INTRODUCTION
Our conference
This year our conference theme is: Successful School Leadership for Sustainable Development.
The new requirement that schools in England develop their own climate action plans by 2025 lends urgency to our theme. This is also an international issue that requires us to connect the overarching aims of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the day-to-day work of schools - the global with the local. Our conference recognises the centrality of school leadership in achieving quality education for all students (SDG 4) and in connecting SDGs to the day-to-day work and lives of schools.
Background
Effective school leadership is central to achieving these goals. In February 2023, based on a think-piece by David Gurr, UNESCO launched a new concept note which defines leadership in education inclusively: senior, middle and teacher leadership positions within schools, and system leadership that connects people and institutions. For the first time, UNESCO's General Monitoring Report in 2024 will focus exclusively on the theme of educational leadership, examining the requirements of good leadership in education and how they vary between countries and over time. It will also assess whether, and how, the visions and goals that are driving leadership in education contribute to better education outcomes.
By presenting the latest thinking, research and school practices and creating spaces for high quality dialogue between researchers, teachers, school leaders and key stakeholders from government and non-government agencies in the UK and beyond, our conference will energise and inspire participants and formulate key issues and agendas that are fundamental to improving the quality of education in schools.
Who should attend?
• Researchers
• Teachers
• School leaders
• Postgraduate students
• Practitioners
THE PROGRAMME
Day 1: Monday, 11 November 2024
13.00 Registration and coffee
13.30 Welcome and opening
Professor Qing Gu OBE, Director, UCL Centre for Educational Leadership, UCL IOE
13.40 Leadership and education
Professor David Gurr, Professor in Educational Leadership, University of Melbourne
14:00 Embedding SDGs as a Values-led, Whole School Principle
Mrs Naheeda Maharasingam, Head Teacher and Embedding Race Equality Steering Group Lead, Lewisham
14.25 Participant focus group discussion
14.40 Panel discussions and Q&A
Chair: Dr. David Godfrey, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Director of Academic Programmes, UCL IOE Panelists
Professor Leon Tikly, UNESCO Chair in Inclusive, Good Quality Education and Global Chair in Education, University of Bristol
Dr. Vanessa Ogden CBE, CEO, Mulberry Schools Trust
Professor David Gurr, Professor in Educational Leadership, University of Melbourne
Mrs Naheeda Maharasingam, Head Teacher and Embedding Race Equality Steering Group Lead, Lewisham
15.20 Break and room transition
15.50 Breakout sessions and group discussions
Session 1 - Understanding the Landscape: Leading for Opportunities and Possibilities
Chair: Dr. Ruth McGinity, Associate Professor, UCL IOE
Speakers
Dr. Rupert Higham, Associate Professor, UCL IOE
Dr. Alison Kitson, Associate Professor in History Education, UCL IOE
Dr. David Dixon, Education Leadership Consultant
Session 2 - Leading Education for Sustainable Development in Schools
Chair: Dr. Monica Mincu
Speakers
Dr. Nicole Blum, Senior Lecturer, UCL IOE
Dr. Frances Hunt, Associate Professor, UCL IOE
Simon Lam, Engagement Associate, The Centre for Education and Youth
Session 3 - BELMAS Session SDG4: Leading Quality Education in Disadvantaged and Marginalised Communities
Chair: Dr. Deborah Outhwaite
Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS)
THE PROGRAMME
Speakers
Professor Megan Crawford, Research Centre for Global Learning, Coventry University; Chair, Kingsbridge Education Trust
Dr. Brittany Wright, CPD Lead, L.E.A.D. Academy Trust
17.05 Reflections
Professor Lynn Ang, Pro-Director and Vice-Dean Research, UCL IOE
17.15 Drinks reception
Day 2: Tuesday, 12 November 2024
09.00 Education and the Sustainable Development Goals
Professor Aaron Benavot, Professor of Global Education Policy, The State University of New York at Albany, and former Director of the Global Education Monitoring Report (UNESCO)
Helen Bruckdorfer, Executive Headteacher, Brecknock and Torriano Primary Schools Federation
Participant focus group discussion
Panel discussions and Q&A
Chair: Dr. Bernardita Munoz Chereau, Lecturer, UCL IOE
Panelists
Professor Nicola Walshe, Pro-Director of Education at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society
Angela O’Brien OBE, Managing Director of MAC, & former Director Of Primary Education, Spencer Academies Trust
10:40 Break and room transition
11.10 Breakout sessions and group discussions
Session 1- Inspiring Learning and Learners
Chair: Greg Ross, Associate Professor (Teaching), UCL IOE
Speakers
Professor Qing Gu OBE, Director, UCL Centre for Educational Leadership, UCL IOE
Dr. Rupert Higham, Associate Professor, UCL IOE
Dr. Vanessa Ogden CBE, CEO of the Mulberry Schools Trust
Session 2 - Achieving Justice for all Children
Chair: Mark Quinn, Associate Professor (Teaching), UCL IOE
Speakers
Gemma Moss, Professor of Literacy, UCL IOE
Angela O’Brien OBE, Managing Director of MAC, and former Director Of Primary Education, Spencer Academies Trust
Session 3 - Connecting with our Environment
Chair: Richard Harrison (Teaching), UCL IOE
Speakers
Dame Alice Hudson, CEO Twyford CofE Academies Trust
THE PROGRAMME
Aimee Walker, Deputy Head Teacher, Chelmsford Learning Partnership
12.30 Lunch
13.20 Question time
Chair: Dr. Steve Munby, Visiting Professor, UCL IOE
Panelists
Dr. Deborah Outhwaite, Chair of The British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS)
Professor Dame Christine Gilbert DBE, Visiting Professor, UCL IOE
Professor Sir George Berwick CBE, Visiting Professor, UCL IOE
Professor Louise Stoll Professional Learning, UCL IOE
14.30 Reflections and plenary
15.00 Conference concludes
Professor Susan O'Neill, Learning and Leadership, UCL IOE
VENUE
Park Plaza, Victoria London
239 Vauxhall Bridge Rd, Pimlico, London SW1V 1EQ
Phone: 0333 400 6142
Ideally located in the West End within walking distance of the Victoria London train station, the stylish Park Plaza Victoria London provides guests with a convenient transportation links and is also close to coach, bus and Underground stations.
For more information, please visit the hotel's website.
