LGAT Education Conference 2024
Inspirational speakers and opportunities to share best practice ensured the Trust’s biggest ever training day was an overwhelming success.
More than 500 staff attended the Education Conference across its two Louth sites.
Keynote speaker Mary Myatt, an education advisor and writer, was joined, among others, by chartered psychologist and director of the educational blog, ‘InnerDrive’, Bradley Busch, best-selling author and English Teacher, Jennifer Webb.
Mary’s speech, focused on togetherness and the power of collaboration, followed a welcome address by the Trust’s Chief Executive Officer Martin Brown, Chair of the Board of Trustees Philip Bond and Executive Principal of Louth Academy Phil Dickinson.
Mary said: “I am one person but I’ve worked in a lot of schools. I believe we should share things with colleagues because then, whatever it is, can become something bigger.”
Mary hosted talks on leadership and curriculum sequencing and encouraged conversations amongst staff members.
She said: “It was so great to see people having these much-needed collaborations in order for them to develop their connections and support. I was really surprised and delighted at the level of engagement from colleagues across the Trust, but also the depths of their thinking, questioning and observations. It’s just been terrific. I think it’s important to bring colleagues together to be physically in the same space to share ideas, chat, make friendships and renew professional relationships. We can of course benefit from coming together online, but I think this is a significant additional bonus to ongoing professional relationships and development.”
Emyr Hughes-Jones, Vice Principal at Huntcliff School, joining the Trust later this Spring, said: “Mary Myatt delivered a session on Leadership Conversations, such an important aspect of training for aspiring and senior and middle leaders.”
Bradley Busch led sessions on maximising retrieval, the science of learning and building resilient learners.
His sessions were highly interactive with many staff joining his workshop on how to develop independent learners who believe that they can learn and improve.
Hannah Taylor (DCL of Science at Waltham Toll Bar Academy) said: “Bradley provided some incredible strategies for building resilient learners as part of the conference.”
Jennifer Webb hosted workshops on the importance of literacy and a focus on ‘A Christmas Carol’, exploring effective ways to teach the text at GCSE level and providing a range of strategies to use in the classroom.
ACL of English at Cleethorpes Academy Elliot Barrs said: “There were some very valuable ideas to help with my ‘A Christmas Carol’ planning after Jennifer Webb's insightful training.”
Jennifer commented: “It’s been a really lovely day; it was really well organised and the staff were super positive and really engaged. The organisation has been seamless. There’s been a lovely variety of choices in sessions to attend and it’s been a real pleasure.
The majority of my workshops were attended by English teachers and the staff were really forthcoming. The session I did on ‘A Christmas Carol’ was great as they all had some fantastic insights. There were some really open minded and inquisitive conversations from people and it’s clear that they’re actively engaged in the work that they’re doing and they want to develop their provision for their students.”
Another guest speaker was Amarbeer Singh Gill, who hosted sessions on how to get students to think hard about learning and Interleaving.
He said: “My sessions were great. Lots of colleagues came in with rich and interesting discussions and it was great seeing that level of thinking taking place. The engagement in the sessions was a real highlight of the day. I was mindful that my maths background meant that a lot of what I was showing was maths heavy, but I had loads of teachers from different subjects engaging in discussions about what they might incorporate into their thinking and practice.”
Assistant Principal at Waltham Toll Bar Academy Ollie Fothergill commented: “There were some thought provoking ideas from Singh during the session on Getting Students Thinking Hard about Learning as part of the conference.”
Deputy Curriculum Leader of PE at Louth Academy Gareth Smith added: “It was a very insightful session on the uses of Interleaving and how it can be utilised to retrieve knowledge successfully in lessons.”
Chris Quigley, a respected figure in primary education, gave several virtual sessions throughout the day based on supporting students with additional needs and successful learning strategies.
Fortis Therapy and Training hosted a morning workshop for administration staff members to develop core skills in managing difficult conversations.
Alexis Powell-Howard promoted the use of de-escalation techniques, balancing empathy with clear communication and managing personal emotions. Staff were also invited to share any experiences or concerns they may have to workshop as a team.
The Trust’s HR Team delivered workshops on new processes and were joined by Emma Thompson, a Wellbeing Programme Lead from North East Lincolnshire Council. These sessions were focused around mental wellbeing and combating stress.
Sessions from the Maths Hub completed the day, bringing together professionals in a collaborative network exploring coherence and manipulatives.
The LEARN SEND Hub held several sessions throughout the day targeting teachers, teaching assistants and leaders.
They focused on high quality teaching, promoting independence and broadening their understanding of social, emotional and mental health needs.
Kyna Adkins from LEARN SEND Hub said: “The whole day was organised brilliantly.”
Amarbeer Singh Gill praised the staff within the Trust and Louth Academy for the organisation and hosting of the conference.
“I didn’t have to think about anything all day. It was all already sorted in terms of transport, food and IT. I give full credit to everyone involved in organising this event, it’s especially challenging across two sites but from my perspective as a speaker, it was excellent. There were no problems at all so a massive thank you and credit to the team involved in putting it all together.”
Bradley Busch added: “It’s been a brilliant day. The organisation has been fantastic and the sense of mission and community has really shone through. I think it’s brilliant that there’s both primary and secondary here together and having the CEO, Principals and teachers all together and buying into the same core values speaks volumes about the Trust and it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of it. I don’t think I’ve been to an inset day that’s been so well organised, with multiple venues, multiple speakers, shuttle buses etc. and everything has been like clockwork. It’s a real testament to the team.”
Philip Bond said: “As a Trust, we can be proud of what was achieved. It was great to see staff meeting colleagues from other Academies and renewing old acquaintances.”
Martin Brown added: “It was a very special day to be able to have such high-profile speakers.
The organisation was superb with everything so well thought through and planned in such detail.
“It meant that well over 500 staff attended 30 different sessions in 10 locations across 3 sites without any problems
I lost count of the staff who spoke to me about how enjoyable and valuable the day was.”
ACL for Languages at Louth Academy Justine Prendergast said: “After joining LGAT this academic year, I can honestly say that I’ve never received CPD training like that conference. I’ve been challenged to improve my practice in order to set my students up for success.”