PAST CONFERENCES

Valencia 2024 NABSS Conference

“Futures”

The National Association of British Schools in Spain will hold its 46^th Annual Conference from 7^th to 10^th March in Valencia.

The programme will commence on Thursday 7^th March with our Gala Dinner for Heads, Owners and Guests at the Oceanogràfic – an ideal introduction to our event and to the delights of the Valencia area. The following day, Friday 8^th March, which is dedicated to heads and owners of schools, will include the opening ceremony and tour of the Education Exhibition followed by presentations from our Keynote Speakers.

There will be an interesting programme of professional development for senior leaders and teachers, ensuring that we are well informed and kept up to date with the latest developments, reforms and trends in education.

We have programmed our Annual General Meeting for the representatives of our schools on Saturday 9^th March.

The second part of the conference, on Saturday 9^th March, will give the opportunity for participants (heads, owners, and teachers) from all our member schools to enjoy some inspiring keynote presentations as every year.

Once again, our Education Exhibition will form an important part of the conference. Heads, owners, and staff from the 84 member schools will meet in Valencia for an extended weekend of professional development and networking focused on British education in Spain.

Gala dinner

Guest Speakers

AGM

Workshops

Exhibitions

Awards

Programme

Thursday 7th March 2024

19.15 Buses leave the hotel
19.45 Welcome Cocktail (Restaurante Submarino at the Oceanographic Valencia)
20.45 Gala Dinner (Restaurante Submarino at the Oceanographic Valencia)
23.00 Buses return to the hotel

Friday 8th March 2024

09.00 to 10.00 Registration of School representatives attending AGM. (Meliá Meeting 1+2+3)
10.00 to 10.30 Official Opening of conference (Meliá Meeting 1+2+3)
His Excellency the British Ambassador to Spain – Hugh Elliott
10.30 to 11.00 Visit to Exhibition (Salón Terra)
11.00 to 11.30 Coffee (Salón Terra)

Keynote speakers

11.30 to 12.30 Keynote Speech: “The leadership imperative” Professor Mick Waters (Meliá Meeting 1+2+3)
12.30 to 13.30 Keynote Speech: “Must Have a Good Sense of Humour” Stephanie Davies (Meliá Meeting 1+2+3)
13.30 to 15.00 Lunch (Salón Terra)
16.00 to 18.00 Workshop: “Practical Safeguarding and Establishing & Maintaining an SCR” (Meliá Meeting 1+2+3)
16.30 to 19.00 Visit to the exhibition of ‘Ninots’ in the Museo de las Artes y de las Ciencias
19.00 to 20.00 Cocktail in the exhibition room (Salón Terra)

Saturday 9th March 2024

School representatives

09.30 to 10.00 Registration for AGM (Salón Valentia B)
10.00 to 11.45 AGM (first part) (Salón Valentia B)
11.45 to 12.00 Coffee break & visit to exhibition (Salón Terra)
12.00 to 14.00 AGM (second part) (Salón Valentia B)
14.00 to 15.00 Lunch (Salón Terra)

Keynote speakers

15.00 to 15.45 Keynote Speech: “How can we shape a future in which learners flourish and learning and assessment supports wellbeing and educational success?” Sarah Hughes (Salón Valentia B)
15.45 to 16.30 Keynote Speech: “Learning and Assessment in the Information Age” Les Hopper (Salón Valentia B)

Professional Development Workshops 08.45 to 16.00

Training course 1: “Building the Communication Skills, Oracy, Wellbeing and Creativity of Young Children and The Adults Who Work With Them” Jenny Mosley (Meliá Meeting 1)
Training course 2: “Shinng a Light on Literacy: Practical approaches to teaching Literacy in the Primary Classroom” Wendy Delf (Meliá Meeting 2)
Training course 3: “Doing What Works: A toolkit of practical strategies to create and sustain a culture of engagement and progress for all” Claire Gadsby (Meliá Meeting 3)
Training course 4: “Learning Focused Leadership – Leading a Positive Culture to Impact Learning” Helen O’Donoghue (Meliá Meeting 4)
Training course 5: “Finding the Fizz – Ensuring All Learners are Ready, Prepared and Excited for Learning” Nina Jackson (Meliá Meeting 5)
Training course 6: “Botheredness: A Reverie in Making Learning Matter” Hywel Roberts (Meliá Meeting 6)
Training course 7: “Changing the Culture – How to Maximise Happiness and Wellbeing and Improve Performance” Andrew Hampton (Meliá Meeting 9)
Training course 8: “Successful Games Teaching in Primary PE” Lesley Minervini (Meliá Meeting 11)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON PROGRAMME FOR ALL DELEGATES

