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RETHINKING ED 2023
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WHERE AND WHEN?
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Saturday 23rd September, 9.15am-4.45pm
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Parliament Hill School, London NW5 1RL [Map]
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Tickets are now SOLD OUT!
THE JOURNAL OF RETHINKING EDUCATION!
The Buckingham Journal of Education recently published a special edition, packed with speakers from the 2022 conference. Click the image to check it out!
SPEAKERS, SESSIONS & BIOS
(in alphabetical order by first name)
A-Z
Adele Bates
Rethinking behaviour
Session description
With a book entitled 'Miss, I Don't Give a Sh*t,' Adele is not one to shy away from the not-so-nice-bits of behaviour. There is no one way to 'do' behaviour – if that were the case, we'd have solved it by now; we wouldn't need detentions and our prisons would be empty. In this keynote presentation, Adele will suggest that our approaches to behaviour are not fit for purpose – and, in fact, are detrimental to an increasing number of 'square peg' pupils. So… what might happen when we rethink behaviour?
Bio
Adele Bates is a behaviour and education specialist, an award-winning international keynote speaker & author. In her own words: “I’ve had juice poured on my head, been whacked by a skateboard – and have taught a year 7 pupil who has experienced severe trauma, how to read their first ever word…” Adele empowers teachers and school leaders to support pupils with behavioural needs and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) issues to thrive with their education. She is the author of the author of 'Miss, I don't Give A Sh*t: Engaging with Challenging Behaviour in Schools'. For more info, tips and resources, check out adelebateseducation.co.uk.
Alex Standish, Tom Rogers & Mark Taylor
Debate: Warm-strict is the answer to pupil misbehaviour in schools (Academy of Ideas)
Session description
A growing number of schools are adopting very strict approaches to managing pupils’ behaviour. These include silent corridors, zero-tolerance of school uniform infractions and sanctions for turning up to class without pen or paper. In class, students must ‘SLANT’: sit up straight with arms folded, listen carefully, ask and answer questions, never interrupt and track the teacher with their eyes. Pupils who don’t do so can be sent to isolation rooms – or even excluded. Does a new strict school culture teach responsibility and aid education or is it making schools more militarised, more conformist and less enjoyable for students?
Bio
Alex Standish, Associate Professor of Geography Education, UCL Institute of Education, Subject Leader for Secondary Geography PGCE. Co-editor of What Should Schools Teach? Disciplines, Subjects and the Pursuit of Truth.
Mark Taylor is a former head teacher who has worked in inner London secondary schools in the last 20 years on all aspects of school leadership and Ofsted frameworks. He has recently moved from London to return to the classroom and currently teaches Philosophy and Ethics at Stamford School.
Tom Rogers is an experienced teacher and middle leader, having worked as a History teacher in state schools in the UK for 9 years, and internationallly for 4 years. Tom is the director of Teachers Talk Radio.
Alison Kriel
How education can create a better world
Session description
We're living in unstable times. How can educators consciously lead the way to creating a healthier, happier, more inclusive world? In this keynote presentation, Alison will define what conscious leadership is and what qualities need to be in place to be seen as a conscious leader. She will also explore the purpose of education, the kind of country and planet we want to be part of, how the two are intertwined and the steps we need to take to bring them closer. She will question if a culture of equity, diversity, belonging truly matters, and ask: Whose curriculum is it anyway?
Bio
Alison was an inner-city Head Teacher for nearly 20 years. She has a reputation for excellence in leadership, leading schools with high social challenges to achieve exceptional attainment over time. Alison now works nationally and internationally supporting leaders with the strategic development of their schools, particularly those in challenging circumstances. She is a regular speaker and panel member at conferences, speaking on a wide variety of subjects including Courageous Leadership, Turnaround Schools, Wellbeing, Staff Retention, Breaking Through The Concrete Ceiling, Diversity, Ubuntu, and AntiRacism.
Amelia Peterson
Interdisciplinary Learning and Generative AI: What does good AI use look like?
Session description
AI is now a fact of life. At London Interdisciplinary School (LIS), the world’s first and only entirely interdisciplinary university, we encourage our students to use generative AI tools in their work and master their potential and limitations. In this session, Amelia will share examples of students using AI in the context of interdisciplinary projects; explain how to educate students about AI so that they can understand its key affordances and limitations; and argue that we need to change education so that we focus on the most distinct aspects of human intelligence.
Bio
Amelia Peterson is currently part of the founding faculty at the London Interdisciplinary School. Previously, she was a fellow in the Social Policy department at the London School of Economics. Amelia is a social scientist with a background in policy and consulting. She studies how education systems adapt to societal and economic change. Prior to LIS, Amelia taught in the Social Policy department at LSE. She received her PhD from Harvard and her BA from Oxford.
Amy Cooper & Kim Wells
‘Experience is the teacher of all things’: Supporting teachers to become authentic leaders
Session description
In 2022, Amy and Kim set about creating a course for aspiring leaders unlike any other leadership training, placing the needs of the participants and schools at the heart of the programme. In this interactive session, they will share their vision, reflect on learning to date and call upon the audience to consider how they might create something similar in their context.
Bio
Amy, a fellow of the CCT and RSA, has been in education for the past 16 years. Having started off her career teaching art in the state sector she has spent the last 12 years in the independent sector within middle and senior leadership with an ever growing focus on teaching, learning and staff development. Now as Director of Training at ISTIP, she is able to focus on the strategic vision for training of ECTs, mentor and tutors. She values creativity, integrity, fairness and authenticity in her w
Andrew Hampton
Working with boys: Creating cultures of mutual respect
Session description
When peer-on-peer sexual abuse becomes commonplace in schools, society has a problem. The toxic attitudes and behaviour some boys display towards girls and women begin with the way those boys relate to each other, especially in school. In this talk, Andrew Hampton will offer an in-depth analysis of the problems facing boys. He will also explain how to create relational cultures that are mutually respectful.
Bio
Andrew Hampton was a Headteacher for 18 years. He founded Girls on Board in 2017 and now over 1,000 schools across the world use this brilliant approach to support girls in their friendships. The Working with Boys programme is Andrew's new project and is already gaining considerable traction.
Andrew Speight
Emoco: A cooperative, systems-level approach to embedding a culture of well-being in schools
Session description
Following Andrew's 'Culture of well-being' speech at #reconf22, a partnership was formed that has contributed to the birth of Emoco - a whole-school approach to creating a culture of well-being that everyone feels ownership of. In this interactive, action-oriented session, colleagues will have the opportunity to make a real difference by providing insights & feedback on this work-in-progress idea and expressing an interest in taking Emoco forward into their setting.
Bio
Andrew Speight, 20, served as the Member of Youth Parliament for Blackpool, and as the Chair of Blackpool Youth Council twice. He was also a finalist in the 2023 Big Education Challenge with 'Emoco' - a whole-school co-production initiative looking to help embed a culture of wellbeing.
He has lived experience of mental ill health as a direct result of undue pressure within the education system and now undertakes a variety of different projects & initiatives to ensure no young person has to endure a similar experience again.
Andy Mellor
Academic progress without the cost!
Session description
The path to higher academic standards in schools has often seen a decrease in wellbeing for both staff and students. The 'attainment at all costs' mantra is no longer acceptable as there is now considerable research evidence to show that wellbeing and standards don't have to be exclusive. This presentation outlines the strategies that one school used to make the journey from Requires Improvement to Outstanding, by engaging learners and giving them autonomy to increase their engagement in learning.
Bio
Andy is the National Wellbeing Director for Schools Advisory Service and on 1st May 2021 took on an additional role as the Strategic Lead for the Centre of Excellence in Mental Health in Schools based at Leeds Beckett University.
He is a Past President of the NAHT and was until December 2019, headteacher of the outstanding rated St Nicholas C of E Primary School in Blackpool.
He was also a National Leader of Education and is the independent chair of the Blackpool MAT CEO group.
Anita Devi
SEND leadership in schools: A different perspective
Session description
With Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) rising at a higher rate than resources or additional personnel in the classroom, how do we meet need? In this session, Anita will unpack a different approach to leading SEND in the classroom and across the school / college. Whether you are new to teaching or a senior leader, there will something for everyone to reflect and take away to change practice!
Bio
As a former SENCO, Senior Leader, School Improvement Advisor, and local authority SEND Advisory Teacher and Healthwatch Trustee Dr Anita Devi carries a wealth of experience in developing leaders of learning. Her own teaching career spans early years to post grad in the UK and overseas. Anita lives out her why through her belief in the joy of learning. She is an author, researcher and committed to kindness human being. Anita & her colleagues at #TeamADL have won international and national awards.
Anthony Seldon
'We don’t need no education': Why Pink Floyd were right
Session description
45 years on from Pink Floyd conceiving the song, we have an education system which fails vast numbers. This talk will examine what education can and should be in the next 45 years.
