- SCHOOL LEAVERS
System Leader Group – North East Lincs Attendance Conference
Thursday 13th February – 9.30am-3pm
Over the past year, MAT CEOs, college principals, local authority leaders and others have come together as a group of systems leaders to work collectively on stretching our ambition for this region. We know that we are powerful when we work together towards a common goal and we have a shared sense of purpose, place and pride in the children, families and educators of North East Lincolnshire.
Our mission is to foster partnership working, collaboration and sharing best practice so that all of us, whatever organisation we belong to, can learn from the best and improve. Our communities deserve the best and we are committed to working together to give them the best educators in the best schools.
Our first joint venture is this attendance conference on Thursday 13th February. We have committed as systems leaders to fund the conference so that we can have representatives from every institution across the county to attend for free. We have sourced excellent speakers and experts from across the country and locally to deliver sessions for you, but most importantly, we have created a programme that will allow for ideas and best practice from all of our schools and colleges to be shared with everyone who attends – we all share and we all benefit.
We look forward to seeing you there!
The day will feature 8 workshops, held in the morning and repeated in the afternoon.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS AND WORKSHOP HOST PROFILES
Alison Wilson is the Regional Director for Yorkshire and Humber and is responsible for working locally across children’s social care, SEND, schools and area-based programmes to improve outcomes for children and deliver the Government’s Opportunity Mission. Alison and her team work closely with a number of partners, including leaders from the education sector, Ofsted, local authorities, and local dioceses. Tackling the attendance challenge is a priority for all Regional Directors.
Anne is a passionate champion for children, and she has spent the last four decades at the forefront of influencing and shaping the national debate and policy agenda to boost the life chances of children, particularly the most vulnerable.
Anne was appointed a life peer in December 2024 and will be introduced to the House of Lords early this year.
In February 2024, Anne founded and became Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives – a dynamic, innovative, independent think tank and delivery unit dedicated exclusively to improving the lives of children, young people, and families in the UK.
Prior to this Anne established and chaired the Commission on Young Lives, an independent commission to develop a new national plan to protect vulnerable teenagers from harm and exploitation, and to support them to succeed. The Commission put forward ambitious and innovative proposals, several of which have been adopted by the Government, including a “Sure Start for Teenagers”, Young Futures.
From March 2015 to February 2021, Anne was Children’s Commissioner for England championing the rights and interests of children and young people, and acting as children’s ‘eyes and ears’ in the corridors of power in Whitehall and Westminster. As Children’s Commissioner, she was a prominent and passionate advocate for children during the Covid pandemic.
Anne previously led a national children’s charity delivering a nationwide network of children’s centres, and also worked on the development of the Sure Start programme in the No 10 Strategy Unit under Prime Minister Tony Blair. She spent many years campaigning for better childcare at a time when many saw these issues as obscure or niche.
Anne regularly authors articles and appears regularly on broadcast media. Her book, “Young Lives, Big Ambitions” was published in April 2024. Anne has received honorary doctorates from Newcastle Upon Tyne and Sheffield Hallam Universities.
John graduated from the University of Exeter with a BA (Hons) Degree in History and Education Studies in 2002 and achieved a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from the University of Aberystwyth in 2003. Despite giving teaching a go, he was more concerned about the welfare of children and young people, and was lucky enough to gain employment with Sandwell Education Welfare Service in the West Midlands in 2004.
As an EWO John gained experience within a traditional EWS before moving onto locality working with Telford and Wrekin Council in 2007. His first experience of management was as a Team Leader for Attendance and Connexions with Somerset County Council, joining in 2009. John left Somerset in 2011, joining the London Borough of Croydon, rising to the position of Lead for Attendance and Education Safeguarding, where he stayed until 2016 until he made the decision to move back to Shropshire and work for himself as a consultant.
Working as a consultant has enabled John to gain some great experiences in consultancy and interim leadership positions, working in a large Multi-Academy Trust as an Area Safeguarding and Attendance Lead, working at a troubled Academy as a Vice-Principal and DSL, and having a direct impact in moving them away from special measures, as well as further experiences in roles at Local Authorities in the West Midlands, London and Yorkshire.
John’s interest in Criminal Investigation has led him to undertake a master’s degree in criminal Investigation from the University of Derby, and to a two year posting as a Criminal Investigator for West Midlands Police’s Force CID within their hugely busy Burglary / Robbery / Serious Assault Team. John achieved some great outcomes both as an individual and as part of a team, receiving a Chief Constable’s Commendation, but it was also seeing the huge number of young people involved in violent crime, including murder investigations, which reminded him of true calling, to have an impact into the lives of children and families as early as possible, by making sure children are in school, whilst protecting them from harm and exploitation.
John’s passion for education and supporting others led him to join the Association of Education Welfare Management (AEWM) in 2009, which delivers highly professional and consistent support mechanism for Managers and strategic leads responsible for school attendance within Local Authorities, schools and multi-academy trusts. In May 2023 he was elected as President-Elect of the AEWM, becoming President in May 2024.
