About Us - Impactful Minds

The Freedom To Excel

About Us

Transforming Inclusive Education Through Innovation!

At Impactful Minds, we’re reshaping inclusive education in the UAE by making British curriculum accessible to all.

Established by experienced educators and visionary leaders, Impactful Minds emerged from a simple yet powerful idea: quality inclusive education shouldn’t be a luxury. Our founders, combining decades of experience in British education, inclusive practices and business leadership, created a model that maintains educational excellence while ensuring inclusivity and affordability.

Our Vision

To become the UAE’s leading provider of affordable British education, setting new standards for inclusive and innovative learning.

Our Mission

To provide inclusive, high-quality British education that empowers every student to reach their full potential, regardless of their background or needs.

Our Values

At Impactful Minds, we are committed to providing an inclusive and empowering education for all students. We uphold excellence by maintaining the highest academic standards, ensuring every learner has the opportunity to reach their full potential. Our commitment to inclusivity means that education is accessible to all, embracing diversity and creating a supportive learning environment for all including those with special educational needs. We drive innovation by continuously evolving and adopting new approaches to meet the unique needs of all our students. Above all, we operate with integrity, fostering a culture of transparency, trust, and ethical practices. At Impactful Minds, we don’t just educate—we inspire, support, and transform lives!

The Leadership Team

Karen Shirlaw

Board Member

A Visionary in Education, Wellness, and Sustainable Living

Karen’s journey is one of transformation, curiosity, and a deep commitment to lifelong learning. Originally from Scotland, she arrived in the UAE in 1995, closely involved with Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum’s esteemed horse racing industry. With postgraduate qualifications in Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, she built a distinguished corporate career, holding management positions at DP World, Abu Dhabi Terminals, and Gulf Agency Company.

Seeking new challenges, Karen transitioned into the world of Aesthetics, where she became an Assessor for VTCT, guiding aspiring beauty professionals. Her expertise led her to successfully revitalize two underperforming clinics in England, turning them into award-winning establishments.

Beyond the corporate sphere, Karen’s passion for learning took her on an extraordinary path into the fields of quantum physics, bio-energetics, and personal development. She became a certified Bio-energetic Health Practitioner in 2016, studied at the HeartMath Institute in the United States, explored intentional living with Mindvalley University in Barcelona, and became a certified Life Coach with the Institute of Human Potential in 2017.

Her deep dive into education was sparked by a personal experience—watching her grandson’s early learning journey. Concerned that a traditional classroom might stifle his natural curiosity, she immersed herself in education research, eventually qualifying as a teacher with the Asian College of Teachers in 2019. Inspired by emerging research advocating for smaller, more personalized learning environments, she co-founded the first micro-school in the UAE, where children of mixed ages thrived in a nurturing, student-centered setting.

Karen’s passion for holistic well-being and sustainable living continues to shape her work. She recently completed a Permaculture Design Degree, and is currently undertaking a 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training in the Himalayas, including specialized training for children—something exciting to bring into the learning experience of her students.

From corporate leadership to alternative education, wellness, and sustainability, Karen’s journey reflects a deep belief in innovation, lifelong learning, and creating environments where individuals can truly thrive.

Vishal Marwah is a seasoned professional with over two decades of experience in Workforce and Vendor Management, Budgeting, and Forecasting. He graduated with Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Economics from Delhi University. His impressive career includes significant roles at industry leaders such as Careem Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, American Express, and Flipkart. Throughout his career, Vishal has made impactful contributions across diverse sectors, including banking, e-commerce, travel and hospitality, utilities, and ride-hailing.

His expertise in financial planning, resource and operations management, advanced problem solving, leadership and stakeholder collaboration, cost analysis, and strategic operations has driven substantial success within these industries.

Recently, Vishal has transitioned from the corporate sector to focus on a mission that is deeply personal to him: advancing inclusive education for children. He is now fully committed to investing in providing equal learning opportunities for children from all backgrounds and different abilities. This new endeavour highlights his commitment to creating positive social change and empowering all children including the underprivileged children with the tools they need for a brighter future.

Vishal’s ability to manage large-scale operations, optimize processes, and build strong partnerships is central to the success of Impactful Minds. His visionary approach and determination to create lasting societal impact underscore his leadership in this initiative.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Vishal enjoys cooking and has a keen interest in international politics. His diverse interests contribute to his dynamic and well-rounded personality, further enriching his leadership at Impactful Minds.

Vishal Marwah

Chair, Board of Directors

Tola Dee Adeliyi

Managing Director (Member, Board of Directors)

Tola Adeliyi is an inspirational teacher, an inclusion school leader and an author from Milton Keynes, England. He has managed all aspects of special educational needs, disability, and inclusion. He qualified as an outstanding teacher with a postgraduate certificate in education from the prestigious University of Warwick, England. He later obtained the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordinators, a Special Educational Needs Leadership and Management qualification from Roehampton University, London.

During his teaching career in schools across the United Kingdom, he was a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and the Director of the Excellence department at the Hazeley Academy, Milton Keynes, a SENCO at Thamesmead School, Shepperton, Surrey, and Assistant Head Teacher in charge of Inclusion and Special Educational Needs at Broomfield School, Enfield, London. Over the years, his efforts have been rewarded with rapidly improved departments and results. More importantly, he has been rewarded with countless successful students and satisfied parents.