Bio
Sir Anthony Seldon, formerly Vice-Chancellor of The University of Buckingham, is a leading contemporary historian, educationalist, commentator and political author.
He was Master of Wellington College, one of Britain’s leading independent schools, until 2015. He is author or editor of over 40 books on contemporary history, politics and education, was the co-founder and first director of the Centre for Contemporary British History, is co-founder of Action for Happiness, and is honorary historical adviser to 10 Downing Street.
His many other activities include being on the First World War Centenary Culture Committee, established by the Culture Secretary in 2013, and governor of The Royal Shakespeare Company.
Aoife Wright
Even Better If: How I found success amidst the system's failings
Session description
The phrases 'What Went Well' and 'Even Better If’ are drilled into students from an early age. But what if we flip the script and apply this thinking to the education system? Conventional education often falls short in empowering and preparing students for the future. In this session, Aoife Wright, a student at London Interdisciplinary School, will explore education's ‘Even Better Ifs’, explaining how they found success amidst the system’s failures - and how we might prevent others from falling through the gaps.
Bio
Aoife, a 20-year-old, queer, third-year BASC student at the London Interdisciplinary School. Having navigated state education systems with unrecognised and undiagnosed ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia, they are familiar with the ways in which education can fail students. Having completed two research projects focusing on the disparities within education, Aoife's upcoming third-year capstone project focuses on how education can improve chances for all.
Bart Crisp
Supporting the 'Forgotten third': How we can do more and better
Session description
Gaining a 'good' pass in GCSE English and maths is clearly important for supporting outcomes for learners. Recently, greater attention has been paid to the so-called ‘forgotten third ’ – students who complete Year 11 without having secured a Grade 4 (equivalent to an old C grade). In this session, Bart will share evidence from a project to explore effective practices in resits, drawing lessons about how we can think differently about how best to support the ‘forgotten third’.
Bio
Bart has worked for over a decade on promoting high-quality education research and evaluation, using evidence to improve the life chances and attainment of children and young people. Bart’s work has covered topics such as literacy teaching (particularly for learners facing disadvantage), the use of the arts such as singing and dance in teaching & learning, film education, teacher professional development, and international & comparative educational policymaking.
Ben Davis
Into the Mountain: Ethical school leadership and the art of showing up
Session description
The last few years have asked more than ever of school leaders, at a time when the once-heralded ethic of public service has been eroded. This session shares reflections on nearly 12 years of headship in Scotland and England, during a time of unprecedented turbulence and change. How can leaders keep turning up as their authentic selves? How can we preserve the noble characteristics of public service? And what hopeful lessons can be learnt from the experience of leading schools?
Bio
Ben has been headteacher of St. Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic High School, Salford since September 2015. Prior to coming to Salford he led a school in Ayrshire and was part of a national Headteachers’ group developing Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence. He also established a successful pupil-led theatre company at his school. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the Education Policy Alliance, a college governor and advocates for inclusive education.
Ben White
Follow the meaning: Exploring the place, power and potential of stories
Session description
Stories are vehicles for meaning. Our own self-narratives frame our character and place in the world in very particular ways. (‘I am a good teacher.’ ‘‘My teaching is inadequate.’ ‘I am not coping.’) Simultaneously, children and adults in schools are constantly cast and recast as characters in others’ stories. In this session, Ben will analyse stories commonly told in schools and the impact they have on adults and young people. The session ends with advice for refining the stories we tell ourselves, our staff, students and parents.
Bio
Ben works at a secondary school in Kent. He draws on experience as teacher, school leader and researcher contributing to various educational projects. He wrote ‘The Next Big Thing in Education’ with Prof Allen and Matt Evans. He has also written for the DofE and Ambition Institute.
Ben has 2 children. He is fascinated by stories, their shape, appeal and role in shaping our worldview. He loves supporting new parents in creating personalised stories and worlds. Ask him about the friendly bear!
Carlie Goldsmith & Curtis James
The importance of community activism in challenging education inequality
Session description
Class Divide is a grassroots campaign that works to raise awareness about, and challenge, the unjust education inequalities that exist between children growing up on the social housing estates of Brighton and Hove and their counterparts in the rest of the city. In this session, Carlie and Curtis will explore the background and context of our campaign, the ways we have worked in our neighbourhood to involve people in this issue, and the progress we have (and haven't) made so far.
Bio
Dr Carlie Goldsmith grew up on the Whitehawk estate and is the spokesperson for Class Divide. Her education story is featured in the Class Divide podcast.
Carlie is an experienced social researcher in the areas of crime and justice, social inequality, and public policy. She has previously held posts as a senior lecturer in criminology at Kingston University and as a research fellow for the Innovate Project at the University of Sussex. Carlie is now a community researcher at The Crew Club.
Catherine Place & Ty Golding
What could be: A collaborative approach to improving practice
Session description
In this workshop, participants will be challenged to consider how they can move from a prescriptive, top-down model to improving practice and support professionals through agency and trust. In an education system driven by bureaucracy, punitive measures and competition, we explore the power behind enabling teachers to increasingly take ownership and pride in their own professional development, and that of their colleagues.
Bio
Catherine Place grew up in Newport where she currently lives with her daughter. Cat is the Headteacher of Jubilee Park Primary School. Since opening in 2017, Cat has placed great emphasis on the development of the school as a learning organisation and believes in the importance of igniting a passion for learning. Cat is a doctorate student and is researching the inter-relationship between organisational culture, collaboration and teacher wellbeing, through narrative inquiry.
Charlotte Forwood
Design thinking for all: The power of co-creating
Session description
In this session, Charlotte will lead participants through the messy but creative design thinking process as it surfaces at Camberwell Girls Grammar School. Design thinking is explicitly taught to students across year levels, with students in Years 7 and 8 exploring design thinking through the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Year 9s engaging in design thinking through a co-design elective. This session will provide participants with a taster of design thinking, so bring a curious mindset and a 'what-could-be' attitude!
Bio
Charlotte Forwood is a teacher/speech pathologist. She is the Director of Learning Design and Development at Camberwell Girls Grammar School, and a lecturer in Learning Intervention at the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education. She is interested in language, literacy, learner agency and design thinking. She is the school lead for Harvard GSE Project Zero's Idea into Action Project - leading sustainable change, and the University of Melbourne's New Metrics for Success Project.
Chris Bagley
Breaking the silence: A curriculum shaped around co-production and common humanity
Session description
in 2019, States of Mind, in collaboration with London schools and the UCL Institute of Education, launched the Breaking the Silence project to explore young peoples' experiences around Ofsted, accountability and school evaluation. School practices are shaped by standardised curricula, pre-defined outcomes and a sense that young people cannot create useful knowledge or act meaningfully in the world. In contrast, Breaking the Silence involves no pre-set outcome measures and takes an approach rooted in constellation leadership, co-production and common humanity. This session will explore the implications of this worldview versus the norm.
Bio
Dr Chris Bagley is Director of Research at States of Mind, a tutor & doctorate research supervisor at The Institute of Education, UCL and Co-Director of Square Peg. He is a teacher, Educational Psychologist, writer and campaigner who has developed a specialism in relation to Youth Justice and currently practices in child prison & pupil referral unit contexts.
Chris’ core purpose is to co-develop psychologically healthy educational approaches in collaboration with those subject to the system.
Claudia Bellwood & Andi Silvain
Values matter: How values can shape education
Session description
School 360 is a new school in Newham, East London which opened in 2021 and is built on a foundation of five core values: Courage, Curiosity, Joy, Kindness, Responsibility. This session explores how these values have shaped relationships, culture, curriculum and systems at the school. Firstly, we’ll explore the values and their relationship to the mission of the school to 'Think differently, learn together, change the world'. We’ll then explore how the values have shaped school culture and relationships, amongst staff, families and children.
Bio
Claudia is a Reception teacher at School 360 who joined in September 2022. She formerly worked as a primary teacher in Australia.
Dennis Sherwood
The Great Grading Scandal
Session description
About 1 in 4 GCSE, AS and A level grades is wrong. This means that each summer, of the 6 million grades awarded, about 1.5 million grades are wrong. But no one knows which grade, in which subject. And to make matters even worse, there is no right of appeal, so those grade errors remain undetected and uncorrected. For ever. Very few people know about this, and that's because Ofqual, Ofsted, the DfE and the exam boards have actively been covering this up. This session will explore the scale of the problem and explore how we might deliver grades that are fully reliable and trustworthy.
Bio
I am an independent consultant. In 2013, during an assignment commissioned by Ofqual, I discovered this problem. Since Ofqual have not addressed matters, I have been running a campaign to expose the problem. I have written more than 50 blogs and articles, on platforms such as HEPI, WONKHE, LSE, TES, Schools Week, FE Week and Rethinking Assessment; I am also the author of Missing the Mark - Why so many school exam grades are wrong, and how to get results we can trust (Canbury Press, 2022).