Breakout sessions:

16.30 – 17.30 A series of breakout sessions open to all delegates.
Beautiful Mind: Giving Young People the Skills Needed to Thrive in an Uncertain World – Dr. Beau Lotto and Dave Strudwick
How do we Ensure the Future of Education is Fair for All? – Jamie Kirkaldy
Bringing Education into the AI Era – Ovi Barceló
Using AI to Create Content – Julian Watkiss
Online Safety and Anti Cyber Bullying – Patrick Fogarty
Being Calm in Chaos – Anita Kliejn
Understanding your Spanish pension and how to boost your UK pension at minimal cost! – Paul Roberts
18.00 Cocktail and presentation of awards (Salón Terra)

Sunday 10th March 2024

School representatives

09.00 – 10.30 Updates from our Legal, Safeguarding and Data Protection Advisors – part 1 (Salón Valentia B)
10.30 – 10.45 Coffee break & visit to exhibition (Salón Terra)
10.45 – 11.45 Updates from our Legal, Safeguarding and Data Protection Advisors – part 2 (Salón Valentia B)

Professional Development Workshops 09.00 to 11.45

Training course 1: “Building the Communication Skills, Oracy, Wellbeing and Creativity of Young Children and The Adults Who Work With Them” Jenny Mosley (Meliá Meeting 1)
Training course 2: “Shinng a Light on Literacy: Practical approaches to teaching Literacy in the Primary Classroom” Wendy Delf (Meliá Meeting 2)
Training course 3: “Doing What Works: A toolkit of practical strategies to create and sustain a culture of engagement and progress for all” Claire Gadsby (Meliá Meeting 3)
Training course 4: “Learning Focused Leadership – Leading a Positive Culture to Impact Learning” Helen O’Donoghue (Meliá Meeting 4)
Training course 5: “Finding the Fizz – Ensuring All Learners are Ready, Prepared and Excited for Learning” Nina Jackson (Meliá Meeting 5)
Training course 6: “Botheredness: A Reverie in Making Learning Matter” Hywel Roberts (Meliá Meeting 6)
Training course 7: “Changing the Culture – How to Maximise Happiness and Wellbeing and Improve Performance” Andrew Hampton (Meliá Meeting 9)
Training course 8: “Successful Games Teaching in Primary PE” Lesley Minervini (Meliá Meeting 11)

12.00 END OF CONFERENCE

Valencia

On the east coast of Spain, is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona. Its urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 1.5–1.6 million people. Valencia is Spain’s third largest metropolitan area and its Port is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea.

Meliá Valencia Hotel Elegance and Soul, a superb hotel in the city’s up and coming area

The magnificent convention centre, the comfortable rooms and a strategic location next to the Valencia Congress Centre make the Meliá Valencia one of the leading hotels in the city.

Located in a fashionable area next to the Palacio de Congresos de Valencia, it is the tallest building in the city and surrounded by a great gastronomic and leisure offer. Enjoy the modernity and distinction of its facilities and visit any point of the city of Turia.

Museo Fallero “Saved from the flames”

The Ninots saved from burning each year by popular vote are displayed in this museum.

The collection consists of all the figures “NINOTS” (polystyrene puppets made in occasion during Valencia most famous festival called “Fallas”) saved from the fire by popular vote since 1934. You can also see posters of the Fallas and photographs of related subjects that honour this great festival of the city which constitute the history of a festival declared to be of International Tourist Interest.

INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS

Hatton Events, S.L.L. – CALLE PRINCESA 22, 2º DCHA. 28008 MADRID

Telephone 0034 91 000 60 10 (Spanish – José Luis Jiménez) – 0034 607 66 66 82 (English- Alberto de Diego)

joseluis.jimenez@hattonevents.com

Guest speakers

Hugh Elliott

Hugh Elliott joined the Diplomatic Service in 1989. Since August 2019, he is HM Ambassador to Spain and Andorra. Hugh joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1989. A specialist in the EU and the Hispanic world, he has served in a variety of roles in London and at British Embassies overseas. He first worked at the British Embassy in Madrid from 1991 to 1996, covering EU and economic issues. He then served from 1999 to 2002 in Buenos Aires, working on economic and political issues, and from 2002 to 2006 in Paris, working on global issues and strategic threats.

From 2006 to 2013, he worked at Anglo American plc, a diversified global mining company, where he was global Head of Government Relations, and where he worked extensively in Latin America, among other regions. He returned to the FCO in 2013 to take up the position of Director of Communication, responsible for the FCO’s internal and external communication and public diplomacy work.

