The National Association of British Schools in Spain (NABSS) held its 42nd Annual Conference in Sitges (Barcelona) from 5th to the 8th March under the theme “Seeking the Best for Everyone”.
The conference was held over 4 days, commencing with the Gala Dinner at the Cinca Mas Solers on the Thursday evening. The conference was opened by Adrian Massam, President of the Association, who gave a warm welcome to all representatives of member schools and other guests. Mark Howard, Regional Director of the British Council followed with a welcome speech.
The following day was dedicated to heads and owners of schools with the formal opening of the conference by Timothy Hemmings (Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy Madrid) and Rosa Mª Prieto Gallego from the Spanish Ministry of Education, followed by a tour of the Education Village. During the course of the conference heads and owners were lucky to hear from a number of excellent keynote speakers, including Lucy Crehan, Cristine Özden, Helen Morgan, Jason Gregory and Sonja Uhlmann. The programme also included a tour of the Cordoniu Cavas on the Friday evening.
The majority of our 77 member schools were represented at the Annual General Meeting the next day. Thereafter, there was an interesting programme of professional development for senior leaders and teachers, ensuring that all member schools are well informed and kept up-to-date with the latest developments, reforms and trends in education. Workshop leaders included Eva Cartwright, Alan Jervis, Steve Garnett, Julie Watson, Dave Taylor, Matt Messias, Melody Lowe and Rick Sellers. Training was provided for over 250 attendees in total.
The exhibition has always formed an integral part of the annual conference and once again NABSS presented its Education Village, where we welcomed almost 60 companies including those which have staunchly supported us over the years and also the new companies which were joining us for the first time. The annual conference provides an ample opportunity for networking and, to ensure this, many of our social events were held in the exhibition area including buffet lunches, cocktails and the presentation of awards ceremony. A special mention to Cambridge Assessment International Education, who sponsored the prizes for this year’s NABSS competition.
Thanks also for the support and collaboration of the key organisations with whom we work and on whom we depend, including the British Embassy, the British Council, ACADE, Pearson Education and Cambridge Assessment International. All of these have not only made important contributions to this conference but have worked closely with us throughout the last year in our efforts to represent the interests of British schools in Spain.
School representatives
WORKSHOP 1: “Optimising Learning in the Early Years through Continuous Provision” Salón Mestral 3-4
WORKSHOP 2: “Meeting the Challenges of KS2/KS3 Maths” Salón Llevant 2
WORKSHOP 3: “Cognitive Load Theory: The Secrets to Exam Success Revealed Through Best Practice Advice and Clear Explanations of the Evidence” Salón Llevant 3
WORKSHOP 4: “Refocusing on Assessment for Learning” Salón Llevant 4
WORKSHOP 5: “The Missing Middle: Ensuring all Students Reach Their Full Potential” Salón Llevant 5
WORKSHOP 6: “Growth Mindset: Real and Sustained Achievement” Salón Llevant 1
WORKSHOP 7: “Essentials Tools for Middle Managers” Salón Gregal 3
WORKSHOP 8: “Leading School Sports” Salón Mestral 1-2
School representatives
Keynote presentation and forum (Salón Garbi)
WORKSHOP 1: “Optimising Learning in the Early Years through Continuous Provision” Salón Mestral 3-4
WORKSHOP 2: “Meeting the Challenges of KS2/KS3 Maths” Salón Llevant 2
WORKSHOP 3: “Cognitive Load Theory: The Secrets to Exam Success Revealed Through Best Practice Advice and Clear Explanations of the Evidence” Salón Llevant 3
WORKSHOP 4: “Refocusing on Assessment for Learning” Salón Llevant 4
WORKSHOP 5: “The Missing Middle: Ensuring all Students Reach Their Full Potential” Salón Llevant 5
WORKSHOP 6: “Growth Mindset: Real and Sustained Achievement” Salón Llevant 1
WORKSHOP 7: “Essentials Tools for Middle Managers” Salón Gregal 3
WORKSHOP 8: “Leading School Sports” Salón Mestral 1-2
11:45 END OF CONFERENCE
Sitges is a Mediterranean coastal town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, located in the Garraf area in the province of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. Sheltered by the Garraf mountains and due to its geographical position in the Mediterranean, Sitges has a warm “micro-climate” that makes it possible to enjoy outdoor activities almost every day of the year and is renowned worldwide for its Film Festival and Carnival.