John currently provides support to the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, acting as their Education Safeguarding Service Manager for Attendance and Child Licensing, where he joined in November 2021, and through lots of hard work from him, his team, our schools, children and those that support them, the latest data shows that the city is closing the gap with the rest of England in terms of absence, secondary school absence is now 33% closer to national, and primary absence is 50% closer. Bradford is the 25th most improved local authority in regards to attendance at the end of the Autumn/Spring term of 2023/24, and two of our secondary schools achieved the 1st and 3rd most improved secondary schools in the country during the same period. There is still a long way to go!
Rebecca is currently the lead of a project named the Innovation Project, which focuses on delivering assemblies and workshops in educational settings around body image, self-esteem, and holistic well-being.
Last year, she led a project called the Resilience Project, aimed at secondary school pupils. Over the course of 12 months, the project delivered interventions to more than 19,000 young people on various topics, including body image, resilience, aspirations, sleep, diet and exercise, among others.
Rebecca has worked at Compass Go for five years, initially starting as an Education Mental Health Practitioner. Before joining Compass Go, she ran Hull’s Tier 3 children’s weight management service for three years. In addition to her professional roles, Rebecca is a fitness instructor, teaching yoga and dance fitness. Her career has included a variety of positions focused on health, well-being, and emotional health.
Rebecca is also an active member of the Humber and North Yorkshire Clinical Network for Eating Disorders, including ARFID within NEL, and she sits on the Healthy Weight Board.
Heather Moore – Practice Supervisor Family Help, Team Around the Family
Heather began her career in the education sector and has taught across Early Years, Primary and Secondary education. After 15 years, Heather joined Children’s Services in the Integrated Front Door, which required the reviewing of referrals for Family Help, decision making regarding threshold of need and providing advice and guidance to families and professionals. Heather then moved into the Team Around the Family within Family Help. Heather is passionate about multiagency working to support children and families and embracing a relational approach to ensure families feel listened to and valued, that they are integral in forming their family plan and within decision making to promote effective improvements which are sustained.
Ryan Clayton – Practice Supervisor, Family Help
Ryan began his career in education before joining North Lincolnshire Council’s SPOC team, this is required decision making around level of need and providing advice and guidance to families and professionals. He then transitioned to his current role in N E Lincs as a Practice Supervisor within Family Help. Throughout his career, Ryan has become a strong advocate for utilizing a relational approach to navigate difficult conversations and ensuring that professionals collaborate effectively to achieve the best outcomes for children.
Nigel Whittle – Principal Waltham Toll Bar Academy
Nigel started teaching English at a school in a disadvantaged part of Preston. He took on a middle leadership role as Head of Year then Assistant Headteacher and sole Deputy Headteacher. This was before he was appointed to his first Headship in 2012 becoming the youngest secondary Headteacher and serving the second most deprived ward in the country. The school had never been judged to be a ‘Good’ school but achieved this very quickly. Subsequently, Nigel went onto a number of roles rooted in school improvement including as Director of Education and Executive Principal leading school improvement and transformation in some of the most deprived and challenging parts of the country such as Blackpool and Oldham. Nigel has recently returned to where his Headship journey began in Grimsby to lead the one of the largest secondary schools in region.
Jo North – Deputy Principal, Franklin Sixth Form College
Jo started her educational career in 2010 coming from a sales and marketing background in radio interactivity. Jo joined Franklin teaching Business and Economics, progressing to Head of Department of several curriculum areas including Business, Maths, Computing and Media, before moving into senior leadership, firstly as Assistant Principal Pastoral and then to Vice Principal Pastoral and DSL overseeing safeguarding, wellbeing, tutorial, progression, careers, marketing and learning support. She has been instrumental in developing and implementing the #bepresent attendance strategy to improve attendance at Franklin by creating a sense of belonging and student engagement.
As Deputy Principal, Jo continues to provide strategic direction for attendance at Franklin and is keen to share best practice with colleagues on different strategies to overcome absenteeism by identifying the barriers to learning and creating a sense of belonging to the college community to ensure students want to attend and engage.
Sarah Cox – Head of Academy, Designated Safeguarding Lead, NASENCO, Attendance Hub Lead
Sarah started out her career as a nursery nurse in North Lincolnshire before completing teacher training. Once qualified, she joined Delta Academies Trust in a deprived school as an EYFS teacher. She quickly progressed and joined the senior leadership team and undertook many roles including, SENCO, EYFS lead and Assistant Principal. Having worked with children and parents for 20 years, Sarah uses this experience to foster strong relationships with children and parents and believes that this is the key to good attendance.
Throughout Sarah’s career, she has worked across EYFS, KS1 and KS2 supporting with SEMH and SEN needs. Now as Head of Academy, Sarah shares her experience and works closely with the staff team to ensure that every child has the best possible education.