From 2017 he served as Director for Europe, then Director for International Agreements in the FCO and until this year as Director of Communications and Stakeholders at the Department for Exiting the European Union. Hugh has served in a voluntary capacity as a Trustee of the British Spanish Society and as a Trustee, then Chairman of Canning House, the UK´s centre for Latin America and Iberia. Hugh read Modern and Medieval Languages at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Mª del Ángel Muñoz

She began her career in the educational world as a Secondary Education Teacher in 1996. In 2006 she joined the Corps of Education Inspectors. She has been Head of Inspection Service in the Community of Madrid.

She has also worked in different positions in the Ministry of Education: as Advisory Member in the Cabinet of the Secretary of State for Education, Vocational Training and Universities; as Deputy General Director of Centers, Inspection and Programs and, currently, she is Director General of Educational Planning and Management.

Keynote Speakers

Mick Waters

Mick Waters works with the schools in several parts of the UK and abroad. His previous work at Wolverhampton University with the Black Country Challenge has extended and developed innovative approaches to learning and initiatives to push the boundaries for making learning better. During his career, Mick has been a teacher and head teacher before working at senior levels in Birmingham and Manchester Local Authorities. He worked at a national level with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority where he was Director of Curriculum. Over several years he has been asked to work in countries across the globe either with national governments or directly with schools to develop revised policy and practice for leadership, governance and classroom teaching.

Success in schooling is driven by a good curriculum, driven by strong pedagogy. This session will consider the way effective leadership enables all staff to exploit learning to the benefit of pupils.

Stephanie Davies

Stephanie Davies is recognised as one of the UK’s leading voices in the psychology of laughter and humour. She has extensive experience in developing interventions that have been applied in a variety of settings, including schools, dealing with mental health issues and helping to build effective teams. She is also an award winning comedian whose work explores the relationship between health, humour, community and the arts. In fact, so committed is Stephanie to helping schools understand how important laughter and happiness is to well-being, community cohesion and improving school results, she even inaugurated the first ever School Happiness Awards, celebrating teachers, teaching assistants, school leaders, support staff and school communities who put happiness at the heart of all they do. She is also the founder of Laughology, a training and consulting organisation built around the psychology of humour, laughter and happiness.

Sarah Hughes

Sarah is a qualified teacher and holds a Master’s in Education from Cambridge University. She started her research career in Cambridge Assessment nearly 30 years ago by considering the question ‘What makes exam questions difficult’, for which she used her background in Psychology. She currently leads the Research and Thought Leadership in the Digital High Stakes team in Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Her particular research interests are in digital assessment with an emphasis on validity. She currently carries out and applies research to support assessment practitioners developing and quality assuring digital assessments. She is passionate about applying research to influence decision making and policy and is building expertise in providing timely and relevant research evidence to practitioners in agile working environments.

Les Hopper

Les Hopper is the Product Director at Pearson. He has nearly 20 years’ experience working with educators, technologists and academics to produce market leading learning solutions. He is passionate about the power of education to change lives, and the potential that technology offers to support a high-quality education. Les currently works as Product Director covering Digital and Assessment, qualifications and publishing for Pearson’s UK business.

Justine Brown

Justine Brown is Head of Educational Compliance supporting Cognita schools in Spain and Italy with the practical implementation and management of Health and Safety, Safeguarding, Educational Visits and Data Protection policies and procedures.

Born in the UK, Justine has lived and worked in Spain for nearly 35 years. Following a couple of years of language teaching, she was one of the founding teachers at El Limonar International School in Murcia. She was Principal at El Limonar International School Villamartín from 2012 to 2017 during which time she completed an MEd in Educational Leadership, before transferring to the Cognita regional office.
Her first-hand experience of working in and leading schools has been invaluable in assisting other schools as they integrate into the group.

Claudia Ortiz

Claudia Ortiz, Head of Human Resources for Cognita schools in Spain and Italy, was born in Barcelona but is currently based in Madrid. She holds a Degree in Psychology and a Masters Degree in Human Resources from the University of Barcelona.

Her career began as a Clinical Psychologist at the Hospital Sant Juan de Dios, where she worked with children who had experienced abuse. Claudia later transitioned to Human Resources at Stanley Black & Decker where, over 7 years, she took on diverse roles across multiple countries and participated in their Leadership Programme.

In October 2022, Claudia arrived at Cognita, where she works closely with all the schools. Her goal is to make Cognita a great place to work, where employees feel happy and valued.