Sitges has been referred to as the Saint-Tropez of Spain with property prices approaching those of the most expensive European cities, the main reason for this being the setting by the sea and the surrounding Parc Natural del Garraf.
Proximity to Barcelona-El Prat Airport is also a major advantage and it is also known for its beaches, nightspots, and historical sites.
Leading hotel for congresses and conventions in Barcelona. It offers a flexible convention centre with 21 fully renovated, adapted and equipped meeting rooms. More than 1,200 m2 of space for exhibitions with natural light and easy access.
Transfers
BARCELONA AIRPORT/HOTEL MELIA SITGES
Bus
There are autocars that go directly from the Barcelona Airport to Sitges. The MonBus leaves from the exterior area of Terminal 1 (T1).
If your flight touches down in T2, you will have to use the free transportation service to transfer from T2 to T1. Once you are at T1, you will be able to take the autocar to travel to Sitges.
The MonBus departs every hour on the hour from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays, the bus departs every two hours. On Sundays and holidays, the bus departs four times. If you would like further details regarding the price and schedule of the bus service, you can consult the MonBus website. Click on ‘Schedule Search’ and then type in ‘Airport’ to ‘Sitges’. You will be able to view the schedules for Monday to Friday, Saturdays, Sundays and the night schedule as well.
Taxi
The distance from the Barcelona Airport to Sitges is approximately 32 kilometers. The taxi ride is about 30 minutes and costs approximately
Taxi Fare: €50,00
Particular/Other Transfer: reserve via Hatton Events:
Joseluis.jimenez@hattonevents.com
Transfer fares:
Tourism 1 to 3 pax: 125,00 € VAT included, tolls included
Minivan 4 to 7 pax: 154,00 € VAT included, tolls included
Reservations should be solicited at least one week in advance from departure date.
Train transfer from Sitges to Barcelona Airport
There are no direct trains that travel from the Barcelona Airport to Sitges. It would be necessary to take the RENFE R2 Nord train from the airport and get off at the first stop which is called El Prat de Llobregat. From here you will be able to take the train to Sitges.
If you arrive at Terminal 1 (T1) you will not be able to travel on foot to the train station because it is 4 km away. The suggested route would be to ride to the train on the transfers bus which is located in the exterior of the terminal.
To be able to view the train hours and schedule it is necessary to go to the local train section of the RENFE: Cercanías website.
SANTS/ HOTEL MELIA SITGES STATION
How to travel in train to Sitges from Barcelona
There are three main train stations in Barcelona that offer a transfer service to Sitges: Estació de França, Passeig de Gràcia and Estación Sants. The train C2 travels from France to Passeig de Gràcia to Sants and then Sitges. The final destination on the train is Vilanova i la Geltru or St. Vincenç de Calders: these are the names that you should look out for, instead of Sitges, on the departure screens as well as the front screen of the train.
The train tickets may be purchased through the machines or via box office: it is usually faster to purchase them through the machine. Regardless, if they are not responding so take your time and wait in the line at the box office if you have any questions or doubts.
Outward transfer: around 5,00 €
Return transfer: around 8,00 €
The trains to Sitges from Barcelona depart approximately every 20 minutes, starting at (Estacio de Franca) and ending at (Barcelona Sants). The journey is 46 minutes from Estacio de Franca, 37 minutes from Passig de Gràcia and 30 minutes from Estació Sants. The train schedules may be susceptible to changes; it is recommended to consult the official Renfe website to further obtain more information: this particular branch office for these local trains is called Cercanías.
