As a sector, we have invested significantly in harnessing cognitive science to improve student learning, yet we rarely apply these same principles to our staff. This session explores how the innate way we think and learn can be used to improve the leadership and performance of staff teams. By examining the ways we lead through the lens of cognitive science, we can better align our leadership practice with the way the mind actually works to ensure our staff can truly flourish and succeed.

Adaptive teaching is adapting your teaching to meet the needs of all learners. This could be through in adding support or by adding in additional challenge and can occur for the whole class, flexible groups or on an individual level. In this session, Jade unpacks what adaptive teaching looks like for scaffolding, questioning and feedback.

Oracy for learning encompasses the idea of both learning to talk and learning through talk and is a hugely powerful tool to deepen understanding, articulate ideas and engage with others. In this session, you will learn practical strategies for improving your students’ oracy skills and engaging all learners in discussions.

Leading teaching and learning in a school is complex endeavour so wouldn’t it be great if research could simply tell us what to do? However, research can only inform our judgement, not replace it. In this talk, Bradley will look at how an understanding of research evidence combined with knowledge of your own context and your personal experience can help you make better decisions. Packed with informative and quirky studies, the talk will leave you inspired and better equipped to lead in this vital area.

We often assume that students always learn from failure, but experiences of failure tend to leave lasting feelings of embarrassment and shame. And these mental scars can lead to students lowering their expectations, altering their goals and, in some cases, abandoning their academic ambitions.

17 June 2027 - 4pm BST

With record numbers of students in schools and colleges being diagnosed with ADHD, Autism and other SEND, it is essential that every teacher is equipped with knowledge to support some of the most vulnerable in our classrooms. This session will give you an insight into these different conditions alongside practical strategies to support students on either a 1:1 basis or within a larger group.