Training Course Presenters

Jenny Mosley

Jenny Mosley is renowned nationally and internationally as a key UK trainer,
educational consultant and prolific author. Her unique ‘Golden Model’, interweaves key ideas and is underpinned by theory and experience. This model promotes staff and pupil wellbeing, listening systems, positive values and social times. These outcomes help early years settings and schools create safe, supportive and inclusive learning communities where children and adults feel safe, respected and listened to.

For 45 years, Jenny has been in demand for inspiring and unique talks, conferences and workshops, covering areas of expertise within staffrooms, early years settings, classrooms, dining halls and playgrounds. Her books have received worldwide acclaim and internationally, her Whole School Approach to Wellbeing and Positive Relationships has proved time and again to embed and flourish successfully within many cultures.

Wendy Delf

Wendy has a wealth of experience in education over the last thirty years, including working as an English teacher and school leader in secondary education. She has also worked as a Senior Adviser in a Local Education Authority where she supported teachers and leaders of English in primary schools and led a team of teachers who took part in county wide KS1 and KS2 moderation visits. During her time as an adviser, she also had the opportunity to work with the Department for Education as part of the NCA Reference Group (Standards and Testing Agency – Stakeholder forum) and as an Ofsted inspector. Wendy has provided school and system wide training through Professor John Hattie’s Visible Learning Plus programme with Osiris Education. She is the Lead Licensed Visible Learning UK trainer, working with schools across the UK and internationally, including Spain and the Netherlands. Wendy also has extensive experience supporting leaders in primary and secondary schools through school improvement partnerships and through bespoke training for middle and senior leaders. She has also delivered workshops this year on the national and international stage including hosting and presenting at Osiris’ World Education Summit, NABSS in Seville and alongside Professor John Hattie in London, Jersey, Scotland and Warwick. She also works with Bazalt Group in the Netherlands, delivering training to their team on the Visible Learning programme. Wendy is passionate about developing teacher and leadership skills so that collectively, we can maximise the outcomes for all our learners, and through teachers and leaders gaining a greater understanding of how their pupils learn.

Claire Gadbsy

Author of three widely selling books, Claire is an internationally renowned consultant, trainer and keynote speaker with more than 25 years of experience in education.

She has worked with hundreds of schools around the world to raise achievement and is currently supporting some of the most successful schools in the world. Claire believes passionately in ‘walking the talk.’ As well as supporting school Leaders, Claire also works with teachers in the classroom to build capacity by demonstrating her innovative pedagogies and approaches to assessment using her unique ‘Transformative Coaching’ model.

A leading expert on formative assessment, time-efficient feedback and learning environments, Claire strives to improve outcomes for all learners and to help teachers to work smarter not harder.

When she is not working with teachers, Claire is busy delivering her signature ‘Radical Revision’ Programme directly to students and their parents.

Helen O’Donoghue

Helen O’Donoghue is Director of Sunridge Associates, an educational training and consultancy company working with schools using their own context and setting to offer bespoke training and coaching. Helen draws on her experience of having worked in and led schools in the UK and internationally, using her first-hand experience to help schools to improve. She is an experienced educator with over thirty years of practice in the field, as a result of which she is a much soughtafter trainer, consultant, leadership coach and conference speaker. She has presented at the World Education Summit and the Festival of Education, held at Wellington College. Her leadership experience includes leading two IB World schools, opening two Free Schools in London and delivering bespoke training and consultancy to school leaders in the UK and in over 30 countries around the world. Helen works primarily with middle and senior leadership teams providing bespoke training on a range of areas including building trusted teams, having difficult conversations, developing a coaching culture in school, using data to improve learning and creating sustainable structures and systems to impact on learning. She works as an Ambassador for Leadership Matters, is a British Council Ambassador, a senior consultant with ICA, an IB workshop leader, a trainer with Osiris, a trainer with ISA, a former PGCE tutor with the University of Buckingham and a member of the Leaders Council based in the UK.

Nina Jackson

Education is a world of very special people but you will meet few as extra special as Nina ‘Ninja’ Jackson. Her work in the area of mental health and well-being has had an overwhelming impact on children, teachers and parents alike. She has rescued many who were on the brink of despair and given teachers the motivation to carry on when they nearly walked away from their careers. With a background in mainstream and special needs education and many years’ experiences in schools as a pedagogical and pastoral champion, Nina has a breath-taking grasp of what makes classrooms – and all the people in them – tick.

Hywel Roberts

Hywel’s reputation as an in-demand contributor to international conversations around leadership, learning, optimism, and hope, all wrapped up in a singular, easy to remember word: botheredness. Originally a teacher, Hywel contributes to the national conversation around learning and thinking at all levels and is a very highly regarded teller of stories and a raconteur. He is also a well- respected author and contributes regularly to a variety of publications.

