Our Education Team recently hosted our annual School Leaders’ Conference, on the theme of ‘Seeking Justice, Embracing Equity’.
The conference in Leeds on Friday, November 8, brought together people from schools across the whole diocese to hear from a range of speakers and exhibitors.
In the morning attendees heard from Marc Rowland, an adviser for Unity Schools Partnership, who support efforts to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
Marc is the author of ‘Addressing Educational Disadvantage: An Updated Practical Guide to the Pupil Premium’, and ‘Learning without Labels’, and spoke about how schools can support disadvantaged pupils to thrive in school.
The conference then heard from Gary Aubin, author and leader on a national SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) School Improvement programme with Whole Education.
Gary spoke about how to explore and use the evidence around teaching SEND pupils, to deliver the highest quality teaching.
During the morning coffee break attendees had a chance to explore stands from several exhibitors, covering fields such as environmental education, collective worship, human resources and growing faith at the intersection between schools, homes and churches.
After the break the conference heard from Jeffrey Boakye, a writer, speaker, author and educator specializing in race, masculinity, education and pop-culture.
Formerly an English teacher, Jeffrey now trains schools and organizations on race, identity, masculinity and education, as well as being a Senior Teaching Fellow at the University of Manchester.
Jeffrey spoke about how we need to redefine diversity to be about inclusion for all, and explored how a deeper understanding of identity can be leveraged for social justice.
There was then a question and answer panel with the morning speakers, looking at questions submitted by attendees during the talks.
After a lunch break, attendees were welcomed back by the Rt Revd Anna Eltringham, Bishop of Ripon, and Chair of the Diocese of Leeds Board of Education.
Conference was then led in worship by pupils from St Francis Xavier School, Richmond, which included singing, prayers and reflections from the pupils on the theme of the day.
The final speaker at the conference was Adele Bates, an author and Behaviour and Education specialist who supports school leaders, teachers, and carers in helping pupils with behavioural needs.
Adele is an international researcher on behaviour and inclusion, and a trainer for the NEU, Amnesty International and other organisations across the world.
Adele spoke about behaviour, belonging & bias in education, looking at how to support pupils in their contexts and create inclusive, flexible education that fosters positive social change.
Of the conference Bishop Anna said: “It was a privilege to attend my first Education Conference as Chair of the Diocese of Leeds Board of Education.
“The venue was packed and buzzing, and it was wonderful to welcome, encourage and affirm so many hard working, passionate senior leaders and governors in Church of England education across the region, eager to learn from excellent speakers and from each other, while also taking a much deserved step back from the day job to be spiritually fed too, not least by the fantastic worship leaders of St Francis Xavier School, Richmond.
“Personally, I would also like to thank Simone Bennett and her excellent team for their commitment and drive to create an excellent conference.
“The numbers present bear testament to how much it was, and always is, appreciated.”
To find out more about the work of our Education Team, please click here.