Bio
Rebecca Torrance Jenkins is a teacher, writer, speaker and learning consultant. Her first jobs were at The Dragon School and Dulwich Prep London, where she taught science because she “found it the hardest at school”. Upon finishing a master’s degree on the side, she did a stint training teachers in Sri Lanka.
She delved further into how and why children learn differently – “it usually depends on the teacher” – and what makes great teachers great in her PhD at UCL. Taking findings from educational neuroscience and cognitive psychology into real-life, busy classrooms, she discovered which techniques really do make learning a pleasure, and how to adjust teachers’ time expenditure so that they can spend more time teaching and less dealing with behavioural issues.
In 2021, Rebecca founded a Science department in a large prep school in South West England. Built on the principle of sparking a love of Science through pupil agency and joyful learning, it quickly flourished. Three years later, the school was named ‘STEM Prep School of the Year’, with over 90% of pupils scoring above the national average in Science Progress Tests.
She is the co-founder of a not-for-profit programme, NeuroFiles, which took these findings into state schools, some of which are in the most deprived parts of England. It was a great success – recognised by a ‘Women in Education’ award from the SheInspires Foundation. She is a reviewer for teaching journals and contributes to international forums on education.
Rebecca now uses her experience to help shape the way children learn, in schools, at home, and digitally. She works as a learning consultant for multi-academy trusts across primary, secondary and special schools, and the Independent sector, running workshops and training sessions on how educational neuroscience can be used to better understand children’s brains and support their learning. In addition, she consults for a charity that delivers school-based interventions to build self-esteem in children, and advises a successful EdTech platform.
Along the way, she has been asked many brilliant questions by parents, children and teachers about learning, the brain, what we really need our children to know, and how to survive adolescence in today’s (and tomorrow’s) world.
Rebecca is currently working on a book for parents that tackles the questions many dread – the trickiest issues they face during adolescence. Why is your 16-year-old doing really stupid things? How do you handle a 17-year-old with an OnlyFans account? When should you talk to your child about sex? Why does your 14-year-old seem to hate you right now? Is gaming really all bad? The book weaves together insights from neuroscience, anthropology and psychology to help parents understand adolescent behaviours — and offers practical tools to guide them through even the most difficult conversations. She has also contributed a chapter to a Cambridge University Press book on how educational neuroscience can help teachers better support pupils with SEND.
She is guided by the mantra: “show me the science, then tell me how to use it”.
CV
Please email hello@drtorrancejenkins.co.uk for the latest copy of Rebecca’s CV.