Hywel attained a distinction in his Masters from Leeds Beckett University focussing on Poverty and Achievement. He also contributed to BBC Bitesize during the Pandemic of 2020 acting as a content provider and script doctor. His award-winning book ‘Oops! Getting Children to Learn Accidentally’ has proved very popular with educators and families around the world and now is a feature on the reading list of many university teacher training courses. The bestselling ‘Botheredness’ was published in 2023 to much acclaim.

Andrew Hampton

Andrew Hampton was a Headteacher in the independent sector in the UK from 2004 to 2021. He was the Chair of the Independent Schools Association in 2014-15 and a Director of the Independent Schools Inspectorate in 2017-2018. His work with girls in school includes being the founder and creator of the award-winning ‘Girls on Board’ programme, which has been adopted by over 1,000 schools globally. In March 2023, Routledge published Andrew’s latest book: ‘Working with Boys – creating cultures of mutual respect in schools’.

Lesley Minervini

Lesley Minervini is an Independent consultant, trainer and author with over 25 years of experience working in education. Lesley has worked with teachers throughout the UK and internationally. Lesley is well known for her passionate belief that all children should have the chance to reach their potential. This involves helping them develop, the right tools, attitudes and knowledge, through evidence informed learning opportunities. Since successfully completing the Professional Training of School Inspectors, Lesley has worked with a wide range of schools, and was praised by HMI for her work in supporting schools, in challenging circumstances, to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Lesley has a particular expertise in the area of physical education and has authored many nationally recognised resources in this field.

Lesley has a keen interest in cognitive science and how this can be used effectively in teaching, challenging teachers to reflect on their pedagogy and ensuring their practice is evidence informed.

Breakout Sessions Presenters

Dr. Beau Lotto

Bernard Fawcett is the International Manager for GL Assessment. After a career in control engineering Bernard became a teacher of Technology going on to lead a department and work as a Director of eLearning. During that time he also had responsibility for implementing a new management information system and using data more effectively. He has also worked as an examiner and moderator for a number of awarding bodies and worked with Pearson helping schools to design their curriculum to get the most from their BTEC qualifications.

Jamie Kirkaldy

Jamie Kirkaldy is OxfordAQA’s Head of Teaching and Learning Support, where he is responsible for supporting all schools teaching OxfordAQA International GCSEs and A-levels, including onboarding, teacher training and resources. Before joining OxfordAQA, Jamie was an English teacher for 11 years, including five years as Head of English at a large secondary school in Oxford, where he was also a member of the school’s Senior Leadership Team. He therefore has an insider’s understanding of the challenges schools and teachers face and is dedicated to supporting them.

James Matthews-Stroud

James Matthews-Stroud, currently a Senior External Moderator at UAL Awarding Body, brings over two decades of teaching expertise in the FE sector. He remains actively engaged in teaching, driven by his profound enthusiasm for vocational instruction in creative media. James’s commitment to innovation in education is unwavering; he constantly explores new methodologies to enrich learning experiences. By blending traditional teaching practices with contemporary approaches, he ensures students are equipped not just with technical skills but with the adaptability and creativity needed in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.

Ovi Barceló

After a 16-year career as a primary teacher and ICT coordinator of Grupo Sorolla in Valencia, Ovi became a Microsoft Innovative Teacher. Next, he took on responsibility for the educational community and private / subsidized schools of Microsoft Spain. He now works with colleagues and Microsoft Partners across the 10 countries of Western Europe as Modern Classroom Solution Specialist, ensuring that students and teachers using Microsoft technology have the best possible experience.

Patrick Fogarty

Patrick is the Founder and Director of International Workshops. Since International Workshops’ inception in 2016, the company has presented Workshops on Online Safety and Cyberbullying in person at over 500 Schools worldwide. Their unique style of having young musicians present to Students, means that students really connect with the message.

Parent & Teacher Workshops are presented by Patrick – for each Workshop Patricks brings experience of presenting at schools around the world, his work with various Online Charities and his Diplomas in Cyberpsychology, Music Management and Media Production.

Anita Kleijn

An authentic Wellbeing Educator with over 25 years’ experience working with all ages and cultures. Dedicated to cultivating the best in individuals. Positive, adaptable with a good sense of humor.

UK born and raised, Anita began her professional journey as a health & fitness presenter and teacher training facilitator for the YMCA’s training programme. Her passion for wellbeing led her to study positive psychology and become a certified Mindfulness Coach, Chopra Health Educator and Yoga Teacher.

