As a parent and educational activist Katie Ivens supports the values, mission and ethos of the Roger Diamond Foundation.

Katie is also a Children's Education adviser. Whilst her children were still young, Katie became a primary school reading volunteer then, a parent governor. Extraordinary events led her to become a parent campaigner for ‘real' education which led to her becoming Vice Chairman of the aptly named 'Campaign for Real Education' (CRE). 

As time moved on Katie became a secondary school governor at Quintin Kynaston School and was so for some years. She went on to become a Westminster City Councillor with a special interest in education. This eventually led to her being involved in Westminster Council regeneration programmes, notably 'Estate Action' on the then-notorious Mozart Estate.

Informed by the first-hand observations of estate activist Roger Diamond, who noted that local child gang members were largely illiterate, she helped set up a trial of the ground-breaking Butterfly reading programme* as a Summer Reading School on the Mozart Estate in 1995. In December 1996 she joined the founding committee of the educational charity Real Action (QPCT) Ltd.

Katie Ivens continues to wear different hats. Her educational advocacy – particularly on the broadcast media – continues as the CRE’s Vice Chairman, as does her educational activism as Real Action’s Education Director. She is an Associate of the Institute of Ideas and member of the IoI Education Forum; and Visiting Research Fellow of the University of Derby Centre for Educational Research.

*NOTE: Irina Tyk is the author of The Butterfly whole-class teaching method and The Butterfly reading courses used by Real Action (QPCT) to help children improve their literacy. An honours graduate of the University of London and for many years the Head of Holland House (coeducational independent) School, Irina Tyk and her husband directed the pilot two-week Butterfly Summer School organised by Roger Diamond and Katie Ivens on the Mozart estate in 1995.

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