Teaching and Learning Leads from across HISP Multi Academy trust recently headed to this year’s Education Fest at Wellington College. 

This two-day festival brought together educators from the UK and beyond. Packed to the brim with professional development, networking and learning opportunities, it gave the team the chance to uncover new ideas and ways of working. 

The team got to hear from a range of inspiring speakers covering a number of hot topics from school governance to rethinking SEND support.

Here are Deputy Director of the HISP Teaching School Hub David Higginbottom’s three key takeaways from his visit…

Our key takeaways from Education Fest

Needs, not labels

When it comes to rethinking SEND support in schools, we need to start thinking about a pupil’s individual needs rather than the label we attach to a pupil. It may be easier to build SEND support into day-to-day routines by taking this approach, reducing teachers’ cognitive load.

Capturing the joy of teaching

We have the ability to influence the teaching profession’s future workforce, supporting working environments where teachers always feel respected. We need to focus on reducing barriers into the profession and work towards raising the status of teaching. 

Less is more

What is effective trust-led school improvement? What does it look like? Rather than introducing more and more practices, dump the ineffective ones! It’s vital to recognise when something is more of a hindrance than a help.