Education Policy Alliance
Panel discussion: Translating ideas into action
Session description
In this session, six members of the recently formed Education Policy Alliance will share their reflections on the day. We will also ask the audience to contribute ideas for how we might translate ideas into actions and policies. The panellists include: Andi Silvain (co-headteacher, School 360); Andrew Speight (youth activist); Ben Davis (headteacher, St Ambrose Barlow RC High School); Ellie Costello (parent and Director of Square Peg); Jaspar Khawaja (Educational Psychologist); and Sue Roffey (teacher, author and academic). The discussion will be chaired by Dr James Mannion (Director, Rethinking Education).
Bio
The Education Policy Alliance is a grass-roots think tank dedicated to creating an education system centred around human flourishing. For. more details, visit https://educationpa.org.
Eliza Fricker & Naomi Fisher
‘I can’t learn when i don’t feel safe': The art and science of polyvagal theory
Session description
An increasing number of children don’t behave like teachers expect. They react strongly to innocuous suggestions, and always seem ready to ‘blow’. For others, it’s like they’re switched off, not really engaged with the world around them. Many of these children don’t succeed at school. In this illustrated talk, Dr Naomi Fisher and Eliza Fricker will discuss the impact of current behaviour policies and suggest that instead we should see behaviour through a polyvagal lens.
Bio
Dr Naomi Fisher is a clinical psychologist and author of Changing Our Minds and A Different Way to Learn, both about self-directed education.
Eliza Fricker is an author and illustrator. Her most recent book, Can’t Not Won’t, was a Sunday Times Bestseller. Her first book is The Family Experience of PDA.
Naomi and Eliza run live webinars together on The Art of Low Demand Parenting. Follow them on Facebook (Dr Naomi Fisher and Missing the Mark) or follow Dr Naomi Fisher on Eventbrite to be the first to hear about their next webinar.
Emily Charkin, Len Senior & Pippa Wisefone
Instead of school: What's the alternative?
Session description
Wilderness Wood is a 60-acre community woodland in East Sussex which offers an exciting alternative to school for its member families. On Tuesdays to Fridays our woodland hub is buzzing with young people and their families who come to help out, get involved with projects, study, collaborate, eat together and celebrate. In this session, we will set out both the vision and the nuts and bolts of how Instead of School at Wilderness Wood works. Emily will explain the ideas and examples which inspired her to offer the wood and its community as an alternative to school. And Len and Pippa will explain why they choose to come regularly to Wilderness Wood rather than attending school; how they spend their days at the wood; and the practical implications of this alternative to school.
Bio
Emily Charkin is owner-manager of Wilderness Wood with a particular interest in offering the site as an alternative to school for home educating and flexi-schooling families and as a launch-pad for young adults who want to develop a livelihood based on arts, crafts and land-based activities. Emily also researches and writes about radical education as revealed through children’s experiences growing up in different kinds of communities and alternative schools.
Emily Magrath
Helping disadvantaged young people succeed: What we've learned in 20 years
Session description
IntoUniversity is a national education organisation that supports young people who are experiencing disadvantage to reach their educational goals. In our 20th anniversary year, this session will explore what we have learned from our work in multiple communities; straddling mainstream and alternative practices; and working with young people (aged 7-18) over sustained periods. Come to consider what you can take away from our model and what works about our local and long-term approach.
Bio
Dr Emily Magrath is the Operations Manager for the South West, West Midlands and Oxford at IntoUniversity and previously managed the East Bristol Centre for five years. She is also Head of Developing Excellence in Delivery leading on teaching and learning pedagogy and practice for staff within the organisation. She is committed to making education fairer and working to increase the impact of our facilitators with young people through supporting them to increase their knowledge and skills.
Frances Akinde
Exploring the intersectionality between race and SEND
Session description
Why is it that students from ethnic minority backgrounds (black Caribbean in particular) are less likely to be diagnosed with SEND and more likely to be excluded from school? Exploring the challenges and the solutions.
Bio
A former special school headteacher, Frances has worked in a variety of roles across mainstream primary, secondary, special/AP and LA.
Now as an LA SEND advisor and anti-racism coach for Leeds Beckett University (CRED) Frances is able to share her knowledge around the Intersectionality between RACE and SEND. Frances is passionate about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Frances is also a practicing artist.
Frank Norris, Meena Wood, Adrian Lyons, Julie Price Grimshaw & Adrian Gray
Ofsted: Where are we and where are we heading?
Session description
In this panel discussion, we will ask: Why is Ofsted currently in a steady state of crisis, lacking trust from many in the profession? What lessons can we learn from school inspections in Wales? How might we move forward in creating an accountability system that is fit for purpose? There will also be opportunities to pose questions to the panel for discussion.
Bio
Frank Norris MBE FCCT was HMI for 11 years and reached a very senior role in Ofsted. He was responsible for the creation of the two school inspection frameworks introduced in 2012 and the revision of the Joint Area Review Framework of children’s services in 2008.
Adrian Lyons was an HMI for over 16 years, so he is one of the most experienced in the country. He led major national surveys such as ‘Getting Ready for Work’ in 2016 and in 2019 was the lead HMI for Ofsted’s research into initial teacher education (ITE) training programmes.
Julie Price Grimshaw joined HMI in 2001 and carried on inspecting after she left to become a freelance adviser in 2007. Prior to joining HMI, she ran a university-based PGCE course and carried out many inspections of teacher training providers, as well as of schools.
As an HMI for 13 years (2002-2014), Meena Wood inspected schools, children’s services, FE colleges, training providers, Youth Offenders’ Institutes, Youth Services and local authorities. She was Equalities Lead for HMCI Christine Gilbert, and led on thematic surveys - specifically, SEND, Disadvantaged, Looked After, and Minority Ethnic.
Adrian Gray studied history at Cambridge and worked in secondary schools for over twenty years before joining Ofsted as an HMI specialising in School Improvement in 2002. His career there, up until 2015, involved responsibility for school inspection work and later internal evaluation of inspection effectiveness.
Guy Claxton
School is very strange
Session description
An anthropologist from Mars would have hard time understanding traditional school. Why does school learning focus on Right Answers while life is messy and ambiguous? Why is each day a mystifying patchwork of short disconnected ‘lessons’? Why are most of the things that worry or interest children ignored? To craft a genuinely 21st century education we may have to stop milking these sacred cows.
Bio
Guy Claxton is a qualified cognitive scientist with a passion for education. His books include What's the Point of School?, The Learning Power Approach, and The Future of Teaching and the Myths that Hold It Back.
Harriet Marshall
Human flourishing: The transformational power of real human stories
Session description
Authentic human stories from around the world can provide a highly impactful tool for educators to embed character education, facilitate social and emotional learning, and ultimately foster human flourishing within our schools and wider communities. This session will explore academic research and classroom-based studies showing the profound impact human stories can have in the classroom and beyond.
Bio
Dr Harriet Marshall is Head of Educational Research at Lyfta and has worked in the field of global education over 20 years as a teacher, researcher, consultant and project leader. Harriet has a PhD in the movement for global learning (Cambridge, 2005), and has published and presented on global citizenship education, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, intergenerational learning and sustainable wellbeing nationally and internationally.
Hayley Peacock
Atelier 21: A revolutionary response to school
Session description
Atelier 21 is an independent school that operates as a research centre, working with children, adults and parents to optimise the experience and output of school. Our most important work is to consistently question 'how do we enable young people to curate a life lived well now and in the future?'. In this session Hayley Peacock, the founder of Atelier 21, will explore the profound impact the school is having on its pupils in attempting to model an education fit for children's futures.
Bio
Atelier 21 was born out of Hayley's deep connection with the Reggio Emilia approach to learning, which is based on the image of young people as inherently competent and capable of building learning for themselves. Her other passions are Early Years, leadership, psychology, and horses (she has 5!). Her nursery group and consultancy is the multiple award winning, expanding Little Barn Owls Ltd in the South East. Hayley has presented in Malaysia, China and Canada, well as all over the UK.
Heidi Rabia Heinemann & Clare Richardson
'Othering' and the power of cross-sector contact
Session description
In the UK, young people from different class, cultural and religious backgrounds, living just a few streets apart, can live very different lives with vastly different outcomes. With rare opportunities to meet, how can they understand those outside of their bubble or the challenges that they face? In this session, Heifi and Clare will discuss how our current education system leads to othering and inequity, and explore how allegiances can be built across the divides, to build a future that provides belonging and looks out for all.
Bio
As a new-age Jewish traveller, growing up in a Muslim country, to later attending a London inner city state school and private boarding school, Heidi Rabia Heinemann learnt about othering early on. As Education Lead at the Roots Programme, Heidi is passionate about working alongside young people to discover pride in their identities, realise their worth and power, in order to work for a better future for all.