Train from Barcelona to Sitges
Hours of Operation: 06:47 – 18:47
How to travel to Sitges from Barcelona via Bus.
The buses to Sitges from Barcelona depart from Plaça España and Ronda Universitat during the day. They are the administrators for a bus company called MonBus. The transfer from Ronda Universitat to Sitges takes 55 minutes and from Plaça España it is 45 minutes, however, it may take longer if it is during the weekend because the bus makes more stops on those days. The buses stop by Barcelona (El Prat de Llobregat).
The night buses have a different name: they are not called MonBus, instead they are assigned and represented by numbers N30, N31 or N32. These buses depart from Plaça de Catalunya instead of Ronda Universitat or Plaça España. The time duration on the night bus is shorter because it travels directly from Barcelona to Sitges, taking approximately 35 minutes in total.
Outward transfer: around 5,00 €
(purchased directly in the bus)
10 transfers (ticket T-10 for zones 1 to 3): around 35,00 €
The 10 transfers ticket T10 (Zone 1-3) may be purchased at the Sitges train station, it can not be purchased directly at the bus.
The MonBus departs two times every hour on the hour from Monday to Friday during the day. On Saturdays, the bus departs once every hour. On Sundays and holidays, the bus departs a total of 9 times.
The night bus departs four times every hour
To obtain more information or details regarding the MonBus hours and schedule, you may consult the official MonBus website. Click on ‘Schedule Search’ and type in ‘Airport’ to ‘Sitges’. The schedules offered are from Monday to Friday, Saturdays, Sundays and nights. It is important to verify these times since the buses may be susceptible to changes.
How to travel to Sitges from Barcelona in Taxi
Sitges is about 42 km south of Barcelona. A taxi would take approximately 40 minutes.
Taxi fare: €75,00 – €85,00
Particular/Other Transfer reserve via Hatton Events:
Joseluis.jimenez@hattonevents.com
Transfer fares:
Tourism 1 to 3 pax: 125,00 € VAT included, tolls included
Minivan 4 to 7 pax: 154,00 € VAT included, tolls included
Reservations should be solicited at least one week in advance from departure date.
Mark has worked in education for most of his career, firstly as a History teacher in the UK and then teaching English around the world. He has been with the British Council for 25 years and has worked in Spain, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Romania, Portugal, Korea, Singapore and Argentina. He has held a number of roles including teacher trainer, Country Director, Global Head of Teaching and most recently Regional Director for the Americas. Mark is a life-long learner and has a degree in Politics and International Relations, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, a Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, a Post Graduate Diploma in Management and an MA in Marketing. He is delighted to be back in Spain as Country Director having begun his British Council career teaching in Barcelona.
From June 2016: Tim has been Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy Madrid responsible for the overall management of the Embassy with particular focus on Political, Economic and Communications issues. As a member of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Tim has worked in a range of positions related to Europe and the European Union, including positions in Brussels at the European Commission and also the UK Permanent Representation office to the EU. From 2009 to 2012 Tim worked as Head of Policy for the Wales Office.
Senior Advisor at the Ministry for Education and Vocational Training in Spain (Underdirectorate of International Cooperation). She has held the role of Education Advisor at the Spanish Education Office in Australia from 2009 till 2014 developing several cooperation programs with local Departments of Education to extend the presence of Spanish language and culture. She has held the position as Education Advisor at the Ministry for Education on Latin American education affairs and relations with the European Union.
She has been the Head of the Unit for Teachers Mobility from 2014 coordinating teacher mobility programmes such as Visiting teachers in the US, Canada, UK and China; Spanish Bilingual Programs in Eastern Europe, Russia and China, and training programs for teachers of Spanish as a Foreign Language in cooperation with Spanish Universities and the Cervantes Institute. She also collaborates with over 30 Departments of Education in the dissemination of the MEFP programs in international cooperation. She supervises the delivery of the Language assistant program receiving language Assistants in Spain from over 30 countries, and sending Spanish Language Assistants to 18 countries. Rosa is an English teacher who has taught English and Spanish at school and university levels (US, Wales and Spain). On a parallel note, she has published academic articles in the field of applied linguistics and is the author of a series of textbooks for the teaching of English for Spanish speakers for Secondary Education.
