Izabela Ryzak

Izabela Ryzak, Head of High School and Polish School Director at Thames British School Warsaw, brought a rare vantage point to the second Global Education Forum: a school where students arrive from more than 40 different countries, each carrying a different language, culture and starting point.

Speaking from that experience, Izabela described how her school helps new teachers and new students find a genuine sense of belonging from day one. A shared English language gives every student common ground, while new arrivals are paired with a "buddy" — a peer who helps them settle in and find their footing within just a few weeks, rather than months.

Her central message challenged a common assumption in schools everywhere: that belonging is something students earn through good behaviour.

"Belonging is not the reward for good behaviour."

For Izabela, belonging has to come first — it's the foundation that allows accountability, cooperation and good behaviour to follow, not the other way around. It's a lesson increasingly relevant to any school, anywhere, working with a diverse student body.