Clare Richardson is Relationships Lead at Roots. Her life’s journey has often taken her into spaces where she has felt ‘othered’. Her work has included working with ex-offenders and hedge fund managers, older people and young children, across the blurry lines of class, culture, gender and generation.
Heidi Steel
'Don't be afraid of play': The invaluable role of unstructured play beyond the early years
Session description
An interactive look at the power of play in children's health and development beyond the Early Years, and the role of the parent/ educator in facilitating strong healthy playtime for strong healthy minds. We will explore the importance of free play for children's learning and consider what really happens when children ‘play all day’. The session will be illustrated with real life examples from children and young people who have been given the opportunity to play liberally beyond the age of five.
Bio
Heidi Steel is an Education Consultant, Unschooling Parent, Qualified Teacher, Writer, Podcaster, and founder of LivePlayLearn. Her career began in Early Years Settings and Primary schools where she taught for over ten years and fed her passion for how children learn. Her own four children have always been unschooled and are happy living and learning as they go. Learning most of life's lessons from the children themselves she is passionate about SDE and play as the primary vehicle for learning.
Helen Gourley & Sarah Seleznyov
Play matters: Infusing play throughout school
Session description
Children’s wellbeing and mental health has never before been such a priority, and enjoying learning is crucial for wellbeing. Many schools in England abandon play as a learning methodology once children leave Reception but at School 360 we have been exploring play both as a curriculum principle and a key pedagogy across the school. We have found that it improves both learning and wellbeing, and is more enjoyable for staff with no extra workload. Join this session to find out more about our approach, the challenges we faced and the positive response we have had from staff, children and families.
Bio
Helen is Assistant Head and Foundation Phase Leader at School 360, a brand new primary school in Newham, London and part of the Big Education family of schools. She formerly worked at School 21.
Ian Cunningham
Subverting schooling in order to get a good education: A guide for parents and young people
Session description
Almost 99% of young people aged 5-16 attend school. A high proportion are not happy. And even those that are happy in school find out later that it hasn’t prepared them for adult life. How can pupils manage their way through a system that attempts to impose ways of thinking and acting that are often dysfunctional? This session is for real – but comes with a warning that it may not be comfortable for some. I am not setting out to offend anyone – however I am serious about the issues that I will raise. And I don’t pull any punches – the matter is too serious. The session will range from big picture issues such as how schooling is a major contributor to the global heating crisis to micro-level practices that can work in real situations.
Bio
Dr Ian Cunningham is the Founder and Chair of Governors of Self Managed Learning College. It has no classrooms, no formal lessons, no imposed timetables and freedom for young people to learn whatever they want and in any way that they want.
Ian is also: a dancer (member of Three Score Dance Company); a metal sculptor (City and Guilds qualified welder); an organisation development consultant (for 45 years); a writer (9 books and over 150 published articles and papers); and a former CEO of a business school.
Ife Obasa
Why representation matters for the future of education
Session description
The future of education desperately needs to see more representation at its decision-making levels and more generally in its sector. If we are going to adequately reform the state of education in the UK we need to ensure that ALL groups are fairly represented. Representation matters NOW more than ever in the education decision-making space.
Bio
Ife is a bold and authentic leader who powerfully encourages her community to take up space and aim for more. Words used to describe her are passionate, resilient, inspiring, innovative and forward-thinking. Her drive to see more young people empowered is evident through her various speaking engagements, mentoring of young people and previous leadership positions.
Iva Jankova
A comparison of education in England and Macedonia
Session description
This session will explore the similarities and differences between the educational experience in Macedonia and England. Iva moved to the UK when she was 12 and started school here in year 9. As a child, she was struck by the many differences between the two systems. In this session, Iva will highlight what she sees as the strengths and weaknesses of each system, with reference to school structures, uniforms, exams, teacher labelling, mandatory vs optional subjects, and outcomes.
Bio
My name is Iva and I am currently 20 years old.I am Macedonian and I moved in the Uk when I was 12 years old.I did sociology business and Ict as a levels and I am currently studying events management at the university of Winchester .
Jacqueline O'Connell
Why home education is vital for the happiness of our children
Session description
I home educated my girls from years 6, 8 and 9. After 3 years, I saw the real world of learning. With the knowledge I learnt, I embarked on setting up my tuition centre for home educators aged 10-16 years. I found that home educated young people wanted to socialise without their parents, and that they were missing out on all the milestones they would experience at school - field trips, discos... I decided to change this and give young the best experience of school and a healthy way to learn. Spiritus was born. New opportunities come through my door constantly to give young people what they need and want – options, opportunities, and fresh ways of learning.
Bio
I left school with a few GCSE's, dropped out of college, and a YTS. I worked in an office and then took on a career in gym work which went well until I got bored 5 years later. I then hopped around doing temp work, the odd long term job. I see I was creating a web that gave me the essential tools to create Spiritus.
The passion I have for it is unwavable
James Fornara
Why creativity matters and how to inject some into your setting
Session description
A practical session designed to help colleagues use techniques common in creative subjects (drama, music, dance etc.) in other subject areas. An exploration of how using creativity in learning can support better engagement and developing agency in your students.
Bio
James has a very wide range of teaching & leadership experience in a multitude of educational settings in the 25 years he has been working in education. He was the founding Principal of Wac Arts College and more recently was Co-Headteacher for The New School. He was also headteacher at a specialist therapeutic setting The Pupil Parent Partnership School. He is driven by a desire to make a difference and empower people to transform their lives through the power of education.
Jenna Crittenden
Rethinking curriculum: A national primary project
Session description
Jenna works for the Chartered College of Teaching and is running a 5-year project to empower the voices of school leaders and teachers. Their research found that only 2% of respondents reported that their ideal curriculum and implemented curriculum overlap completely, and 15% reported that the two do not correspond at all. 71% reported curriculum planning and implementation as a barrier. This project aims to support and equip teachers and school leaders with the knowledge and skills to identify, plan and implement curriculum development work in a sustainable, creative and place-based way.
Bio
Jen is the Curriculum Design Lead for Chartered College of Teaching. She is currently leading a national project, ‘Rethinking Curriculum. Prior to joining the Chartered College of Teaching, Jen was a Headteacher, curriculum design lead and experienced primary teacher. Jen is very interested in sustainable curriculum development and implementation, mental health and inclusion, and staff development and retention. She is a keen advocate for flexible working and is MTPT trustee.
Jess Staufenberg
What should Labour do about private schools?
Session description
Does anyone need to do anything about private schools? Jess will draw on arguments around individual liberty and the underfunding of the state sector, to suggest that the state has a role to play regarding how independent schools operate in the UK. If so, what might be done? We will explore challenges to the implementation and effectiveness of reforms, including Westminster’s treatment of the state sector; party politics; disagreement among reformers; media bias; legal challenges; independent school sector; and public under-education.
Bio
For six years Jess was a reporter for education newspapers Schools Week and FE Week, and has also reported for The Guardian, Al Jazeera and The Independent. In 2022 she was longlisted for the Paul Foot Award for investigative journalism. She is now at investigative journalism unit SourceMaterial, focused on climate change, corruption and threats to democracy.
Joe Britto
Rethinking school governance: Why mindset matters!
Session description
Enhancing student outcomes has long focused on student growth mindsets. But what if we applied mindset work to school governance? What if the route to enhancing student outcomes lies in rethinking how schools and Local Education Authorities operate? This interactive session will suggest what gets in the way of enhancing outcomes isn’t the practical steps, a lack of great ideas, or the will to improve, but the mindset required to think and act beyond personalities, and what’s comfortable. The session will tap into mindset to help provide practical steps that move education forward.
Bio
Joe Britto, author of "The Six Attributes of a Leadership Mindset", works with leaders across the non-profit, public, & private sectors. Psychological coach and speaker, Joe Britto founded mindset consultancy Innate Leaders in 2009. Operating in the UK and North America, its clients include intel, Coca Cola, & Bayer. In 2021 he developed Mindset VI to help leaders rethink their toughest challenges. In 2022 he developed Portrait of a School District to support school leaders enhance learning outcomes.
Joe Hallgarten
Pragmatic progressivism: Why educational progressives keep shooting ourselves in the feet
Session description
Progressive educators are in retreat – in England, at least. Rather than blame politicians and others, we need to up our game. The ‘transformational’ language that the current progressive education movement tends to use might actually be a distorting distraction that does the movement no favours. In this session, Joe will argue that the answer lies in ‘pragmatic progressivism’ – an approach that takes us back to Dewey, but also considers the notion of 'lived experience' as a means to expand our collective thinking about learning.
Bio
Joe Hallgarten is the Chief Executive at The Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY). Since starting his career teaching for five years in urban primary schools, Joe has accumulated over twenty years of experience leading and influencing education change as an educator, programme leader, researcher and policy analyst. Joe still teaches one day a week in primary schools in Tower Hamlets.
