One founder. Two audiences. One voice underneath.
Thirty years of helping children flourish, and a lifetime of noticing how a room makes people feel. Both turned out to be the same job.
Who is Paul McDowell?
Paul McDowell is an experienced education leader and the founder of Koru Creativity. Over thirty years in education he has specialised in inclusion, transformational leadership, curriculum enrichment and raising aspiration for disadvantaged children and families. He holds an MRes with merit from the University of Roehampton and the National College for Education, chairs the LGBT+ Network for school leaders, sits on the NAHT EDI strategic committee, and worked with colleagues to achieve the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award at silver standard.
He has recently worked in an interim capacity in East & West Sussex within schools, trusts and organisations, alongside individual clients through Koru Living.
Why an education leader started designing homes
The honest answer is that it was never two things.
Thirty years in schools teaches you that environment is not decoration. The colour of a corridor, whether a child has somewhere to put their coat — these are the difference between a building that says you belong here and one that says you are being processed. A school’s culture is written in its rooms, not its policies.
Alongside that, always, was a passion for interiors — the same instinct pointed at a different room. Koru Creativity was established when it became clear these were one practice, not two.
The right kind of support — classroom or living room — starts by meeting someone exactly where they are.
Thirty years in education
The through-line has been aspiration, and refusing to lower it. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are too often offered a narrower education — fewer trips, fewer instruments, fewer conversations about the world beyond the estate. Paul has spent three decades demonstrating that cultural capital is not a luxury item.
That conviction produced curriculum and enrichment work built on the belief that the arts and travel belong in every child’s education. It has taken him into schools in Auckland, New York, Taipei, Datong, Zagreb and Carcassonne, each visit feeding something back into a curriculum at home.
His commitment to equality and diversity is not a recent addition to a service list. It produced an MRes, awarded with merit by the University of Roehampton and the National College for Education, with a dissertation on PSHE policy and the impact of LGBTQ+ inclusivity in primary schools. Today he chairs the LGBT+ Network for school leaders, sits on the NAHT EDI strategic committee and is Equality Representative for the South-East Region. He has attended Pride events in Manchester, London and Brighton, and is excited to be bringing the National Conference to Brighton in 2027.
In practice it has meant environments where every child was valued and catered for. Paul is passionate about collaborating with UNICEF, supporting Soccer Aid and its global campaigns, and worked with colleagues to achieve the Rights Respecting Schools Award at silver standard. Underneath it all is a belief he states without hedging: every human deserves a first-class childhood.
Experience and credentials
| Years in education | 30 |
|---|---|
| Specialisms | School improvement, curriculum and enrichment, diversity and inclusion, belonging and attachment, transformational leadership, culture and environment. |
| Qualifications | MRes, awarded with merit by the University of Roehampton and the National College for Education Dissertation considering PSHE policy on the impact of LGBTQ+ inclusivity in the primary school setting |
| Professional bodies | Chair of the LGBT+ Network for school leaders Member of the NAHT EDI strategic committee Equality Representative for the South-East Region Bringing the National Conference to Brighton in 2027 |
| Frameworks | UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award — Silver Achieved in collaboration with colleagues. Supports UNICEF global campaigns and Soccer Aid. |
| International | Auckland · New York · Taipei · Datong · Zagreb · Carcassonne |
| Service area | United Kingdom — on site and remote |
What school leadership has to do with your living room
Both disciplines ask the same question: how does this environment make the people in it feel, and what would have to change for them to flourish? A school leader spends decades reading rooms, managing transitions and rebuilding cultures that have gone stale — precisely the skills someone needs beside them when their home and routine no longer fit the life they are living.
Koru Living clients want a considered, unhurried reset, guided by someone who has done the work himself. Paul has. That is why the studio exists.
Supporting these amazng charities.
Frequently asked questions
What are Paul McDowell's qualifications?
Thirty years in education, latterly in senior leadership. He holds an MRes, awarded with merit by the University of Roehampton and the National College for Education, with a dissertation on PSHE policy and LGBTQ+ inclusivity in primary schools. He chairs the LGBT+ Network for school leaders, sits on the NAHT EDI strategic committee, is Equality Representative for the South-East Region, and worked with colleagues to achieve the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award at silver standard.
Will I be working with Paul himself?
Yes. Koru Creativity is founder-led — the person who takes your first call does the work. [Confirm whether associates are used on larger programmes.]
Why is the business named after a Māori symbol?
The koru represents new life, growth, strength and peace. It was chosen as a considered homage to the founder’s own story of evolving, returning and unfurling, and is used with respect for its cultural origins.
Growth looks different for everyone
It should be designed for you, not around you.