Additionally, she is a qualified school teacher and has 11 years’ experience as the Wellbeing Coordinator and HS Counselor at Benjamin Franklin International School (Barcelona).

Anita creates and implements school wellbeing curriculums and leads workshops for students, teachers, leadership teams and parents.

She is a dedicated Wellbeing pioneer within education bringing simple and effective tools and strategies that prepare people to navigate our current world. Her aim is always to provide people with simple practices that connect them with each other, nature, and their own true nature.

Paul Roberts

Paul is a certified European Financial Adviser (EFPA 11884) with over 30 years’ experience in financial services both here and in the UK. I am a partner in Spectrum IFA Group, a 60 strong financial planning consultancy operating from 11 offices in 6 countries in Europe. My degree was in Business Economics and Accountancy.

Dave Strudwick

Dave Strudwick is former school leader and founder. His passion is for enabling young people and adults to create possibility as they find their way. He’s worked as a teacher and leader in mainstream and specialist settings in Europe, US, and China. Dave is an author with expertise in learning spaces, pedagogy, curriculum design and well-being. He co-created, with Beau, the projects which resulted in the world’s youngest published scientists – Blackawton Bees and the i,scientist programme at the National Science Museum in London.

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Conference Programming Competition

Workshops 2024

WORKSHOP ONE

BUILDING THE COMMUNICATION SKILLS, ORACY, WELLBEING AND CREATIVITY OF YOUNG CHILDREN AND THE ADULTS WHO WORK WITH THEM
08.45 to 16.00 – Saturday
09.00 to 11.45 – Sunday

Course Outline:

All practitioners working with children want to help them build resilience and emotional heath, and to improve their speaking, listening and creativity skills so that they can fully explore their environment and learn how to express themselves clearly.

This workshop will help you understand and use Jenny Mosley’s unique Golden Model and her Five Steps that enable early years practitioners to structure a rich and challenging, yet emotionally safe, environment that includes fair boundaries and vibrant circle times. To promote self-esteem and self-confidence in others we need to look after ourselves first.

Delegates will be encouraged to look at how we can become inspiring, emotionally intelligent role models for the children within our care. Are you truly a reflective practitioner developing your own skills and talents? As kindness is the key to positive relationships, we need to reflect upon whether we are being kind to ourselves and our team? Strong staff morale creates an ethos which can help us feel safe enough to become playful learners along with the children.

Course Outcomes:

How children are taught to practise the skills of thinking, looking, listening, speaking and concentrating through games specifically targeting each skill.
How to encourage all children to raise issues that matter to them and to listen to one another’s responses.
Children develop moral values and ‘golden hearts’ through the embedding of ‘Golden Rules’ as the basis ofgood relationships.
There is encouragement to uphold the values and routines through motivating, sparkly reward systems andcalm, fair boundaries.
Using puppets, ‘energisers’ and ‘magical metaphors’ we help children express their emotions, learn throughfun and build relationships and kindness.
Traditional games, both indoors and outdoors, are fabulous for children. They encourage turn-taking,positive relationships, working as a team and enjoying fun together.
Promoting self-esteem in the adults and children means we become reflective practitioners and inspiringrole models, promoting staff morale.
How we can all become playful learners alongside the children.

Jenny Mosley

WORKSHOP TWO

SHINING A LIGHT ON LITERACY: PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO TEACHING LITERACY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM
08.45 to 16.00 – Saturday
09.00 to 11.45 – Sunday

Course Overview:

Regardless of the curricula we teach, or the assessments we use, the fundamentals of teaching speaking and listening, reading, and writing are central to all primary classrooms. So how can we improve on the way we deliver and the way our pupils learn?

In this session we will explore the three key areas of literacy: speaking and listening, reading and writing, from a perspective of both the teacher and the learner, providing practical teaching approaches and learner engagement activities that can result in increased pupil engagement and progress.

The session will enable teachers to take away strategies and activities that they can adopt immediately as well as approaches to consider for their mid- and long-term planning.

Course Outcomes:

To develop a range of practical strategies for teachers and pupils to improve literacy in the classroom.
To explore the three key strands: speaking and listening, reading and writing and how we connect them, soour pupils become ‘readerly writers and writerly readers’.
To underpin our exploration through the research so we are confident about the impact these strategies canhave on our teaching and pupils’ learning.
To provide opportunities to apply what we learn to our own phase of teaching.
To reflect on our own practice and share the practice of others.