Tola has vast experience as a school leader in raising achievement for students with SEND and challenging even the high achievers. He is very uncompromising in his passion for excellence as a leader and administrator.

In addition to being a qualified science teacher and inclusion leader, Tola is a leadership coach, a youth impact coach, and a keynote speaker. He has used his skills to help coach and mentor newly qualified teachers, student teachers, LSA and students. He is an experienced CPD organiser and trainer, who has trained teachers, student teachers, students and parents and LSAs on inclusive principles and practices.

Before retraining as a teacher, he qualified as a Doctor of naturopathy, and he was the team leader of over 2000 distributors representing Formor International, a health and wellness company based in Conway, Arkansas, USA. He is widely travelled and was involved in organising and giving talks on Motivation, inclusion and Healthy Living to audiences of between 50 and 1000 in more than 50 countries on four continents. He continues to hold regular motivational speeches to encourage the youth/older groups to be purposeful and achieve their full potential.

Tola recently resigned as a vice principal in charge of Inclusion, teaching and learning and CPD in a British Curriculum School based in Dubai to co-found Impact4Success, UAE and recently became a managing director at impactfulminds, UAE.

He is a published author of 6 inspiring books, the latest two being Echoes of My Father (A Legacy of Empowerment), an empowerment book for all ages, including teenagers, and a children’s book called “The Magic of Kindness – Journey of Friendship”.

Lisa Such a dynamic educational leader with a passion for shaping young minds and driving innovative change in the classroom. With a Master’s in Educational Leadership, an NPQH qualification, and specialized credentials in Early Years Leadership, Lisa brings both expertise and a love for learning to everything she does.

Over the years, Lisa originally from Manchester, UK has worn many hats, from Vice Principal in schools following both British and American curricula to Early Years educator, and manager at a well-known nursery chain. Her diverse experience spans across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where she has led curriculum overhauls, boosted staff performance, and used data to unlock student success. Lisa’s talent for policy development and strategic planning has helped shape the educational journey for many students and staff alike.

Lisa’s approach is all about collaboration – whether it’s fine-tuning teaching practices, building solid relationships with parents, or empowering teams to achieve their best. As a published author of four educational books, she shares her insights on curriculum design and assessment with the wider education community, always aiming to inspire positive change.

At the heart of Lisa’s philosophy is the belief that education should be inclusive, innovative, and fun – after all, learning should spark joy! She’s dedicated to fostering environments where students thrive, and educators grow, all while having a good time along the way.

When she’s not shaping the future of education, Lisa can be found diving into the performing arts, spending quality time with her family, or writing about her experiences and ideas.

Lisa Such

Early Years Director (Member Board of Directors)

Ashely

Early Years Director (Member Board of Directors)

Maher Murad is an accomplished change maker. A native Emirati, born and raised in UAE, but widely travelled. He travelled the world for 7 consecutive years developing businesses for the world’s largest “single site” aluminium smelter.

He has held many senior positions in various industries including Banking, Manufacturing, and Shipping. He was the Vice President of Sales at Du Telecomunications, the fastest growing telecommunication company in the Middle East.

Maher was leading a work force consisting of 800 staff members. He was responsible for many successful business outcomes. He is a strong believer in the fact that “Sense of achievement” is the ultimate food for the brain. His strong belief that making someone smile out of happiness, after realising their mission, is what keeps him going. It was this passion that made him decide to become a Master in Life & Business Coaching. His desire to be the agent of positive change for our youngsters made him decide to join hands with Tola and Lisa as Chair, Advisory Board to help Impactful Minds excel in its mission to help and support educators and students!

Maher Murad

Chair, Advisory Board

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Week Days: 8am – 7 pm
Saturday: 9am – 3pm
Sunday: Closed

E: suport@edtheme.com
P: (415) 2456 789

Faq

⁠Is Impactful Minds only for students with special needs?

No, Impactful Minds is open to all students, regardless of ability or disability. We believe in inclusive education, where every child—whether neurotypical, gifted, or requiring additional support—can learn and thrive together.

What curriculum do you follow?

We offer a flexible, internationally recognised curriculum, including the Cambridge Curriculum, Pearson Edexcel, and CAPS (South Africa), to ensure a high-quality education tailored to individual learning needs.

Does my child need to have a diagnosis to attend?

No, a formal diagnosis is not required for admission. If needed, we can assist with assessments and diagnosis to better understand your child’s needs and provide the right support.

What support services are available?

We have in-house Psychologists, Behaviour Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech Therapists to provide specialised support and interventions.

What training do your teachers have?

Our teachers are fully qualified educators with additional training in inclusive education. They are skilled in supporting students of all abilities, including those with special educational needs (SEN) and gifted and talented students.

How does Impactful Minds personalise learning?

We use individualised learning plans, differentiated instruction, and adaptive teaching methods to cater to each student’s strengths and challenges, ensuring they learn at their own pace.

Do you offer life skills and social development programmes?

Yes! Beyond academics, we focus on life skills, social-emotional development, and independence to help students gain confidence and prepare for the future.

How can I enrol my child?

Our admission process is simple: Fill out the application form, schedule a tour of our facilities, and provide the necessary details. Once completed, your child is ready to start their journey with us!