Leading for the future

Schedule

Sat Jul 11 2026 at 10:00 am to 04:00 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

University of Chester, Parkgate Road Campus | Chester, EN

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Get ready to dive into the latest thinking shaping the future in this educational leadership event designed to inspire and empower.
About this Event

Join Us for the 2026 Educational Leadership Conference!


Are you ready to challenge your leadership thinking and practice and connect with forward-thinking professionals who are shaping the future of leadership across education?

Whether you are in a leadership role or not, come and join us for a day of interesting and inspirational tasks and workshops.

This year’s Leadership Conference brings together innovators and change‑makers for a day of insight, inspiration, and practical strategies you can put to work immediately.


Empower your CPD with this FREE event.


What to Expect

  • An exciting array of dynamic keynote speakers sharing real-world leadership insights
  • Interactive workshops helping you to engage with forward-thinking ideas
  • Networking opportunities with leaders across education

Whether you're an emerging leader or a seasoned executive leader, this conference is your chance to recharge your vision and strengthen your leadership toolkit.


Let’s build the future of leadership together.



Agenda

🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Introduction and Welcome
Host: Head of the School of Education
🕑: 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM
Personal mindset for world class leadership and leading high-performing teams
Host: Will Smith
🕑: 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Compassion in Education
Host: Professor Frances Maratos

Info: Educator wellbeing and retention is a key issue facing schools, colleges and universities world-wide. Stress, student behaviour, a culture of competition in relation to policies and practices are all contributing factors. Problems of wellbeing are similarly observed for students and pupils, with mental health difficulties increasing, especially following transition from elementary to high-school education, and college to university. Rises in mental health issues have further been exacerbated by the legacy of Covid-19. In addressing these problems of educator retention and poor staff/student/pupil mental health, we have been introducing compassion-based CPD, curricula and pedagogy into the education sector since 2016. In this talk, I will overview reasons as to why the education sector is in crisis, including an ethos of ‘reductionist performativity’, and why compassion-based approaches offer promise in addressing this. I will then overview our programme suite and findings to date. This


🕑: 11:45 AM - 12:15 PM
Break (Networking)
🕑: 01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Lunch (Networking)
🕑: 12:15 PM - 01:00 PM
Safeguarding in Education: Responsibility, Risks and Reassurance
Host: Dr Dan Grant

Info: The education sector has emerged as a key agency for safeguarding children and adults at risk. As a result, there is ever-increasing legislation, guidance and professional expectations. Responsibilities for education leaders are vast; managing the risk of getting it wrong can be frightening, and ensuring you get the right advice and guidance to quality-assure your safeguarding arrangements can be a challenge.


🕑: 01:45 PM - 02:15 PM
Ambidextrous Leadership
Host: Nick Smith
🕑: 02:15 PM - 02:45 PM
Is there a place for authenticity in educational leadership?
Host: Dr Andy McCarroll

Info: In educational leadership literature, frequently researched approaches to leadership include instructional, transactional, transformational and distributed leadership. However, over the last decade authentic leadership has started to gain more attention. Authenticity in educational leadership isn’t a soft, feel‑good add‑on; it’s a strategic and operational asset for leaders which shapes culture, trust, and long‑term effectiveness. Given the significant challenges faced by educational leaders and their institutions, such as, government policy demands, increasing metrics, financial issues and stakeholder expectation - this session explores the requirement for authentic leadership in the education sector.


🕑: 02:45 PM - 03:15 PM
Using technology to develop leaders
Host: Dr Jennifer Harper
🕑: 03:15 PM - 03:30 PM
Closing Remarks
Host: Head of School of Education
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Where is it happening?

University of Chester, Parkgate Road Campus, Parkgate Road, Chester, United Kingdom

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

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Host or Publisher Faculty of Education and Children's Services

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