Wendy Delf

WORKSHOP THREE

DOING WHAT WORKS: A TOOLKIT OF PRACTICAL STRATEGIES TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN A CULTURE OF PROGRESS AND ATTAINMENT FOR ALL
08.45 to 16.00 – Saturday
09.00 to 11.45 – Sunday

Course Overview:

In this highly interactive workshop, delegates will experience a range of strategies that Claire uses in her work supporting some of the world’s most successful schools.

The aim is to move teachers from “inspiration to implementation”; teachers are busy people and need concrete, practical strategies and resources that they can use immediately to enhance learning and Claire prides herself on being able to provide such ‘low prep but high impact’ approaches.

The average lesson in the UK is made up of approximately 70% teacher talk and, as the saying goes, ‘classrooms are the places where pupils go to watch teachers working hard!’ Claire can show you how to re-address the balance and make sure that lessons are not only inspiring but that teachers really are working smarter not harder.

Course Outcomes:

Participants will learn how to:

focus teacher energy on the specific areas proven to have the biggest impact on learning.
easily maximise the impact of the physical learning environment to boost progress.
create a culture of challenge and choice in which students are working harder than their teachers!

Claire Gadsby

WORKSHOP FOUR

LEARNING FOCUSED LEADERSHIP – THE ESSENTIAL TOOLKIT FOR ASPIRING AND NEW MIDDLE LEADERS
08.45 to 16.00 – Saturday
09.00 to 11.45 – Sunday

Course Overview:

Becoming a middle leader for the very first time can be a daunting first step of leadership, as the role and responsibilities undertaken have a broader scope than a class role and responsibility. During this workshop participants will have the opportunity to increase their knowledge, develop their leadership skills and deepen their understanding of what it means to be a middle leader.

Focusing on what is relevant to their role in their school as a middle leader and how they can contribute to the ethos and culture of the school and so positively impact learning. As a result of attending this course participants will leave feeling more confident in their role as a middle leader and more able to lead and manage with greater clarity in their area or sphere of responsibility, armed with a toolkit of strategies to impact learning.

Course Outcomes:

Participants will:

be able to differentiate between leadership and management and have developed their own sense of “why” when considering vision.
have explored their understanding of “self” through the personal qualities needed to be a middle leader and to how to build resilience and humility.
learn about Goleman’s Leadership Styles, what style to use when to be most effective and why.
know more about building teams around the theme of “Positive Intent” and know the crucial role played bytrust in building teams and the importance of communication when getting the best from their team.
have the opportunity to learn how to hold “difficult” accountable conversations, develop theirunderstanding of collective and responsible accountability.
Learn how to chair meetings that are effective and efficient, bringing out the best in colleagues andcommunicating a shared vision around impact on student learning.
have the opportunity to reflect on how to use their time, energy and resource more effectively andefficiently through a leadership toolkit.

Helen O’Donoghue

WORKSHOP Five

FINDING THE FIZZ: THE FUTURE OF TEACHING, LEARNING & SHERBET LEMONS
08.45 to 16.00 – Saturday
09.00 to 11.45 – Sunday

Course Overview:

Nina Jackson will take you on a journey of practical strategies to meet the needs of our 21st Century Learners. In a world of ever changing educational policies and practices, it is the unique world of the child, growing, learning and experiencing the world with different learning experiences which counts. Data, tests and exams does not a great learner make.

‘Of Teaching, Learning & Sherbet Lemons’ is what education, schools, teaching and learning is all about. We need the solid exterior – the rigour, the rules, the systems and the structures – to make everything work. Getting through the hard shell makes going in search of the fizzy centre that much more satisfying, and it is here, at the core of teaching and learning, where the most magical things take place, where the real fizz happens.

This is the part that really makes everything worthwhile – the chemical reaction that produces outstanding, innovative and motivational teaching and learning for everyone in our classrooms, not just the few. And fizzy teaching and learning is great. It’s exciting, it wakes you up and, boy, does it give you some zing. Nina Jackson will inspire you to be the best you can be and ways to help children and young people find their fizz in learning.

Course Outcomes:

During this session together we will:

Explore the pedagogical tools needed to meet all learners from the More Able, Talented and Gifted to learners whohave additional learning needs.
Be able to use tools, strategies and opportunities to engage and inspire all learners to experience the ‘fizz’ and magicof learning.
Develop systems to integrate effective, simple and adaptive ways to use digital technology in your daily teachingwithout exhausting educators.
Explore and create opportunities for all students to have accessible systems to access learning.
Integrate the importance of wellbeing for learning as well as cognitive processing and be able to reflect on theirlearning as well as the learning of others
Use differentiated tools so that every learner has an unique experience. This will help them find their ‘fizz’ andexcitement for learning.
Discuss, debate and find simple, yet effective ways of integrating AI into your learning and teaching without exhaustingeducators.
Have a better understanding of how to develop creativity, awe and wonder in lessons.
PLEASE ENSURE YOU BRING A PORTABLE DIGITAL DEVICE TO THIS SESSION AS WE WILL BE EXPLORING SOME EXCITINGTOOLS AND SHARING OUR LEARNING IN REAL TIME.