Lucy Crehan is a qualified teacher, an education explorer, an author, and an international education consultant. She taught science and psychology at a secondary school in London before becoming interested in education research and policy, completing a Masters, and setting off on an educational exploration around the world’s top performing education systems. She helped out in schools and lived with teachers in Finland, Canada, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand and Shanghai, spending a month in each place.
Since returning from her trip she has published a trade book – Cleverlands – recounting her findings, written a specialist book on teacher career structures for IIEP UNESCO, advised the UK government as part of a working group on teacher workload, and spoken about her work at conferences in the UK, US, France and Sweden. She spent a year working as part of a team advising foreign governments on education reform at Education Development Trust, and now works as an independent consultant and author.
Christine Özden was appointed Chief Executive of Cambridge Assessment International Education in January 2019. Christine began her career in international education at Cambridge University Press, and has a wealth of senior leadership experience in the design, development and delivery of educational products and services, with a particular focus on publishing and assessment. In her most recent role before joining Cambridge International, she was responsible for launching upper secondary level qualifications in the Middle East and Asia.
Christine believes strongly in the need to support the growing number of families and communities that are interested in, and benefit from, international education. She is committed to the ongoing development of Cambridge programmes and services worldwide and continuing to improve our offer to schools, their educators, students and parents.
She has worked in different educational contexts in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and has lived in Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and the UK.
Christine has an MA in Classical Arabic and Turkish from the University of Edinburgh and a Master’s in Business Administration from Warwick University.
Jason has over 20 years’ experience in international education working with governments and institutions across the world on national education reform and improvement programmes in the fields of technical and vocational education and teacher professional development. He has worked for a number of Awarding Bodies over the past 17 years supporting the delivery of academic and vocational qualifications through international schools, colleges and universities. Jason is currently the Director of International for Pearson’s BTEC and Apprenticeship division and is responsible for the global delivery and growth of their vocational products and services in over 54 countries. Jason has a Masters in Development Education and Global Learning.
Helen is Executive Director at HM Education Consultancy Ltd and provides high quality training, coaching and consultancy support in a range of UK and international contexts. Her portfolio is underpinned by her experience as a teacher, school leader and national strategies consultant. Developing people is Helen’s strongest motivation and she is committed to investing in professional learning.
In her current role, Helen is a lead training consultant with Cambridge Assessment International Education and has worked with leaders and teachers across the world to develop their effectiveness. In addition, Helen works with other prestigious global organisations including ECIS (Educational Collaborative for International Schools) and High Performance Learning to transform schools and support improvement. She is an accredited practitioner coach with the European Coaching and Mentoring Council and works with school leaders and teachers, empowering them to lead change and secure impact.
Sonja Uhlmann is working for the British Council Spain as Child Protection Manager. Sonja’s main responsibility is to put in place corporate requirements in order to prevent and reduce the risk for children to suffer from any type of abuse including bullying. She has also to ensure compliance with Spanish and British Law concerning Child Protection and has to train the team about how to deal with an incident if it finally takes place. Finally, she is the point of contact in Spain with the Global Child Protection Team of the British Council and has to ensure that policies and procedures are implemented.
Psychologist, Master in Speech Therapy and Early Intervention she has worked for over 18 years with parents, teachers and children at the Down Syndrome Foundation in Madrid. Simultaneously she has been involved in several projects, research and training delivery related to Children’s Rights both nationally and internationally. She has also developed materials to promote children’s rights at schools and has extensive experience in delivering child protection trainings.
As Principal of The Teaching Assistant College, Eva has led a team of trainers, tutors and consultants delivering in schools and early years settings in over 50 countries. She has worked closely with the awarding body CACHE (Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education) to write and consult on qualifications and has great pleasure in being able to share a programme specifically designed for Early Years practitioners in NABSS schools at the conference.