John Carden
Agency and the future of education: An introduction to student agency in theory and practice
Session description
What do approaches like oracy, collaborative decision making, project-based learning, learning-to-learn, and Philosophy for Children have in common? Why do they work so well in some contexts and not others? The answer, John believes, lies in understanding student agency. This dialogic session will introduce the concept of agency and provide an opportunity for attendees to reflect on their own practice through the lens of student agency.
Bio
John Carden is a qualified mathematics teacher and a researcher at the University of Sussex.
Prior to teaching, John worked as an analyst and organisational consultant. At School 21 he was Oracy lead for sixth form, and led on student voice activities. As head of the Awen Project, a democratic setting in Wales set up by Charlotte Church, he established a coherent educational philosophy and set of practices through supervision.
John would love to talk about education with you!
Jon Thorne
Play with the magic of space and time
Session description
Over the last few years, Jon has developed a neurodiverse version of sports coaching. He has moved from helping players compete by better executing the same details in the same way, to helping players create something out of the space between the details. To take their ability to adapt on the field of play to another level, and to play with fewer details, more creativity, and more neurodiversity. To feel like they have all the time in the world to make micro-decisions that ripple across flowing teams. To experience how the natural elasticity of the brain means they can always find new ways to progress their game.
Bio
Jon's corporate career was spent bringing complex multi-million-pound, multi-organizational, multi-disciplinary, pioneering innovative - never be done before - engineering projects back on track. He operated in the space between the organizations and the disciplines involved.
When it became clear that helping some of the best engineers on the planet to work together had been the perfect preparation for home-educating his two neurodivergent children - He gave up work to home-educate.
Jonas Andrew-Phillip
Teacher and student relationships: Authentic or authoritative?
Session description
During this session, Jonas (a star of last year’s spontaneous ‘hot takes’ assembly) will run an interactive workshop with students and teachers on how they can better improve their relationships with one another.
Bio
Jonas Andrew-Phillip (JAP) is a Young International Multi-Award-Winning TEDx Speaker, Workshop Facilitator and Host. He facilitates career and personal progression workshops, programmes and speeches for young people. Using his own personal transformation story of wasteman to winner Jonas supports his peers to have an understanding that they have the untapped potential to achieve whatever they want in their life irrelevant of their background or circumstance.
Joshua Coombes
Do something for nothing: The power of human connection
Session description
It's easy to feel paralysed by the problems we face in world today. Joshua's goal is to inspire audiences to think differently about charity and how small actions can ignite meaningful change. A passionate and articulate storyteller, Joshua’s message of empathy, kindness, and connection comes at an important time in modern society. It serves as a reminder of how we can all make a difference in our own way.
Bio
Joshua Coombes is a hairdresser, community hero and movement maker. In 2015 he started to reach out to men and women experiencing homeless in his city and offer them free haircuts and began using the hashtag #DoSomethingForNothing. He passionately believes in giving dignity to the homeless and how pushing past stereotypes and preconceptions allows us to find real connections with people.
Juliet English
The Learning Delusion: Exploring the gap between education policy and reality
Session description
Despite all we know about child development, attachment and the benefits of parental involvement (particularly in the early years), we still have educational policies that ignore the evidence and continue to demand structured, content-heavy curricula, measured by testing and exams, and which steadily push to include even younger children in this approach. In this session, Juliet will compare common stereotypes informing education policy with what the evidence tells us, and discuss how these policies are harming our children.
Bio
Juliet is an experienced home educator who is passionate about encouraging and empowering parents to educate their children. She has home educated (seven children) for over 25 years and draws from her social work background, and her experience gained from working with home educating parents, running groups/activities, and conferences. Juliet is engaged in national and international initiatives relating to home education. She is the co-ordinator of the annual Learn Free Home Educators Conference.
Kamalagita Hughes
Creating the weather: How mindfulness can help create a positive school culture
Session description
High numbers of school staff report feeling stressed but feel they have little time for their wellbeing. This practical session will show how you can take back the initiative, with simple, effective techniques and strategies that you can put into practice right now. Studies show that teachers play a key role in ‘creating the weather’ in the classroom, and that mindfulness can help staff relate to students with increased empathy, creating calmer, more focussed classroom environments.
Bio
Kamalagita Hughes has been practicing mindfulness for 27 years and teaching it for 20. She is a qualified teacher and lecturer with substantial experience in the classroom and in teacher training, further education and higher education. She is the author of 'The Mindful Teachers Handbook: How to step out of busyness and find peace' (Crown House). She is also the Education Lead for Mindfulness in Action (www.mindfulnessincation.co.uk/education) and a lead trainer for the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP).
Kat Stern, Tony Meehan & Adele Bates
Rethinking behaviour: Panel discussion
Session description
How might we rethink behaviour? What could a different approach look like? What do we need to do differently? What can we hold on to? This interactive session will draw on the broad range of experiences from the panellists and the audience.
Bio
Kat Stern (@KatStern4) is a behaviour consultant for secondary educational settings, and a part-time teacher. She is the author of 'The Excludables: From mainstream classroom to prison education', which is a research-focused examination of permanent exclusion.
Tony Meehan is a practitioner of Non-Violent Resistance (NVR) supporting families where child-to-parent violence is a feature. His 30-year career as a teacher includes over eight years as head of an inner-London Pupil Referral Unit, working with vulnerable pupils excluded from mainstream school and with their families, before retiring in 2017.
Adele Bates is a behaviour and education specialist, an award-winning international keynote speaker and author. She is the author of the author of 'Miss, I don't Give A Sh*t: Engaging with Challenging Behaviour in Schools'. For more info, tips and resources, check out adelebateseducation.co.uk.
Kate Anstey
Poverty and stigma: What young people want everyone in schools to know, think and feel
Session description
With 4.2 million young people currently growing up in poverty and rising costs putting families under additional stress, this session – delivered in partnership with CPAG’s youth panel – will give attendees the opportunity to hear about the challenges young people experiencing poverty face, as well as their ideas for solutions. The session will also explore how we can all talk about poverty and will support practitioners to better to understand what school can be like through the eyes of a young person facing financial hardship.
Bio
Child Poverty Action Groups Youth Panel brings together a diverse range young people aged 13-19 from across London who have been working together to explore how poverty is having an impact on young people growing up. The Youth Panel members are passionate about tackling the stigma often associated with growing up in a household that has less money. They want to reach other young people to raise awareness of the realities of poverty and support more young people to speak out.
Kate Appleby
The Importance of meeting children where they are
Session description
Interventions and accommodations typically focus on how we can support a child to make progress. We decide which areas they are struggling with and design programmes which we expect will move them on, so they gain new skills and knowledge. Drawing on her experience as a Speech and Language Therapist and as a parent, Kate will reflect on how we can move the focus from change in the child to change in the environment and ourselves.
Bio
Kate is a Speech and Language Therapist and mum. She spent 17 years working for the NHS in South London, supporting children and adults who stammer. Kate has been home educating her daughter for the past year, following challenges with school attendance.
Kulvarn Atwal
The Thinking School: Developing a dynamic learning community
Session description
The single most important factor in influencing the quality of students' learning in schools is the quality of teaching. And the single most important factor in influencing the quality of teaching is the quality of teacher learning. In this session, Kulvarn will demonstrate how to develop an expansive learning environment in our schools, in which we value the quality of staff learning and wellbeing as highly as students' learning and wellbeing.
Bio
Dr Kulvarn Atwal - Headteacher of Highlands Primary School and Uphall Primary School, Ilford, and author of The Thinking School and The Thinking Teacher.
Laura Kerbey
The educator's experience of Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)
Session description
70% of children and young people with a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile of autism are unable to access their learning in a school or college. And yet, these young people are bright, creative, capable and willing to learn with the correct support, environment and approach. Laura’s experience working with learners with PDA taught her that EVERYTHING she was doing was wrong. This session, which is based on Laura’s book of the same name, will help others who work in education to re-evaluate their approach and help PDAers reach their amazing potential.
Bio
Laura Kerbey has been working with autistic children and young people for over 21 years.
Laura has worked as a lecturer in FE Colleges and been the Head Teacher of a specialist School. She now runs Positive Assessments Support and Training (PAST) and KITE Therapeutic Learning Services.
Laura is the author of "The Educator's Experience of Pathological Demand Avoidance" which is illustrated by Eliza Fricker and published by Jessica Kingsley Publishing.
Lox Pratt & Kath Pratt
Abandon Ship! A drama and film-making workshop
Session description
Using physical theatre, dance and music soundscapes, in this session Lox (11) will direct you in creating a short film. The story is ours, at a moment of disaster. What decisions and human creativity will rescue us?
