Friday 24th November

9 am - 4 pm

The clock is ticking...

Don't miss out on 2022 prices!

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What delegates said last year...

It was a wonderful way to end a difficult week in school. Inspirational speakers and time to reflect on the wonderful opportunities we have to support students and adults we work with to flourish.

A very inspiring day, thank you.

A really enjoyable day - and the first conference I can recall where we were all still present and engaged right to the end, especially on a Friday! Testament to the superb speakers and good organisation. Thank you for a lovely day.

As my first conference visit - thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you

Thankyou for organising such a relevant and thought provoking day.

Splendidly varied sessions; informative and uplifting.

It was a brilliant conference, and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. Thank you

It was a very inspirational day. What a wonderful day to be part of.

Thank you for an excellent conference. Great to spend time with colleagues, to take part in the pupil-led worship and to hear from the excellent speakers.

A lovely day and it was an excellent opportunity to network with others

Our keynote speakers for 2023

Dame Rachel de Souza, DBE

The Children's Commissioner for England

Dame Rachel is a nationally recognised educator and advocate for improving the life chances of disadvantaged children. Before her appointment as Children’s Commissioner, she led two schools from failing to outstanding, before founding and leading the Inspiration Trust, a family of fourteen schools in East Anglia. The Trust was twice ranked as the nation’s top group of comprehensive schools based on pupil progress at GCSE. Dame Rachel was appointed Children’s Commissioner in 2021. In this role she has unique legislative powers, is an advocate for children across the country, and represents children’s needs across Government. In role, Dame Rachel has completed the largest-ever survey of children ‘The Big Ask’ with over half-a-million responses. This work led to a commission from Government to look at representing children’s voice in the Online Safety Bill, an ongoing piece of work into driving up attendance in schools and was asked to complete the Family Review by Government. Dame Rachel was awarded a DBE for services to education in 2014.

Maggie Farrar, CBE

Author and Leadership Consultant

Maggie has worked in London and Birmingham in senior leadership positions in schools and local authorities. She was the Director for Leadership Development, Research and Succession Planning at the National College for School Leadership in England and interim Chief Executive. Maggie has been instrumental in the development of a school led self improving system in England and has led the design and development of leadership programmes that support the growth of system leadership and the development of cluster-based collaborative approaches to school improvement. Maggie is currently working with over 1,700 schools on a national model of peer review and school collaborative self-improvement in England with the Education Development Trust. She is also supporting the development of the National Academy of Educational Leadership in Wales, with particular reference to their leadership wellbeing strategy. Maggie is also a leadership coach to a number of leaders and senior leadership teams. Maggie is a Trustee of L.E.A.D. Academy Trust and The Story Museum, Oxford; a museum dedicated to the power of story to change lives. Maggie was awarded a CBE for services to education in 1984 and is the author of Leading with Presence; it's an inside job.

John Bell

Broadcaster and Hymn Writer

John was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland. He graduated in both Arts and Theology at Glasgow University, and before ordination worked in voluntary capacities in London and Amsterdam. His first appointments were in youth work. Since 1987 he has been employed by the Iona Community as a resource worker in the areas of spirituality, liturgy, and social justice. His most recent non-musical publications are Living with The Psalms and The Long and the Short of It. He lectures and teaches across the denominations and across the globe and is the recipient of a number of honorary awards including two fellowships and a doctorate. He is a frequent broadcaster, and often presents programmes on the BBC. He is a regular contributor to "Thought for the Day", part of Radio 4's Today programme.

The Rt Revd Smitha Prasadam

Bishop of Huddersfield

Born into the Church of South India, and nurtured in parishes all over the UK, Smitha is the first Indian woman bishop in the Church of England. Her mother was the first Indian woman priest. She loves language, literature, liturgy and singing hymns (especially in Welsh). Her husband’s vocation as a teacher and headteacher in primary education has brought great synergy and delight in encouraging young people to flourish and grow. She is no stranger to school assemblies or class teaching and has set up Messy Church and Prayer Spaces in schools. Joint enterprise with civic partners and businesses has enabled her to reimagine and provide for projects, pageants and exhibitions involving young people, elders and the wider community. As Bishop's Adviser, Smitha initiated the Racial Justice Working Group in the Diocese of Europe. As a member of the Archbishop's Transformations Steering Group, she championed women's vocational pathways. Bishop Smitha was consecrated as Bishop of Huddersfield in June 2023. Her appointment as an Area Bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Leeds marks a return to Yorkshire for Smitha who once studied English Literature and Linguistics at the College of Ripon and York St John (University of Leeds). She was for many years a teacher and examiner for the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) and Trinity College London, prior to ministry.

Jamie McDonald

World-record-holding adventurer, bestselling author and co-founder of the Superhero Foundation

As a child, Jamie spent the first nine years of his life in hospital with a rare spinal condition, syringomyelia. In 2012 Jamie began an adventurous fundraising quest to give back to the hospitals that helped him as a child by cycling 14,000 miles from Bangkok to Gloucester. Using a second-hand bike bought for just £50, Jamie cycled through more than twenty countries on his way home. Along the way, he was shot at when caught in the middle of a military firefight, arrested by wary border police, and slept rough. Just weeks after returning to Gloucester, Jamie decided to attempt the world record for cycling non-stop on a static bike. Jamie stepped off the bike as the Marathon Static Cycling – Guinness World Record holder. Cycling for more than 12 days, he raised more than £20,000 during the two challenges. In February 2013, two months after setting the new world record, Jamie used his savings to travel to Canada where he continued his fundraising efforts, again for the children’s charities that helped him as a child. Jamie ran 5,000 miles (equivalent to 200 marathons), across Canada without a support crew – raising more than a £250,000 along the way. Recently, Jamie was a finalist on the Pride of Britain for ‘Fundraiser of the Year’, has featured on Surprise Surprise and was voted one of The Independent’s top 100 happiest people in the UK.

The venue

The Queens Hotel

City Square, Leeds LS1 1PJ

We are delighted to be returning to the Queens Hotel in Leeds which is ideally positioned right next to train and bus links.
Find out more about The Queens Hotel

SPECIAL OFFER

Bring your team and save £98!

Yes, that is right! We have a multi-ticket offer so you can come as a group of three leaders in your school and save almost £100.