Our Trust CEO and several members of Brooke Weston Trust teaching staff delivered workshops at Educating Northants, a conference which attracted hundreds of teaching professionals.
The event, which took place at the University of Northampton, generated a huge amount of positive feedback and was an opportunity for educationalists from across the county and beyond to talk about current issues, network and share best practice.
Keynote speakers included Professor Dame Alison Peacock, Sir David Carter, Martin Robinson and Oliver Caviglioli. There were more than 110 separate workshops run throughout the day on 18 different strands including Teaching and Learning, Assessment, Leadership and Inclusion.
A steering group, including Tom Rees (Director of Education for NPAT), Jennie Giovanelli (Principal), Cristina Taboada-Naya (Director of the Brooke Weston Trust Teaching School) Helen Scott (Dean of the Faculty of Education and Humanities at the University of Northampton) and Carly Waterman (Director of Waterman Learning) masterminded the one day event.
Afterwards Pete Kirkbride, Principal of Brooke Weston Academy, said: ‘It was a great event and I was delighted that the Brooke Weston Teaching School was able to be a major sponsor of the event. It was amazing to see so many teachers and school leaders together talking about how to make the education and outcomes for Northants young people exceptional. There was a real sense of mission on the day and since on social media to start working together better to create a better future for our young people and the communities we serve.’
Andy Buffham from Peckover Primary said: ‘It was a totally awesome day. I caught up with some colleagues from the Trust, met some lovely people and was inspired by amazing speakers.’ Ian Sharpe, Chief Operations Officer of Northampton Primary Academy Trust said: ‘The whole day was a real success and will make a positive impact on so many children.’
Sam Eathorne, Associate Principal of Beanfield Primary School said: ‘It was such an amazing event! It was a privilege to be among so many professionals who enabled me the time to learn something new or to reflect on current practices. There was a real buzz throughout the whole day and it was so nice to share the experience with so many BWT colleagues.’
Jane MacDonald, Principal of Gretton Primary School said: ‘It was a brilliant event with a wide range of inspirational speakers who kindly gave their time for free to share their expertise and experiences with us. In many of the workshops there were practical examples we could take away with us to impact on our work in schools. It was great to meet up with so many educationalists from across Northamptonshire.
‘The whole event was really well organised and the venue (UoN) was perfect for this event. I am looking forward to the next one, when I would like to take more of my teachers along.’
Ms Taboada-Naya said: ‘The #EducatingNorthants conference was a huge success and it gave teachers and educationalists from across the spectrum a chance to take part in really high quality workshops, debate and networking. It was a huge undertaking but the feedback, both from individual workshops and on the event as a whole, showed there was a definite need and desire for people to get together and really put education in Northamptonshire on the map. Thanks to all the speakers, especially those from the Brooke Weston Trust, including CEO Dr Andrew Campbell and Becks Waterson and Matt Rodger from BWA who all embraced the opportunity to share their expertise. There were more than 50 education professionals from the county who delivered workshops so it really shows the level of commitment, collaboration and professionalism within teaching in the county.’
Trust CEO Dr Andrew Campbell said: ‘It was fantastic to see so many people coming together across the county and beyond, wanting to learn how better to work together and to collaborate because the future of Northamptonshire’s education is in the hands of Northamptonshire’s educators and we must do it together for ourselves.’