Bio
Hi, I’m Lox. I’m 11 and I love telling stories through any way possible, be it film, writing, dancing or acting. In this workshop I want to show the education system as it is and the future through my own way and skill set. So join me at Parliament Hill School and let’s Abandon Ship!
Lucia Quadrini
Putting an end to the 11-plus
Session description
In this session, Lucia will explore the disproven science and the discriminatory origins of the 11-plus exam. Through unpacking this history of fixed IQs and classism, Lucia will argue that the 11-plus was never designed for social mobility but instead for social division, which it enables to this day. By maintaining such an outdated tradition, we maintain beliefs and practices which are damaging to the mental health of children, the educational variety of counties, and the integrity of government policy. When will the political sphere step up and put an end to this archaic exam?
Bio
Lucia Quadrini is a young campaigner for equal-access education and structural reform, as well as being a finalist at the University of Cambridge.
She is involved with various education think tanks and advocacy groups - including Private School Policy Forum, Edge Foundation, and Abolish Eton - but here speaks in support of Time's Up for the Test. TUFTT campaigns for an end to academic selection and the introduction of inclusive schools in every community.
Lucy Stephens, Alison Macdonald, Freya Aquarone & Caroline Oliver
The New School and UCL: Evolving education; exchanging knowledge
Session description
The New School and UCL are combining research findings with educational practice to develop novel interventions that evolve conversations about how we educate in the UK. We will share our experiences and consider: How is personal agency cultivated and supported in democratic learning environments? What are the ingredients of inclusive education and how is this practised at The New School to create wellbeing for all young people? And how can we expand our educational practice to support young people to develop the skills necessary for the 21st century?
Bio
Lucy Stephens is the Founder and Director of The New School in South London, an educational charity and independent democratic school which currently receives no central government funding, and doesn’t charge fees to parents.
Freya Aquarone is an education practitioner and researcher who has worked in a number of educational contexts, including mainstream settings, alternative provision, and democratic schools. Freya has just completed a PhD at King’s College London exploring democracy in post-16 education.
Alison Macdonald is an Associate Professor in Social Anthropology at UCL. Her research focuses on critical exploration of educational systems and pedagogy with a specific focus on alternative approaches and provisions for education in England.
Caroline Oliver is a sociologist and co-Director of the Centre of Sociology of Education and Equity at the UCL IoE, whose research focuses on identity-making and inclusivity in the context of educational institutions.
Maia Finlayson & Rosie Finlayson
Ups and downs of home education: Learning, socialising, and exams
Session description
Maia and Rosie will give a personal account of the benefits of home education. They will describe how they were educated, focussing on the balance of work and play and how unstructured education for younger learners can evolve into more structured, content-based forms of learning over time. They'll touch on the ups and downs of social groups and how studying for and sitting examinations as a private candidate works out in practice. Then they'll discuss sixth form college and what entering the school system is like after being home educated – followed by a Q&A session.
Bio
Maia and Rosie Finlayson were home educated through to GCSEs, and are currently studying A levels at sixth form college. Maia is an avid reader, writer, and aspiring physicist. Her sister Rosie is interested in history, politics, and law, particularly education laws.
Marcelo Staricoff
The Joy of Not Knowing: How to develop an intrinsic love of learning
Session description
This interactive session will provide participants with a range of ideas for the classroom that instil a deep and intrinsic love of learning in all students. We will explore how teachers can: (a) remove barriers to learning by equipping every student with a love of 'not knowing'; (b) equip all students with all they need to be able to thrive emotionally, socially, culturally, linguistically and academically; and (c) promote creative, critical, multilingual and philosophical thinking across all areas of the curriculum.
Bio
Marcelo is the author of ‘The Joy of Not Knowing’ (Routledge, 2021) and a former scientist and Primary School Headteacher. Marcelo is a Lecturer in Education at the University of Sussex and joint course leader of the BA Primary and Early Years Course. Marcelo has recently worked on behalf of UNICEF with policy makers in Uzbekistan and he speaks regularly at national and international events. Marcelo’s work was recognised by being named as a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.
Mark Deacon
Rethinking the language of 'challenge' and 'rigour'
Session description
When the conservative government returned to power, they created something of a moral panic and demanded that the curriculum should be more challenging, stretching and rigorous. However, research shows that when programmes of study are described as rigorous and challenging, people have a visceral reaction which leads to active avoidance of those programmes. In this session, Mark will share his research which looked at whether this is true for GCSE students in England. What emerges is a problem of communication.
Bio
Mark Deacon worked in schools for 30 years doing every job in a school: academic leadership, pastoral leadership and senior leadership including an acting Headship.
Following a disagreement with an academy chain it seemed like a good idea to find something else to do.
Mark now trains teachers at The University of Buckingham and the University of Brighton. He works on BA, PGCE and MA programmes.
To prevent boredom Mark is studying for a doctorate at Buckingham University.
Mark Goodwin
Rethinking community engagement: How to connect with 'hard-to-reach' families
Session description
‘There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.’ (Desmond Tutu). Tipton Can is a year-long project designed to support disconnected young people and their families. In this session, Mark will explain how this innovative project has improved students’ learning, attendance to school, educational outcomes and mental wellbeing; enabled schools to collaborate more effectively; and has re-engaged disconnected children with their learning.
Bio
Mark has over 20 yrs experience as a teacher, school leader & trainer.
Between 2018-22 Mark worked as Equal Parts Education to deliver a turn around program for permanently excluded students across the Midlands, as well as working in partnership with schools & universities to deliver training & coaching to staff.
Since 2022, Mark has led on Behaviour & Wellbeing across the nine very different secondary schools in The Mercian Trust.
Mark is a published author & likes an early morning run.
Martin Illingworth & Rhythmical Mike
Forget School: Why young people are succeeding on their own terms
Session description
The young need to network, to communicate effectively over digital mediums, manage money and be alert to the world around them. If school does not respond quickly then the young will no longer see any relevance to their schooling; a distance is already growing. Examinations and outdated curriculum are losing their authority. In this session, spoken word superstar Rhythmical Mike and ‘Forget School’ author Martin Illingworth will provide an insight into the ways that school could become more useful in supporting young people as they enter the rapidly changing world of the twenty-first century.
Bio
Martin Illingworth is Senior Lecturer in Education at Sheffield Hallam University, consultant teacher with The National Association for the Teaching of English and Associate Speaker with Independent Thinking.
Rhythmical Mike is a spoken word artist from Derbyshire. He performs across the UK and has made recent appearances in venues as diverse as YNot festival, Boom Town festival, Ronnie Scott's Jazz Bar, London’s Southbank Centre and Sheffield Hallam University.
Matt Bawler
Rethinking the mental health crisis: It all starts with Early Years
Session description
So much of our response to mental health still follows the reactive model. We wait until something is a problem before trying to step in and fix it – much like fire-fighting or trying to teach someone to swim in the middle of a tsunami! As an early years specialist, Matt believes now is the time to promote a more proactive model that starts at the beginning, when the neuroplasticity of the forming brain is at its height. Come along to this session to hear Matt’s inspiring story and to be equipped with a simple yet powerful framework and tools for how to help proactively support children, teachers and parents.
Bio
A teacher of 20 years, Matt has extensive experience of teaching across all Key Stages, with a specialism in Early Years. Currently working as Head of Early Years and Development Lead for a school in South London, Matt teaches full time as well as running regular external training for teachers, senior leadership and parents in London Boroughs and beyond. Matt has recently launched Future Mind Foundations to allow more children to access these foundational tools.
Meena Wood
Rebooting education and inspection: Learning from international perspectives and AI
Session description
This talk will explore the importance of children’s agency in UK and global education systems that place learning as a core value. A world where digitalisation is becoming the norm through ChatGPT and e-assessments. A world where children’s progress is measured against their starting points, rather than against their peers, and captured in digital learner profiles. A world where the key skills of communication, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, self-reflection and resilience are commonplace. We’ll explore how this learner-focused education model can shape low stakes school inspection and accountability.
Bio
Meena Wood is an International speaker, trainer, leadership coach and author of ‘Secondary Curriculum Transformed; Enabling All to Achieve’ (Wood and Haddon, Routledge 2021). She is an Honorary Fellow of ELA at the University of Birmingham. Meena is a former HMI Ofsted, Local Authority Adviser, Principal of an Adult College and Principal of a Secondary Academy. She advises schools in UK, Dubai and India on curriculum, assessment and self-evaluation, conducts teacher training in India and is a UAE inspector.
Nick Corston
Welcome to the creativity revolution
Session description
In this all comers walk ‘n’ talk workshop you'll be modelling the fearlessness our kids need to learn by engaging in a creative activity while Nick explains the rhyme and reason behind his battle for creativity in our schools. This is a session for school leaders and teachers who want to see what STEAM Co. is about: meddling mums, disco dads, creative carers and any rocket kids that happen to have come to school on this Saturday. There will be prizes and free stuff for everyone and we’ll launch a dynamite rocket in the playground at lunchtime to inspire us all to aim higher.
