Senior Leaders’ Summer Conference 2025
Overview:
As a senior leader in education, you are the catalyst for change and inspiration within your community. Our Senior Leaders’ Summer Conference is one of our flagship events of the year. It is a day designed to honour your dedication, rejuvenate your passion and enrich you with innovative ideas and perspectives.
Why Attend?
Confirmed Speakers:
Valerie Hannon
SESSION TITLE: Reimagining Education for Human Thriving: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities for the Future
Educators face a huge challenge in seeking to reconcile the demands and requirements of the current English education system with the needs and expectations of their learners, in the context both of prevailing conditions and the prospects for the future. Many feel that we need a fundamental rethink of the purposes of education.
In this session, Valerie Hannon will explore some of the known challenges of the future and offer a vision of what an authentic response to them might entail. What if we reoriented towards a goal of thriving people, places and planet? What will ‘thriving’ really mean for humans? In this session we will dig into the implications in these ideas (currently being developed in the flagship OECD project ‘Education for Human Thriving’); look at some examples of schools taking them forward; and think about what it might mean in our own contexts.
Laura McInerney
SESSION TITLE: Education Trends 2025: What to watch on the horizon
In this keynote, Laura uses her knowledge from frontline education reporting, and inside sources, to give an insight into what changes are afoot in schools over the next twelve months, and beyond.
Drawing on data from over 10,000 teachers who have shared their experiences through daily surveys on Teacher Tapp for the past 7 years, this in-depth talk will provide primary senior leaders with crucial insights into key issues shaping education.
Jaz Ampaw Farr
SESSION TITLE: The Power of Everyday Heroes
Every morning, school leaders transform young lives, acting as heroes in their communities. Teaching is more than a job; it’s a daily commitment to creating stories of hope and possibility. This conference offers a space to share wisdom, explore transformative leadership strategies and gain fresh perspectives. Jaz’s keynote will chart her journey and the impact that everyday heroes like you had in shaping her life and making her the person she is today. You will leave the keynote inspired and recharged to continue transforming young lives with a zing in your step.
DATE: Friday, 20 June 2025
TIME: 09:30 – 15:30
VENUE: Aston Villa Football Club
COST: £299 for non-subscribing schools. Additional places for subscribing schools will be charged at £200 each.
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BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL
This event forms part of the Gateway Alliance – Senior Leaders’ Network CPD subscription. Schools that have purchased this subscription have 1 FREE place on the event (additional places will be charged at £200 per person). Places are charged at £299 per person for non-subscribing schools.
If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact us on 02476 347697 or email: info@gatewayalliance.co.uk
Laura Mclnerney
Laura is an education journalist, former teacher, and co-founder of Teacher Tapp, the daily survey app uncovering an accurate picture of teachers’ lives.
She started her career teaching in London comprehensives before being taken to court by Michael Gove for asking a difficult question about free schools. (She eventually won). Following this, Laura became a journalist, editing Schools Week and writing a column for the Guardian, before starting Teaching Tapp. She is regularly heard on BBC radio shows and has authored several books including Leading Academy Trusts with Sir David Carter.
Valerie Hannon
Valerie is a global thought leader, inspiring systems to re-think what ‘success’ will mean in the C 21st, and the implications for education. The co-founder of the Innovation Unit, Valerie is a radical voice for change, whilst grounded in a deep understanding of how education systems currently work.
After a distinguished career within education, Valerie now works independently to support change programs across the world. She has advised governments and worked with systems and schools on every continent, working with some of the most challenged as well as the leaders in education innovation. She is a regular keynote speaker and facilitator at international conferences and workshops, drawing upon her substantial research and publications.
Valerie is a Senior Consultant for OECD currently working on its High Performing Systems for Tomorrow program, specifically on a workforce for the future. Her book THRIVE (Cambridge University Press) has been highly influential. FutureSchool (Routledge) appeared in 2022.
Jaz Ampaw-Farr
Multi-award-winning inspirational speaker and one of the top female motivational speakers in the UK, Jaz is a force of nature who galvanises people to take action.
This world class re-framer has a unique ability to help people reframe their stories and situations, bringing transformation in their work, life and communities. This is Jaz’s alchemy.
Jaz combines lessons learned from a challenging and often brutal childhood with those from her rise to TV presenter, TEDx Speaker, stand-up comedian and Z-list reality TV star.
Her authentic honesty and humour consistently empower people to think differently about leading themselves and others.
Along with her husband Ed, Jaz is co-founder of the leadership development consultancy Be Human First Limited. Together, they help leaders who want to influence, inspire and motivate their teams with greater engagement in order to grow their businesses and leave a lifelong legacy.