The Siddiqui Summary Newsletter February 2025

Hi Everyone,

I hope you have all had an enjoyable and prosperous February. This is the second Siddiqui Summary I’m sending out, giving you all an insight to the work I’m doing across the world of education. I’ll be wrapping this one up with a personal story this month though. It felt like the right thing to do.

Before I dive into what’s been keeping me busy this month, I must start by saying a massive thank you to the new subscribers, which is essentially all of you. I’ve been blown away by the numbers, but also, by the kind words and well wishes. I’ve said it before, and I’ll likely say it again (very likely in this newsletter to be honest), I am so grateful to be a part of the education community.

To get more frequent insights into the work I'm doing, get links to resources for schools and find out a bit more about the wider Siddiqui family, please do subscribe to my email newsletter.

A Trip to Belgium

I started the month with a trip to the The British School of Brussels , where I had the opportunity to witness the amazing work happening in education across the globe. It was inspiring to meet passionate educators and experience first hand the dedication they bring to shaping the future of young people. I went to observe and assess a group of fantastic educators all on their way to achieving their Qualified Teacher Status. The work being done by the BSB team in partnership with the Tes Institute has led to a wonderful group of reflective, passionate educators who will positively impact the lives of so many children in years to come. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the month.

Inspiring Conversations

As soon as I returned to the UK, I caught up with my good friend Richard Gerver . He remains as gracious as he is knowledgeable about education and change leadership. Our conversation was one of those moments that left me feeling inspired and motivated to push forward with a big project I’m about to announce. Thank you, Richard—I can’t wait to share the next steps with you and have you involved. If you want to bottle the energy that Richard brings, please do check out his Learning Bridge podcast series. I know season two is on its way and there will be more inspiring guests talking about the world of leadership, human potential and much more.

Learning from Others

One aspect of my work that has evolved by happy accident is hosting both online and in-person education events. My confidence in hosting grew significantly thanks to the fantastic Daisy Education UK team, who gave me the opportunity to host the 2024 International Reading Conference. I was truly honoured to be asked, especially with the privilege of hearing inspiring talks from passionate educators and thought leaders like Michael Rosen and Timothy Rasinski , who shared thought-provoking, actionable insights on making poetry fun and blending the science and art of education. I also had the chance to reconnect with good friends in education, such as Gemma Gwilliam and Olly Lewis , while meeting many new ones. All the 2024 IRC webinars can be found here. My circle continues to grow—this month, I had the pleasure of hosting alongside the impressive John Bee for a Dreambox Maths webinar. John delivered a masterclass on tackling maths challenges and misconceptions. A big thank you to Abbie for organising the event like a pro! Now, I won’t lie, you might get a little tired of hearing about the 2025 International Reading Conference—it’s still over a hundred days away. But I can’t recommend this free three-day event enough. The community being built is incredible, and I can’t wait to learn from this year’s speakers as the host. Here’s the link—make sure to pencil in June 10th to 12th, 2025, in your calendar.

Keynotes, Workshops and Meeting Great People

South Wales was my next stop, where I keynoted at the University of South Wales Teachers and Advisers conference. Thank you to Chris Edwards and the team for making me feel so welcome and to the delegates for getting so involved in my session. I love trying new things to see if they make sense and add value, so the positive feedback and areas to consider were greatly appreciated. In a nutshell, educators do amazing work, and the more I can do to champion this and express my gratitude, the better.

I was pleased to see the always fab Jon Cheek at the event, and then, lo and behold, less than a week later, I joined him and Simon Fairbanks at their February Uni Taster Day training event. The delegates do brilliant work in University Widening Participation and Outreach. The training events with UniTasterDays are always a highlight of the year. Jon and his team are organised, professional, and all-around fab people to work with. I’m looking forward to catching up with them in the summer. Jon, you PROMISED you’d send me information about your trip to Alicante!

The strategies I shared at the training event were put into practice through several school workshops and assemblies this month. One of them was with over a hundred Year Twelve students at a school in Derby. I was there to celebrate their achievement in being one of the runners-up in the Get Ready for Uni Podcast competition. I spoke about leveraging opportunities and congratulated them for making the most of the opportunity presented by the competition.

If you’d like to find out more and check out the free resources—perfect for students preparing for the big step of university—please check out and share the link here. All the brilliant projects I’m involved in and come across can be found on my Value for Schools site, so please keep checking in and spreading the word.

3..2..1.. Cut!

I thought I’d wrap up the education side of this newsletter with an event that made me beyond proud and grateful to work in education (told you I’d mention it again). I was asked to put my lacklustre ribbon-cutting skills to use and officially announce the Grand Opening of the Ivy House Express. This labour of love exemplifies the power of community and celebrates a shared vision between education and business. The Ivy House Express is a library created from a converted train carriage. Before the ribbon cutting, I watched a presentation that captured the effort that had gone into finding, transporting, and revamping the carriage. The end result is incredible!

Ivy House has created the perfect place for young people to come and feel inspired to enjoy the magic of reading. Proud, grateful, and emotional just doesn’t cut it. Exceptional work from all of you. George Turner , Thank you for asking me to be a part of something so special. Have a read of this article to find out more about this heart-warming project.

Goodbye and The Biggest Thank You

From the event that filled my heart the most this month, to the hardest. I really reflected on whether to include this in the newsletter but knowing that there are fellow animal lovers on LinkedIn ( Al Kingsley MBE , Kul Mahay , and many more), I thought I would. Also, there’s a part of me that will smile to know that this little man will live on in perpetuity, not just in mine and my family’s hearts, but also within the LinkedIn community.

It pains me to say that Rufus, our cat of fifteen and a half years, said goodbye this month. As this is the first time I’ve lost a pet, I’m both amazed and humbled by the feelings I’ve felt over the last week. Holding back the tears when explaining to my five-year-old that we won’t see him again and then letting it all go when I saw his empty bowl for the first time, are emotions I was not ready for, if I’m honest. To say our pets are a part of the family could not be more true.

Being in the public eye has its challenges, but I can categorically say, in times like these, I am in awe of the love and support from friends, family, as well as the hundreds and thousands of social media strangers. I wanted to personally say thank you for everyone’s well wishes over socials, email, and phone. He was loved beyond belief, and your words have put a smile on all our faces.

Grief leads to nostalgia, and in a funny way, I’m glad I’ve been given permission to reflect on Rufus and the impact this mild-mannered fur ball had on us. From a kitten who would go from purring next to you, to pawing you in the face if you didn’t give him enough attention, he grew into a stoic and beautiful cat, who was mine and Melissa Siddiqui 's comfort blanket through house moves, work challenges, marriage, children, and the trials and tribulations of business.

Rufus has been a constant through our life; in fact, he played a big role in my proposal to my wife. Having Rufus come down to sit with Mel with a ribbon around his head and her engagement ring attached - is still the peak of my romantic gestures (taking Mel for a sporadic trip to Nando’s was the best I’d managed before then).

So, thank you, thank you for reading this far and giving me the chance to say something special about someone so special. But most of all, thank you Rufus, you really did make our house a home and a young couple into a family. You won’t be forgotten.

Here’s to March, Spring and the brighter days ahead of us.

All the best,

Baasit