Bio
STEAM Co. is a non-profit which champions, inspires and ignites creativity by running pop-up days in schools and community settings across the UK. With a new clutch fitted in his #StarShip22 after 4 months on the road at 12 festivals and a week-long collab with McLaren at the British Grand Prix, he'll be attempting to build #OurSeeMonster in the playground from Cardboard, Code and Creativity - as a beacon for the #CreativityRevolution23 he says our children, communities and country need like never before.
Paul Sturtivant
The Global Citizens Programme: Metacognition, oracy and self-regulated learning in action
Session description
Today's students understand our increasing interconnectedness more than the adults in front of them. This session is a story of how Paul brought together metacognition, self-regulated learning and oracy to create a Global Citizens programme that empowered change-making students. He will share examples of his collaboration with several schools in the UK and a school in Nepal, illustrating how this programme inspires and motivated students to address global challenges and drive positive change internally and externally.
Bio
I have over 15 years teaching experience in various roles and am a lifelong learner and passionate advocate for educational equality. I help schools with CPD, curriculum design, leadership and learning to learn interventions, using an energetic, thoughtful, and evidence-led approach. I have been regognised as an expert practitioner and granted fellowship of the Chartered College of Teaching. Above all else, I believe there is a better, kinder way of leading educational change.
Pete Dudley
Re-understanding education through teachers’ enquiring eyes
Session description
Before we ‘rethink’ anything we need to fully understand it. Most evidence informing our understanding of education comes from professional and academic researchers, not teachers. When leaders engage teachers in researching pupils’ learning, the impact on pupil outcomes and the capacity this builds for sustained improvement is transformational. In this session, Pete Dudley will discuss Camtree, the first platform designed to guide, publish and synthesise practitioner research at scale. We’ve identified three barriers to achieving this in England and we will discuss how these may be overcome.
Bio
An associate professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Dr Pete Dudley leads Camtree at Hughes Hall, and is a member of the Oracy Cambridge. He taught for over a decade and has another thirty years' experience in local, national, and international educational leadership roles developing and implementing evidence-informed, collaborative improvement built on teacher research, middle-leadership agency and system/policy leadership transformation.
Poppy Gibson & Alfred Russo
Let's talk about death: How to host sensitive, purposeful conversations around grief and loss
Session description
Death is the one thing we all have in common. So why do we shy away from discussions about dying in our classrooms? Maybe we don’t have the vocabulary; maybe we don’t want to scare children or worry them. But talking about grief and loss now will help them later in life. In this workshop, we’ll explore big questions such as ‘How do we talk about death?’ and ‘How can we support someone who is grieving?’, and provide meaningful and practical activities to help facilitate these important conversations with people of all ages, from early years to adult education.
Bio
Dr Poppy Gibson is a Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, Essex, whose key interests involve children’s psychological development and mental health and wellbeing.
Find Poppy on Twitter: www.twitter.com/poppygibsonuk
Alfred Russo is a freelance cartoonist and illustrator from Italy and a history graduate from Goldsmiths University, London. Alfred is passionate about the educational potential of sequential art and illustration. In his projects, he explores how illustrations can help a child to reflect on complex emotions and challenging concepts such as death and displacement.
Rebecca Leek
Permaculture as a model for school leadership
Session description
Permaculture developed from within the field of agriculture and ecology. It is a framework that leads designers and growers to find dynamic, permanent solutions that are in harmony with the natural ecosystems around us. In this session, Rebecca will explore the benefits of looking after your edges, consider how to consciously observe and interact, and hear about the power of turning problems into solutions. In a world where schools seem often to be at odds with human nature, permaculture might be just what we need to show us the way to a healthier future – for everyone.
Bio
Rebecca Leek has been a headteacher, CEO, a Senco, a primary and a secondary school teacher. She has also been involved with sustainable growing projects and community arts and enterprise for many years.
She has written widely, is especially interested in systems thinking, inclusion, holistic leadership, and is currently writing a book on school governance with Bloomsbury.
She also loves a long run (current record, 71 miles) and gets angry at the world and how it treats her three daughters.
René Kneyber & Hilly Drok
The Creeping Crisis: How Dutch education policy is making national reform impossible
Session description
Since the start of the century, almost all education policy reforms in Holland have failed. The Dutch Government is quick to point its finger to failing teachers, schools and boards. In this session, René and Hilly will talk about how policy itself is failing and setting up schools for failure. This session will provide insights into the Dutch Education system (often referred to as a hidden jewel) and will provide lessons for other countries.
Bio
René Kneyber is a former mathematics teacher and currently a consultant and book publisher in the Netherlands. He was a member of the National Dutch Education Advisory Council and wrote 18 books, among which Flip the System: Changing Education from the Ground Up.
Rocktopus
Children's rock band & school workshop provider
Session description
Rocktopus is an award-winning children's rock band!
Founded by two primary school teachers, Rocktopus tour the country with their unique cross-curricular workshops providing fun, educational, inspirational and engaging whole school experiences!
We regularly provide 'ice breakers' to help kick off conferences - full details can be found on our website, here: https://www.rocktopusmusic.com/conference-energisers.
We'd love to help ‘open’ the conference with a 20 minute songwriting ice breaker (we'll make it completely bespoke) in the main space and in return we'd appreciate the offer of a free exhibition stand in the marketplace.
Bio
Rocktopus is an award-winning children's rock band and school workshop provider.
Rocktopus are a real life rock band for kids and families with two albums on international release and a whole load of exciting live shows and festivals under their belts! They've written a whopping 650+ songs with children during their school workshops which combine their experiences as trained primary teachers and rock stars, to create songs and even music videos about school values, PE, health and fitness.
Roger Sutcliffe
Thinking Moves A – Z: A comprehensive scheme for teaching metacognition and self-regulation
Session description
This session will explore Thinking Moves A-Z, a scheme Roger and others have developed to bring metacognition to life in the classroom and beyond. In this session, Roger will unpack the 'what' and the 'how', i.e. what the scheme consists in, and how it can be put into practice in all subjects at all levels, from nursery to the 6th form. He will share positive feedback from schools in different counties, showing how the scheme can be applied easily and effectively from Day 1.
Bio
Roger read philosophy at Oxford, graduating in 1975. After teaching for 5 years in a junior school, he took an Open University degree in maths, which he then taught at a secondary school for 10 years. In the early 90's he trained in Philosophy for Children with Matthew Lipman and creative thinking with Edward de Bono, and became a freelance educator in P4C and thinking skills, especially critical thinking. He was an advisor to the IBO on ToK, and designed the IGCSE, 'Global Perspectives'.
Roy Leighton
Designing a biophilic, community-led education movement
Session description
Our education system was designed for an Industrial Age, with a mechanistic view of human knowledge and ability. The advent of AI and robotics is leading us to question the relevance of a knowledge-based, rote learning system, and to consider what separates humans from machines. We will explore what human beings need to flourish, the future of education, schools as community hubs and how Biophilia (the passionate love of life) provides a sustainable, holistic vision to help protect the future of our species on this planet.
Bio
Roy Leighton is founding partner of Positive Peace Cambridge with Professor Hilary Cremin (head of the faculty of Education at Cambridge University). He is also creative director for Undiscovered Country and a senior associate at Independent Thinking Ltd. He works with schools, universities, businesses, and communities in the UK and internationally to help develop cultures of 'positive peace' to support engagement, transcend conflict and improve outcomes.
Sarah Davies
Oracy: The What? The Why? and the How?
Session description
Earlier this year, Sir Keir Starmer announced that oracy lies at the heart of Labour’s mission to transform education. In this session, Sarah will explore the significance of oracy in education, and will explain how an effective oracy strategy can not only support with curriculum progress, but also encourage positive communication and support for our learners. We will then consider how we can use our knowledge and understanding of different aspects of oracy to promote purposeful dialogue with our young people through a variety of strategies in a range of settings.
Bio
Sarah Davies is the Author of Talking about Oracy and is currently an assistant headteacher supporting the induction if trainees and ECTs in an academy in the north west. She has also written articles for SecEd, TES, The Headteacher, Teaching Times and TeachIt.
Sarah Sivers & Maddi Popoola
'School is too much pressure!': What do young people say about mental health?
Session description
Current media trends report that mental health for young people is on the decline. Many potential reasons for this are assumed. But what do the young people say? This session will provide a summary of recent research that collates the views of over 600 children’s and young people aged 9-18. The research clearly indicates that young people think school is the key factor having a negative impact on their mental health.
Bio
Sarah is a Child, Community and Educational Psychologist. Sarah has a particular interest in involving children and young people in understanding and developing their strengths and ensuring they feel thought about and listened to. Sarah is passionate about promoting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people and exploring how education can facilitate wellbeing and bring joy.