Nina Jackson

WORKSHOP six

BOTHEREDNESS: A REVERIE IN MAKING LEARNING MATTER
08.45 to 16.00 – Saturday
09.00 to 11.45 – Sunday

Course Overview:

Based on the bestselling teacher book ‘Botheredness’, this course will offer a high speed rollercoaster ride focusing on getting children talking, thinking and writing about what they’re learning! Getting them bothered!

This course will inspire teachers to reclaim their professional imagination and reignite the excitement they felt when they entered the teaching profession. It’s about botheredness – a made-up word that everyone understands – a word that Hywel uses to sum up the kind of authentic care and adult positioning that is real and deliberate and gets young people on board with learning. Hywel sets out to help teachers enhance their understanding of what it means to lead learning and thinking, to stand beside children as well as in front of them, whilst developing their knowledge acquisition with compassion, warmth and optimism.

Course Outcomes:

We will explore:

Developing our pedagogical toolkit
Using narrative and context to drive learning and thinking
Developing motivation by moving children from engagement to investment
Understanding creativity
The Botheredness Wheel of people, place and problem and how it might support our planning
Strategies to harness our own professional imaginations whilst maintaining professional integrity
Making the mundane irresistible – avoiding the pedagogy of poverty and embracing a pedagogy of power Practical examples to take back to the classroom straight away
Nothing weird!

Hywel Roberts

WORKSHOP seven

CHANGING THE CULTURE – HOW TO MAXIMISE HAPPINESS AND WELLBEING AND IMPROVE PERFORMANCE
08.45 to 16.00 – Saturday
09.00 to 11.45 – Sunday

Course Overview:

Friendship is an essential element in the lives of all humans. Finding trusting and reliable friendships is not always easy and pupils in school whose friendships are not harmonious will be unhappy and will under-achieve. The ways girls and boys form friendships are different and so this course divides its time between looking at how we can best support girls and boys discreetly.

The course dives deep into the psychological and atavistic forces that drive behaviours and social connections and focuses on ways in which schools can guide pupils’ relational cultures. Supporting girls when they fall out with each other can be complex and nuanced. The course will teach delegates the best ways to empower girls to navigate the sometimes choppy waters of friendships for themselves.

When the dominant version of masculinity in a boy cohort becomes sour and over-sexualised they can get lost in a mire of hierarchical turbulence leading to poor communication, low academic achievement and even sexual harassment. The course will introduce delegates to a programme of study which will guide the relational cultures of boys to become gentle and dignified.

Course Outcomes:

Delegates will have a raft of proven strategies to take back to their schools which can bring about radical and lasting change in the relational cultures of both boys and girls in their school.

Andrew Hampton

WORKSHOP eight

SUCCESSFUL GAMES TEACHING IN PRIMARY PE
08.45 to 16.00 – Saturday
09.00 to 11.45 – Sunday

Course Overview:

This course is suitable for both specialist and non-specialist primary and secondary teachers who work in early years and the primary phase. It will provide a range of fun physical development activities, giving children the firm foundations they need, to become Physically Literate and able to access Physical Education and Sport in later years.

This course will focus on two key aspects of Physical Education:

Ensuring the development of firm foundations to enable children to succeed in all areas.
Building on these foundations to enable success in Games.

Often whilst teaching games, the focus is on developing the pre requisite physical skills whilst hoping that children will almost “absorb” tactical awareness. Research shows us that is not the case. Tactics should be “taught not caught.” This course will enable teachers to analyse and develop the physical and decision-making skills essential for enjoyable and effective engagement in games, in a developmentally appropriate way.

The session will make you re-evaluate the way you teach games, ensuring all the essential building blocks are in place to help students achieve.

Course Outcomes:

Understanding the importance of movement and play in child development.
Creating an environment for children to explore and consolidate movement skills.
Building the skills of locomotion, stability and object control in a developmentally appropriate way.
Pedagogical approaches to developing Physical Literacy.
The physical and decision-making skills involved in different types of games.
Progressing from fundamental movement skills into games and activities.
The importance of progression in cognitive skills alongside physical skills.
Pedagogical approaches to the teaching of games.
STEP Principles to adapt games to include and challenge all students.

Lesley Miniveri