Robert Splendlow – Principal at John Whitgift Academy
Rob Spendlow, currently Principal at John Whitgift Academy and an Alumni of both Hull University and Manchester University graduated first in Business Economics and Finance and then Sociology. Rob started his career in Education at his first school as a Teacher of History and RE in Solihull. Later progressing through his career to Head of Department at a highly deprived school in Leicester.
Some years later Rob migrated south to a school in North Devon as Assistant Headteacher specialising in behaviour management and attendance. In 2013 Rob became Vice Principal of John Whitgift Academy, being promoted to Principal in 2016. Throughout his career, in varied school settings, Rob has remained steadfast in the belief that good quality education is a non-negotiable all students are entitled to.
Alison Semley – School Improvement Officer – Attendance Lead
Alison works as a School Improvement Officer within the Enquire Learning Trust. She has Trust wide responsibility for the management of the data and assessment systems and school attendance. She is passionate about the power of education to change lives and create opportunities for all pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged. She works relentlessly with school leaders to maximise pupils’ attendance and has co-designed systems and processes that are implemented in all 32 of the Trust’s schools. When she isn’t digging into data, supporting leaders and providing training she keeps an allotment, walks for miles and keeps ridiculously fit.
Rachel Cooper – Vulnerable Pupils Lead
Rachel is the Enquire Learning Trust Vulnerable Pupils lead. In this role she guides the work of the Trust to ensure all children are safe and she advocates strongly on behalf of pupils who are vulnerable. Rachel works directly with school leaders and the wider workforce to develop effective safeguarding processes and is passionate about developing professional curiosity and raising professional awareness through training and development. She is the co-designer of the Trust approach to attendance. Away from work, Rachel is a cynophile with a keen interest in trams.
Matt Foster – Deputy Principal, Oasis Academy Aspinal
Matt is the Deputy Principal at Oasis Aspinal and also the Inclusion Lead. He has been a member of the Leadership Team at Aspinal since starting in summer 2019. Matt is a National Lead Practitioner for Inclusion for Oasis and this role enables him to support schools across the trust with SEND and Behaviour. Part of Matt’s NLP role has been to support their academies developing and implementing The Oasis Way.
Chris Clements – Senior National Leader for Attendance, Oasis Academy Blakenhale
Chris is currently the Senior National Lead Practitioner for Attendance, working across 54 Oasis Academies in both primary and secondary phases. He previously served as the Deputy Principal at two large inner-city primary academies. With vast experience in designing systems and procedures for both primary and secondary education, Chris has developed a strong expertise in BromCom (Attendance), IT systems, and school data analysis.
Throughout his career, Chris has led several key projects, including the development and refinement of Attendance Risk Register processes, the creation of an Early Help for Attendance tool, and the establishment of an Attendance SharePoint site. Additionally, he has played a crucial role in the induction of new staff, ensuring they are well-prepared for their attendance-related responsibilities.
Speaker, Leading National Consultant, Advisor, Behaviour Specialist, Trauma and Attachment Lead, Mindfulness Instructor, Forest Schools Leader, Mountain Bike Instructor, Team Teach Advanced Instructor, AOL Licence, NPQLBC, SLE, Therapy Level 1 & Group.
Jacob started out his career in a mainstream primary in a deprived area of Barnsley before joining Wellspring’s very first SEMH school. He takes his nearly 15 years experience working within the special and alternative sector, supporting pupils seen as the most challenging and uses this to support the development of Positive Regard Specialists and the design and delivery of Positive Regard programmes.
Jacob has a strategic responsibility with Wellspring supporting school leaders with root to branch behaviour support including policy design and inclusion planning. Jacob’s role within Positive Regard keeps him connected in the same capacity with external schools as and when they need it. He offers on the ground support in classrooms all the way through to strategic leadership.
“I love connecting and building networks across our incredible trust and across the sector, people are at the heart of what we do.” – Jacob Lawton
Alexis is the founder and Managing Director of Fortis Therapy, Training & Consultancy providing, with their team of experts, a range of award winning effective mental health and wellbeing services to all sectors and for all ages.
As well as being an experienced leader in a range of sectors, including higher education, Alexis is a BACP-accredited and experienced psychotherapist, system practitioner, supervisor, trainer, mediator and coach.
Alexis is a twice TEDx and professional speaker and the Inspirational Leader of the Year 2024 as well as the Mental Health Consultancy of the Year 2022.
Alexis is passionate about mental health and therapeutic approaches and how effective and transformative they can be, to help people of all ages, and organisations, to prevent, to move through, and to recover from difficult times.
Fortis empowers people of all ages to thrive every week in education. Working in over 60 schools, ranging from mainstream to alternative provisions, pupil referral units and SEMH provision, Fortis work with children, young people, teams and leaders supporting their mental health and wellbeing. As well as this, Fortis work with local authorities and adoption support services, providing services for families with complex needs.
Course SearchNewsKeep up-to-date with the latest news at Grimsby InstituteVIEW ALL NEWS00
0
0
0
1
1111222223333344444
