A quick browse through the conference app said it all: the this week in Birmingham really was the place to be seen for the movers and shakers in English state and independent education.
Of course, the majority of teachers and school leaders were grafting away in their schools, but a select tranche of influencers and decision makers made their way to jamboree.
While a vast Moroccan souk of educational suppliers promised to solve schools’ many problems, numerous specialist stages played host to busy discussions and speeches tackling the concerns of this angst-ridden educational age.
Many bored delegates from the neighbouring motorcycle convention were holed up in the NEC branch of Wetherspoons, but educators from across the country were poised to hear about everything from wellbeing to Ofsted and edtech. A reasonably-priced pint and a surprisingly nice vegetable curry could wait.
Discussions and speeches tackled the concerns of this angst-ridden educational age.
Former chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw 鈥 once the bete-noire of the teaching profession but now seen as a seasoned sage of school inspection 鈥 had the audience hanging on his every word as he examined government plans for a new Ofsted 鈥渞eport card鈥.
Elsewhere, in the independent schools theatre, delegates quaking at the prospect of VAT on fees from January 2025, heard from those at the front end of the changes.
Dr Khashi Sharifi, bursar and CEO of , spoke eloquently about the challenges of keeping education affordable in areas generally untouched by London oil traders鈥 millions. He questioned the cost-inflating 鈥渇acilities arms race鈥, including the necessity for every school to have a 50m swimming pool. He was not saying this, he said, simply because his own school didn’t have one.
At the same event, Benedicte Gercke, head of procurement at the Girls鈥 Day School Trust, spoke about how students themselves are 鈥渄emanding net zero鈥 and the costs and complications of plans to reach such status by 2050.
She added that some schools had a superfluity of deputy heads.
In another independent schools talk, chief Robin Fletcher spoke forcefully about the need for schools to 鈥渟hare lawnmowers鈥 and take advantage of economies of scale on maintenance. He also spoke about the need for schools to be 鈥渞uthlessly clear鈥 about their brand marketing strategy.
鈥淚 came across a school who said their marketing strategy was to be 鈥榯he world鈥檚 best school鈥”, he said, somewhat despairingly, declaring such an aim 鈥渞idiculously broad鈥.
Meanwhile, Fiona Boulton, , emphasised that outstanding teaching and learning really was the be-all and end-all, adding that some schools had a superfluity of deputy heads.
As the conversation steamed along in the independent schools鈥 theatre, the enthusiastic attendance at a seminar on how to build 鈥渞esilient small trusts鈥 suggested that there are plenty of academies that don鈥檛 necessarily want to be gobbled up by a big group.
Simon Hart sparked joy with talk of ‘fika’ cake-and-coffee breaks.
Staff wellbeing in the state sector was also a key theme of the show. As schools have struggled to recruit, it has become clear that a culture-shift is needed to relieve teacher workload, increase autonomy and make staff feel valued. Representatives of some of the trusts leading the charge in this area talked about everything from paying for staff medical prescriptions to bans on evening emails.
Simon Hart, principal of Springwest Academy in Hounslow, West London, created the greatest surge of joy across the audience as he spoke of staff being presented with mugs of their favourite treats. Expect his 鈥淔ika鈥 cake-and-coffee breaks 鈥 full of Nordic cosiness 鈥 to spring up in schools across the country. For the un-Swedishly minded, I鈥檓 sure access to a British-style afternoon tea might have the same effect on morale. Just skip the fishpaste sandwiches.
On that final baking-related bombshell, the rather frantic one-day conference was over. At 3.30pm precisely, we packed up our bags and made for the trains. Teachers returned revived and inspired to their schools, suppliers admired their new lists of leads and journalists went in search of wifi鈥
