Keziah Featherstone

Punk Leadership - how to Smash It Up

We're always great at celebrating the amazing work teachers and school leaders do every single day. However, often this is because we feel our enthusiasm is being straight-jacketed with the expectation that we all have to conform. 

There is an alternative to the flat-packed one-size-fits-all approach often expected - but that never works. Keziah, author of Punk Leadership; current executive trust leader and former executive headteacher; co-chair of the Headteachers Roundtable and co-founder and chair of WomenEd is here to explain that yes, you can smash up those expectations.

Dr Bronte Mckeown

Bronte is a Senior Research Fellow at the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) with a background in psychology, neuroscience, and data science. She leads the AI strand of teaching improvement, focused on using data and human-centred AI to support high-quality mentoring and professional development.

Bronte will be speaking about 'AI in teacher development: can AI support the observation–feedback loop?' 

Observation and feedback are central to teacher development, particularly for early career teachers, but they also place growing demands on mentors and schools. This talk outlines how a current National Institute of Teaching project will help explore, over the next three years, the potential for carefully designed AI tools to support the observation–feedback process in ways that strengthen professional learning and sustainability, without replacing professional judgement - and what this could mean for teacher and mentor retention.

Hywel Roberts

Hywel has been a teacher for over thirty years and is widely recognised for his innovative work in model teaching and curriculum design. Since stepping beyond the full-time classroom, he has advised and inspired educators from Barnsley to Brussels, Cairo to Cleethorpes. Equally at home addressing hundreds of Headteachers or working with EAL pupils on the classroom carpet, Hywel brings warmth, humour and deep expertise to everything he does. An experienced teacher across Special, Primary and Secondary settings, both in the UK and overseas, he is also a respected author and regular contributor to national educational publications.

Hywel will be speaking at the Teach Yorkshire event on:
Botheredness: making learning matter
How do you get children bothered about Vikings, if they haven’t got a bed?How do we communicate passion for our subjects?
How do we teach with passion, ingenuity, and joy?

David Whitaker

Dave is the Chief Education Officer for  Wellspring Academy Trust. As a former Executive Principal, he now works regionally supporting all 33 schools in the trust. This includes mainstream primary, secondary, special and alternative provision academies.

As well as Executive Headship, Dave spent 10 years as a  National Leader of Education and teaching school head. He now leads Positive Regard - the trust’s behaviour training and outreach team. Dave works nationally supporting schools with behaviour training, drawing on years of experience working with the most complex and vulnerable of children. Based on an ethos of ‘unconditional positive regard’ Dave believes schools should use relational practice to make them safe and caring places to learn.

He is a regular speaker at conferences and an active campaigner for educational change. His recently published, best selling book, The Kindness Principle, offers advice, guidance and expertise on making relational practice work in schools.  He is also an associate of Independent Thinking Ltd.

 Martin Illingworth

Martin Illingworth is a prominent figure in education known for his work in promoting creative and engaging teaching practices. He is a strong advocate for giving young people a voice in education. 

Martin's talk will focus on - A relevant education: insights into the school experience that our young people are telling us they need in the 21st century.

He is the author of 'Forget School: Why Young People Are Succeeding on Their Own Terms'. In his research for his book, Martin asked 20 to 30 year old self-employed young people about their schooling; what was good, what was bad, and what they have had to learn for themselves after school? Martin's talk will outline the findings and will support teachers to think about how they can move the curriculum towards the needs of our young people.

Making Money Make Sense: Practical financial literacy for primary schools

This practical workshop demonstrates what the Cash Academy offers, showcasing their interactive financial education workshops for primary schools, where pupils develop real‑world money skills like earning, saving, budgeting and decision‑making through immersive role‑play that links to the curriculum.

Firm Foundations in Early Number: What comes next and why it matters

This workshop focuses on the role of early number in establishing firm foundations for mathematics. Participants will explore how early number concepts develop and how they intentionally lead into a basis for understanding of secondary mathematics. The session is suitable for colleagues from all phases and will support leaders and practitioners to consider curriculum design, progression, and the impact of securing early understanding as a basis for long-term mathematical success.