PHAB Annual Conference 2023

The PHAB 2023 Conference Programme 

PHAB Annual Conference provides school leaders from the Bristol area a valuable opportunity to spend time with colleagues from across the city.

In 2023 the conference will take place on 13th and 14th July 2023, at the St. Pierre Marriott Hotel & Country Club, Chepstow.

Day 1

Building on PHAB's previous work on equalities, the morning of day one brings together two individuals who will inspire and challenge all of us to carefully consider how we approach equalities and diversity in our settings.

8.00am – Registration & coffee

8.45am – Massimo Bonaddio, PHAB Chair – Welcome to conference

9.00am – 9.45am – Audrey Pantelis

Hidden intersectionality within SEND – what can leaders do to reduce the barriers that children, young people and families face?

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is a tricky field to navigate within our education system.  There is a lot of jargon, assumptions, expectations and emotions to balance in order for the best outcomes to be realised by the many professionals that are involved in what is a highly bureaucratic system.  If you are from a different country or have differing cultural expectations, how are families expected to successfully navigate their way through this?  What can school leaders do to mitigate the confusion and ensure successful outcomes?

Audrey Pantelis, Director of Elevation Coaching and Consulting is a former school leader of SEND and is currently the Chair of Governors of two specialist SEND schools for children and young people with autism based in southwest London.  In this session, she will unpack the challenges regarding intersectionality, and give some strategies, based on her own experiences as a Head, on how school leaders can support and encourage families to succeed.

9.45am – 10.00am – Sponsor Presentation

10.00am – 10.30am – Coffee/tea break

10.30am – 11.15am – Jo Brassington

LGBT+ Inclusion: developing consciousness, confidence, and competence in creating educational spaces which are inclusive for LGBT+ people. 

The session will cover:

• Sharing the lived educational experience of LGBT+ people.
• Becoming conscious of the additional barriers LGBT+ young people may face in schools.
• Becoming conscious of the historical and current statutory guidance and legislation in relation to LGBT+ inclusion.
• Building confidence through a common inclusive language in relation to LGBT+ identities.
• Building confidence and competence in knowing what to say when a young person comes out.
• Building confidence and competence in challenging homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic language in school.
• Developing competence in reimagining our educational spaces, and making them more diverse, equitable, and inclusive of LGBT+ lives. 

Jo (they/them) is a trainer, educator, and author. They are a former primary school teacher, now their work focuses mostly on DEI, with a specific specialism in LGBTQ+ inclusion, and trans awareness. They are the co-founder of Pride & Progress: a podcast, platform, and community group working to amplify the voices of LGBT+ educators. Jo's latest book, 'Pride & Progress: Making Schools LGBT+ Inclusive Spaces', published this year. The book is co-written with Dr Adam Brett, and brings academic theory and research together with the lived experience of LGBT+ educators and allies to explore how we can reimagine our educational spaces to make them LGBT+ inclusive. 

11.15am – 12.00pm – Audrey Pantelis & Jo Brassington – Panel discussion and Q&A with audience on themes explored

12.00pm – 1.00pm – Lunch

1.00pm – 1.30pm – Sponsor Presentation

1.30pm – 3.30pm – Bristol Old Vic

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School are excited to work with Bristol head teachers and leaders on a two hour theatre session, encompassing creativity, expression and teamwork through drama and theatre skills. Core staff from BOVTS will lead delegates through a two hour empowering journey celebrating working with young people in an expressive and fun way. Participants will learn theatre techniques to use their own body language, physicality and voice to lead and inspire as a leader within an educational setting.

3.30pm – Afternoon tea & networking & exhibition

4.00pm – Day 1 close

7.00pm – Dinner for those with residential package 

The PHAB 2023 Conference Agenda

Leading Through Challenge

Day 2

8.00am – Registration & coffee

9.00am – Massimo Bonaddio, PHAB Chair – Introduction to Day 2

9.15am – 9.45am – Sponsor Presentation

9.45am – 10.45am – Sir Tim Brighouse and Mick Waters

Tim Brighouse

Twice a chief education officer for ten years each in Oxfordshire and Birmingham and leader of the London Challenge, Tim Brighouse says he has learnt from most of his many mistakes as a teacher, teacher educator and administrator. He believes in the power of teachers and schools to change the world for the better.

Mick Waters

A former head teacher, Mick Waters has worked in teacher education and at policy levels in both local and national government. Over time he has been asked to work in the UK and abroad either with national governments or directly with schools to develop revised policy and practice for leadership, teacher education, governance and classroom teaching.

Tim Brighouse and Mick Waters have been credited with having been a transformative impact on schools in the UK's three largest cities - London, Birmingham and Manchester.

10.45am – 11.15am – Break

11.15am – 1.00pm – Sir Tim Brighouse and Mick Waters including taking questions

1.00pm – Conference close & Lunch Grab Bags