This year’s conference focussed on the theme of ‘students and staff as innovators, risk-takers and creators’, with three key themes underpinning all our sessions:

1. Considering what we are preparing our students for and how: engagement with learning, not just outcomes; gaining social and cultural capital; overcoming barriers presented by intersectional aspects of class, accessibility, race and gender.
2. Teachers as researchers: engaging with and/or in research and collaboration to further develop repertoire and provide professional development.
3. Excellence in staff development within our Trust.

In the morning we heard from Professor Fareda Banda from the School of Law, SOAS University of London, on the human right to education; Julia Adamson from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT on challenging the monocultural in technology and from Sharon Cromie, UK Regional Director of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools on elevating women’s leadership worldwide.

In the afternoon our talented staff ran close to 30 different sessions on a range of topics including (but not limited to):

1. The potential power of artificial intelligence in education
2. The art of receiving feedback
3. The power of humour
4. The use of YouTube to boost student attainment
5. The link between essay structure and creativity
6. The potential for augmented reality in education
7. How to talk about sex and relationships in the classroom
8. Autism and girls in the classroom
9. Embedding EDI in the curriculum
10. Girls’ resilience in physics
11. Software solutions for Science Technicians
12. The power of MS Teams for administrative collaboration

Jen Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the Trust said:

“It was wonderful to see all of our colleagues come together in person for the first time in two years – the topics and sessions throughout the day were stimulating and I’m proud to work with staff so committed to helping each other develop personally and professionally”.

Amy Cavilla, Headteacher of Nonsuch High School for Girls, who were the host of this year’s conference said:

“I’m so grateful that all our staff from across the Trust had such a productive day – and thank you to everyone involved for making it such a positive experience – it was a privilege to host”.

The annual Trust Conference is just one element of a Trust-wide commitment to supporting and developing our staff.