VIEWS
BRITISH EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIERS ASSOCIATION (BESA)
BESA LearnED Education in Action 2024
This month Dave Smith, Head of Partnerships and Events at BESA, discusses the organisation’s LearnED conference and explains what you stand to gain from being part of it.
The BESA LearnED Education in Action 2024 conferences, organised by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), offer an unparalleled opportunity for senior leaders in schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs) to engage in free Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Aimed at facilitating networking and knowledge exchange among like-minded professionals, these in-person events have been meticulously designed to empower educational leaders seeking to enhance school improvement. The LearnED Education in Action conferences provide a platform for senior leaders to connect with peers, leading experts, and educational suppliers. By fostering a discussion on best practices, the conferences aim to inspire educators to improve school outcomes. Held in association with Shireland Collegiate Academy in the Midlands and Trinity Academy in Leeds, these one-day, school-based conferences are cost-effective, being free to attend.
Senior leaders in primary and secondary schools, including CEOs of Multi-Academy Trusts, Headteachers, members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), Directors of Teaching and Learning, Curriculum Leads and School Procurement Leads are the primary audience for these conferences. The focus is on providing practical CPD that directly addresses the challenges faced by educational leaders. The conferences promise a day of active learning, featuring practical CPD masterclasses, real-life success stories from schools and MATs, and hands-on demonstrations. Rather than overwhelming attendees with pages of notes, the LearnED 2024: Education in Action conferences aim to equip participants with immediately implementable strategies and meaningful ideas to enhance outcomes in their respective settings. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in a diverse range of activities throughout the day. This includes engagement with a ‘Schools and MAT Leadership Roundtable,’ an interactive panel discussion chaired by the host school. CEOs and senior leaders from local schools and MATs will share their experiences in leadership and management, providing valuable insights to address pressing challenges and explore new opportunities. Attendees can pose questions directly to the panel, fostering a collaborative and informative environment. Additionally, the conferences offer Professional Development Masterclasses and a Teaching and Learning Demonstration Area covering various topics such as Teaching and Learning, Curriculum Development, Assessment, CPD and Training, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Special Educational Needs, Learning Spaces and Equipment, and School Administration. This comprehensive approach ensures that attendees can tailor their experience to their specific needs and interests. A highlight of the event is the keynote presentation by Al Kingsley, an experienced multi-academy trust chair and education professional. Kingsley’s presentation will focus on ‘Opportunities for growth for schools and MATs.’ In an ever-evolving educational landscape, schools and MATs are increasingly focused on enhancing operations and strategically planning for future growth. Kingsley will explore the importance of scaling resources to improve efficiency, drive better outcomes, and ensure staff retention, particularly in the dynamic digital environment. The need for a robust digital strategy and flexible digital infrastructure that seamlessly accommodates growth aspirations is emphasised.
The BESA LearnED Education in Action 2024 conferences offer a comprehensive and invaluable opportunity for senior leaders in schools and MATs. By providing free access to high-quality CPD, fostering networking opportunities, and addressing key challenges faced by educational leaders, these conferences serve as a catalyst for positive change and improvement in the education sector. We eagerly anticipate your participation in this enriching and collaborative event. I look forward to seeing you there!
www.besa.org.uk/learned-2024-education-in-action/ 18
www.education-today.co.uk LEADERSHIP WITH CHARLOTTE ROWLEY
Supporting and retaining ECTs In her regular column on the art of school
leadership this month, CHARLOTTE ROWLEY, Deputy Headteacher at St Gregory’s Catholic Academy, offers her thoughts on the school leader’s duty to look after their ECTs.
Being an ECT is incredibly exciting; having your
own class/classes for the first time, ownership over a classroom and responsibilities for teaching and learning make you realise that all of the hard work was worthwhile. It can however, be very challenging. Managing marking, planning, overall workload, but also being told that you have to maintain a work/life balance and manage time ... and then attend parents’ evenings, staff meetings, CPD, complete ECT modules. This can pose difficulties and at times, may feel all-consuming. There is no denying that we are in a retention crisis. The annual Wellbeing Index confirms that 78% of teachers are stressed and that 39% of all staff have experienced a mental health or wellbeing issue in the last twelve months. According to a report in Schools Week, a record 40,000 teachers left the profession last year, a staggering number. Thus, it is more important than ever to endeavour to retain our good teachers and this means that we need to support effectively and dare I say it, it needs to be even more than staffroom treats! Although cake always goes down well, tackling the retention crisis does require further intervention! Data from staff questionnaires, professional conversations and staffroom chats are often centralised around the topic of the value of time. Ensuring that staff, particularly teachers new to the profession, have enough hours to maintain that balance and that time is protected is absolutely
critical.Below, are some strategies that will help to support ECTs:
• CPD for all teaching staff and leaders on the Early Career Framework: This sounds unnecessary, but revisiting the standards is crucial and encourages a culture of consistency and also empathy!
• Effective mentoring: Having a mentor and professional mentor is important, but ensuring that these staff are positive, inspirational, helpful and honest are invaluable. This also means that mentors must be trained and supported themselves (time needs to be embedded) and making sure that the time for ECT meetings is utilised effectively with a clear agenda and opportunity for professional dialogue.
• Open door policy: Leaders need to make ECTs feel that they can approach them. Check in, ask how they are and mean it. Do not leave the support to mentors, but ensure that ECTs have a network of people in school or the trust/MAC that will help them.
• Protect time: This is a non-negotiable. ECTs need to have their PPA and ECT time. I cover the ECT’s class at my current school. They will observe me as CPD and I welcome feedback from them too! Regularly ‘checking in’ ensures that I monitor their workload and wellbeing, simply through frequent, everyday conversation.
Below, are some strategies that will help to retain our good ECTs: • Empower them: By letting them shine through sharing good practice or presenting for a few minutes in a staff meeting on a new initiative or educational research can really build confidence. Also, I have learned so much from our new teachers. It’s wonderful to be inspired and to see enthusiasm, passion and energy in pedagogy. We need to allow that to blossom.
• CPD: Leaders and mentors should not shy away from having conversations about the ECT’s career path and ambitions for the future. Ensure that the training and support that they receive paves the way for them achieving these aspirations.
• Give them opportunities: It is very easy to ‘stick to your phase’ and not venture out, by giving them the chance to observe and see other classes is pivotal for practice, whether this be other classes or other subjects.
It is imperative that we support, nurture and also develop our early career teachers. We cannot afford to let them go. Let us instead enable them to grow and ultimately bring out the joy of teaching. We can learn so much from one another!
December 2023
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