Sian James & Rosie McConnell
Change is possible: Curriculum for Wales and the case for creative approaches to teaching and learning
Session description
Brilliant things are happening in Wales. Our new Curriculum is exciting, challenging and co-designed by teachers and learners to make education fit for the future. Delivered in partnership by us (Arts Council of Wales) & the Welsh Government, in this session we will share the outcomes of ‘Creative learning through the arts’, a national programme of impactful collaboration between teachers and creative professionals.
Bio
Sian James manages a national Creative Learning programme with the Arts Council of Wales, supporting over 600 schools and their teachers to explore innovative pedagogy and teach creatively and for creativity across the new curriculum.
Rosie McConnell has over 30 years experience of working in and around education, both formally and informally across all age ranges. She joined the Arts Council of Wales' freelance team of Creative Agents in 2017 and now helps to design and deliver creative education programmes across Wales.
Sophie Hale & Megan Glenister
The UK childhood mental health crisis: Why I quit my teaching career in mainstream education
Session description
The latest mental health research shows that 1 in 6 children aged 5-17 suffer from a mental health condition. Children as young as 10 years old have said they feel worried and depressed every day and they have tried or considered self-harming. Is it any wonder, when we publicly punish and humiliate children as young as 3 and 4 years old at school because they couldn't regulate their emotions – a skill they have not yet been taught? How can we raise a generation of critical thinkers that love to learn, when the mainstream system isn't teaching them to love themselves?
Bio
I have taught as a mainstream primary school teacher for the past 8 years. My life dream was to open a farm school, but I pushed it aside and started my family and kept the job that paid the mortgage. Fast forward to September 2022, my eldest daughter started reception at the school I taught at.. and lasted 12 days. Her whole character changed and that's when I knew I had to make the jump. I now run an alternative centre, in the process of becoming a full independent primary school in Beds.
Sophie Smith-Tong
Exploring mental health and wellbeing in the Early Years Foundation Stage
Session description
Can very young children learn about mental health and wellbeing and what does this look like? Sophie Smith-Tong will explore wellbeing in the context of the Early Years Foundation Stage and consider how current pressures on educators are negatively impacting children in our EYFS settings. Sophie will discuss the role of educators and parents/carers in supporting children to get the most out of their first experiences of the education system.
Bio
Sophie is the Founder of Mindfulness for learning. Her passion and commitment to enhance and support the lives of families and schools came after she recognised the decline in mental health and wellbeing during her decade of teaching in Inner London Primary Schools. She specialises in the Early Years Foundation Stage and as a Mental Health Lead has worked closely with parents and educators to initiate and develop strategies to better the wellbeing and mental health of school communities.
Sue Roffey
Not tweaking but transforming: The future of education
Session description
Imagine an education system where kids love learning and look forward to going to school every day; where teachers are respected facilitators of that learning, not founts of knowledge; where people work collaboratively rather than in competition. Where creativity, critical thinking, citizenship, the environment and social-emotional learning are embedded in the curriculum. This might sound like blue-sky thinking but is happening across the world. The UK (especially England) if falling behind. If we want change for our kids and their future we need a vision. We might have to get there step by step, but let's begin with where we want to be.
Bio
Dr Sue Roffey has been a teacher, psychologist, academic, social activist and parent. She is honorary a/professor at University College London and Director of Growing Great Schools Worldside. Sue has written numerous books, chapters and articles on aspects of wellbeing in schools, including Creating the World We Want to Live In. She is currently writing ASPIRE to Wellbeing and Learning for All. The Principles Underpinning Positive Education - both published by Routledge.
Thomas Breakwell
The teacher as activist inside and outside of the classroom
Session description
The pressing issues facing humanity mean that teachers cannot be impartial (in the way that impartiality is conventionally understood). Focusing on his work with the University of Birmingham's RE-Connect project, Thomas will propose that teachers should be activists for responding to climate change, and that the role of the Religious Studies teacher is to consider the philosophical, ethical and religious assumptions behind climate denialism and climate grief in order for students to flourish as people and as part of the wider society.
Bio
I am a teacher of Religious Studies at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys in Birmingham. From September 2023, I will be Subject Lead for Religious Studies at Colmers School and Sixth Form College.
Tim Taylor
Introducing dramatic inquiry: Developing imaginary contexts for learning
Session description
Since the beginning of civilisation, people have used stories to organise knowledge, create meaning, and make information memorable. In dramatic inquiry, stories are the medium for learning. Situations are planned by the teacher to grab the students’ imagination and to create meaningful contexts for curriculum study. In this practical session we will explore how imaginary contexts for learning, involving the five elements of story – characters, location, events, time, and tension – can be used to generate engaging and purposeful activities for curriculum study.
Bio
Tim Taylor works in the UK and internationally, developing and promoting innovation in teaching and learning and ways to engage children in education. Much of his time is spent in classrooms working with students between the ages of four and eleven, demonstrating learning with imagination and supporting teachers. Tim is author of 'A Beginner’s Guide to Mantle of the Expert' (2016), 'Try This...' (2023, co-authored with Viv Aitken) and is the web manager for www.mantleoftheexpert.com.
Tom Sherrington
Celebrating Achievement: Implementing your own school Baccalaureate
Session description
The session will explore how schools can work with the National Baccalaureate Trust pilot scheme to set up their own accredited baccalaureate programme giving students credit for all their achievements including core learning, personal development and a personal project. We will share the process and some case studies of the approaches schools are taking, without waiting for policy makers to get their act together.
Bio
Tom Sherrington is an education consultant and author. He writes the popular blog teacherhead.com and his books include The Learning Rainforest and best-seller Rosenshine’s Principles in Action. Most recently he co-authored the Teaching WalkThrus series with Oliver Caviglioli. With 30 years' experience as a physics and maths teacher and school leader, Tom now works with hundreds of schools and colleges providing training and consultancy support on improving the quality of teaching through the Walkthrus materials. He is a founding trustee of the National Baccalaureate Trust.
Tracy Firth
How to grow healthy young minds: Restorying limiting beliefs in primary school
Session description
Attending this conference means that you probably have some serious concerns about how our current system is impacting the mental health of our young people. In this session, Tracy will explain how four schools in Cornwall have been trialling a short, daily, habit-forming tool (called CHERISH) that teaches well-being in a fun, inclusive, and impactful manner. In this session, Tracy will invite you to participate in ways that can elicit change in children (and adults), to break through their limiting beliefs, fears and patterns.
Bio
During a 30+ year career as a primary school teacher/leader and 12 years as a mindfulness coach, Tracy has worked with thousands of children and hundreds of teachers and parents, in the UK and internationally. She has an absolute passion for understanding and supporting mental health and for rethinking and restorying the beliefs that drive our actions. Her master’s degree (2018) was the catalyst to take action on a much greater scale, to implement change now and consequently to establish CHERISH
Umaira Nauman Rizvi
The relevance of Partition of India and Pakistan 1947 to modern British society
Session description
In this session Umaira will discuss the lost links, the importance of the study and teaching of Partition 1947 as an essential topic that needs to be included in the national curriculum to provide a sense of inclusion and belonging to south Asians in modern Britain. It is a crucial shared history that is overlooked and leaves a gap to explain why the Empire and its impact did not stop at just the independence of India.
Bio
I am a secondary school history teacher, British daughter of two Pakistani parents who came to the UK for medical care for my sister which was not available in Pakistan. This has always prompted me to look at the complexities of new found countries and their access to basic necessities of society.
Valerie Hannon
The new politics of education transformation
Session description
This session will explore the relationship between political dynamics and real education change. It will examine why political agendas lag so far behind what education needs.
Bio
Valerie Hannon is the co-founder of Innovation Unit (UK and Aus/NZ) and of the Global Education Leaders Program. Her influential books include THRIVE and FutureSchool.
Victoria Bagnall
Unpacking society's unconscious bias about neurodiversity
Session description
How do you feel when you are late, impulsive or forgetful? Ashamed? Guilty? Most of us do. This shame is a by-product of a society which has unconscious bias against neurodivergent traits. Join Victoria for this neuro-inclusive workshop where we will unpack the neuroscience behind neurodivergent traits and why they are not character flaws. As part of the learning journey Victoria will use Lego Serious Play techniques to dig into our emotional responses to this unconscious bias and think collaboratively about how we want future generations to feel and talk about their brains.
Bio
Victoria Bagnall, is a world renowned speaker on executive functioning, brain development and behaviour. She is the co-founder of Connections in Mind and has dedicated her life to raising awareness about neurological differences, executive functioning and brain states. Her work strives to bring about significant societal change by fostering a culture of neuro-inclusion. As a teacher by profession, her skill lies in communicating complex neuroscientific findings simply.
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