leading pastoral care, character education, student leadership, well-being initiatives within boys’ schools, and the development of staff leadership skills and capacity. Along with students and staff, McCormack recently created Mentoring in Action, a cross-age mentoring program, and has led a range of initiatives focused on student voice, leadership formation, and school culture.
His work is grounded in a commitment to developing young men of character, wisdom, and purpose through relational and values-based education. McCormack contributes to professional learning networks and educational conferences, with interests in mentoring models, character education, leadership development (staff and students), and the formation of boys. He holds a Master of Education (Educational Leadership) with Excellence from UNSW and is a father of two boys, ages 14 and 11.