Alan Jervis is one of Dragonfly’s senior trainers and has delivered over 1,600 courses to more than 11,000 teachers. With over 30 years of teaching experience – including seven as an assistant Headteacher responsible for teaching, learning and assessment – Alan has extensive experience of employing new teaching and learning strategies. During his time as Assistant Head, Alan was also tasked with targeting student under-achievement which he did so successfully that this resulted in an impressive 36% upturn in GCSE and A level exam results. Since then, Alan has become not only an expert teacher trainer, but also a qualified NLP consultant and author. Alan’s publications include co-writing the critically-acclaimed ‘Improving Classroom Performance: Spoon Feed No More’ among others. With this incredibly vast experience and expertise, it is no surprise Alan’s Dragonfly courses receive our top 97% 5-star feedback from all past delegates. Alan has delivered courses for Dragonfly Training in the UK, Europe and Asia and is a regular CPD workshop provider at Dragonfly’s Independent School and Subject Leader conferences, ISHRAQ conferences, The GESS Show, COBIS conferences and the BSME conference in the Middle East.
Steve Garnett has been a teacher for 24 years. He has delivered INSETs to over 7,000 teachers over the past 10 years in the UK, Ireland and across Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. Teachers who have attended Steve’s courses have regularly described them as ‘inspirational’. Steve is an award-nominated author whose book ‘The Subject Leader’ was shortlisted for Best Secondary Resource in the prestigious BESA awards. He has also written ‘Using Brain Power in the Classroom’ which a TES Review described as ‘strong in its resume of the latest research into what constitutes effective learning’. Steve is also co-author of ‘Spoon Feed No More – Improving Classroom Performance’ – which is a definitive guide to the philosophy and practice of Dragonfly Training.
Dave Taylor is one of the most experienced and gifted trainer and school leaders in his field. Throughout his years in school leadership, Dave has remained focused on the magic of the classroom and is often cited as an inspiration to his students and his colleagues alike.
As Head of English, Dave transformed an underperforming team into one which produced the best GCSE results of all similar schools in the country. As Assistant Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and, most recently, Vice Principal of a Multi-Academy Trust, Dave has transformed the teaching in a number of schools, delivered training to thousands of teachers and mentored a generation of new teachers.
Dave has organised and presented teach meets, conferences and multi-platform festivals. He has presented at the SSAT Achievement Show and sat on the steering group on ‘World Class School Status’ in the SSAT’s Leading Edge group of academies.
Julie is an incredibly enthusiastic and inspirational trainer, having gathered a wide range of experiences teaching and training over the past 18 years.
In addition to Advanced Skills Teacher status, Julie has worked as a local authority School Improvement Consultant, Graduate Teacher Programme trainer, Primary Languages Consultant and was a certified trainer for CiLT (The National Centre for Languages). She currently trains nationally and internationally on some of the most up-to-date concepts relating to research and its impact on learning.
As a former SEND Co. and Inclusion Manager, working with children within the care system has inspired in her a very practical approach to the very challenging topics of inclusion, safeguarding and dealing with all levels of behaviour. Undertaking her MA qualification in this field has led to an interest in current approaches to mastery, variation, and feedback.
Most recently as a School Improvement Partner Julie has worked with senior leadership teams across the country from schools in Ofsted categories to independent and free schools. Julie’s experience enables her to lead venue based training, consultancy and INSET for schools on a regular basis. She herself teachers regularly, as a means of ensuring her knowledge and practice are both recent and relevant.
Julie’s training style shares elements of theory and oceans of practical activities to get teachers moving, talking and most importantly thinking creatively! She believes strongly in the motto ‘learning is memorable when it is fun’ and adopts this strategy for adults as well as children.
A renowned Mental Health and Wellbeing Specialist, Leadership Coach and Inspirational Speaker, Matt is the obvious choice for schools wishing to:
• Maintain or improve their inspection rating
• Enhance staff effectiveness and morale
• Provide Mental Health First Aid training and advice for staff and students
• Increase students’ confidence in their unique abilities and talents.
