Leaders' conferences

Wow! What a fantastic couple of days we had at our leaders' conferences last week, both at the Bath & West Showground near Shepton Mallet.

These were two inspirational and fun days when Headteachers and Senior Leaders came together to learn, bond, and they left buzzing with ideas to take back to the classroom.

Our speakers, as ever, were first rate as you can read from the comments below.

The Academy Leaders' Day had 32 attendees who enjoyed presentations from 3 Independent Thinking speakers, and Chaired by Dave Harris. Dave Whitaker started the day talking about ‘being kind’ and ‘creating a relational culture in schools’. After a short break, Alison Kriel led a session on being authentic. Hywel Roberts concluded the presentations by talking about ‘botheredness: reveries in making learning matter’. Attendees were gifted a notebook, pen and information on our updated Education Strategy (see below). Not only this but they also had the opportunity to purchase the talented works of our speakers from the Crown Publishing bookstall.

At the Senior Leaders' Day there were 31 attendees, a mixture of Assistant/Deputy Heads and senior teachers. Colleagues enjoyed Dave Whitaker's presentation on ‘being kind’ and ‘creating a relational culture in schools’, and Alison Kriel's session on being authentic. Dave Harris concluded the day, talking about 'brave leadership'.

Comments

Academy Leaders’ Day – Thurs 28 Sept

When asked, what was the most useful aspect of the Academy Leaders’ Day, our Heads said:

“Insightful teaching and brave leadership”

“Inspirational speakers but rooted in actual experiences”

“Food for thought to make small changes in school”

“Time to listen and reflect”

“Dave Whitaker’s talk on being kind, some great practical tips and leadership strategies”

“Speakers with broad focus”

“Focus on unconditional positive regard and how our teams can make learning matter to those children hardest to reach”

“The different frameworks for interpreting relationships”

“Lots to take back to school and share with staff”

“Stand up for values, building relationships, creative curriculum”

“Allowing authenticity as a leader and allowing teachers to be authentic”

“Wider thinking around our values and how we meet the needs of all our children”

“Real life examples of proven success”

“Loved listening to Hywel and his curriculum approach”

Senior Leaders’ Day – Fri 29 Sept

When asked, what was the most useful aspect of the Senior Leaders’ Day, our Leaders said:

“Reminders by the speakers of the key ideas and thinking about the purpose of education”

“Kindness was really aspirational”

“Dave Whitaker was very thought-provoking”

“Being Kind – unconditional positive regard, types of stress, regulate, relate, repair. Being Authentic – don’t suppress until you erupt, and everyone should belong. Being Brave – values at the heart of everything”

“It’s great to hear passionate speakers and therefore want to reflect on my own practice”

“Discussions around behaviour in Dave Whitaker’s session – we need to review our behaviour policy and Dave gave some great food for thought!”

“The focus on personal values and how this affects my work/school life”

“Chance to think about what we do well and how to move forward”

“Developing authentic engagement and discussions about revenge-seeking behaviours”