During his years as Founding Principal of Atrium Studio School in Devon (when Ofsted praised him as “inspirational”), Matt incorporated a range of skills he developed as a former FIFA/FA Premier League referee. Students and staff flourished under his clear, focused and engaging leadership. Many lives – both young and not-so-young – were turned around; some even transformed.
Matt is one of those rare, highly qualified, professionals who leads by example. Integrity, compassion and a genuine desire to make a difference are the foundations of his work, underpinned by extensive experience and a solid track record of successful outcomes. Matt is very much in demand as a keynote speaker, workshop leader and in-school trainer, both internationally and in the UK. Most recently he delivered a keynote for COBIS in London on ‘A Whole School Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing’ and will be speaking at the ECIS’ Leadership Conference in Lisbon in April.
Melody is passionate about nurturing a lifelong love of learning in both children and adults, developing leadership potential and creating an educational climate that offers opportunities to improve outcomes for all. She believes that education is the key to unlocking potential and addressing inequality.
Her training is fun, engaging, practical and stimulating, encouraging a growth mindset. She is a qualified teacher, senior leader, head teacher and improvement advisor who has worked both in the independent and state sectors with extensive experience of EYFS, KS1, KS2 and KS3. This experience enables Melody to work with a diverse range of settings on improving the quality of teaching, unlocking the potential of your school and developing the capacity from within. Her post graduate studies ensure that Melody’s training is backed by strong research skills which then translate into practical talk-led collaborative activities that lead to transformational change.
She currently travels extensively both in the UK and internationally supporting schools to develop innovation, both in leadership and curriculum, and evolve into a flagship 21st century school. Melody can also deliver Safeguarding training up to Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Level 3.
Rick Sellers is a Loughborough graduate who taught in Independent schools for 39 years, including 30 years at Bristol Grammar School. A former Director of Sport, his final role was Assistant Head in Charge of Co-Curricular provision and Parental Engagement. He has always been a passionate advocate of the educational value of co-curricular activities ad was one of the UK’s earliest holders of this role.
As Principal of The Teaching Assistant College, Eva has led a team of trainers, tutors and consultants delivering in schools and early years settings in over 50 countries. She has worked closely with the awarding body CACHE (Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education) to write and consult on qualifications and has great pleasure in being able to share a programme specifically designed for Early Years practitioners in NABSS schools at the conference.
In his role as a senior leader of an outstanding inner city primary school, James Clements helped develop effective reading provision and was consulted on the new National Curriculum for primary schools. James Clements was also a local authority Lead Teacher, leading training, and supporting teaching and learning across numerous schools.
James is now an English adviser, supporting schools and local authorities to develop the teaching of reading, writing and drama. He is the creative director of Shakespeare and More, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes effective English teaching. He is also the author of the Building an Outstanding Reading School Pathway, one of a number of Pathways at the heart of Oxford Owl, which provide a unique new four-step approach to effective school improvement.
An outspoken advocate of reading for pleasure, James has also authored the Building an Outstanding Reading School Report, which lays out six clear strategies for making reading for pleasure work in schools.
Mark Wilson has worked in the field of education in Spain for over 30 years. He specialises in assessment and vocational training, working closely now with schools and colleges across Spain as well as Portugal and France, in order to help them diversify their curricula and introduce or extend skills-based models of teaching and assessing. Mark holds an MA in Language Testing and Development from Lancaster University.
Former teacher and education consultant, Katie Harrison founded Picture News in 2016. A way of providing a current and thought-provoking resources Picture News uses engaging images and ‘big questions’ to challenge and inspire children using a different news focus every week.
More than 2,500 UK schools rely on GDPRiS to monitor and manage their compliance with data protection laws. GDPRiS equips school staff with the knowledge and confidence to handle personal data securely and reassurance that they are doing everything they can to help protect the children in their care.
