Daisy Christodoulou (Director of Education at No More Marking and author of the acclaimed ‘Making Good Progress?’) and Dr Margot Sunderland (Director of the Centre for Child Mental Health and highly sought-after child psychologist), have been announced as keynote speakers at events taking place as part of the annual Diverse Academies Learning Partnership Professional Development Day.
Daisy Christodoulou is a leading authority on comparative judgment, and works with schools to tackle associated assessment issues such as workload, marking accuracy and how assessment can distort the curriculum. Her books are widely read and highly regarded by those within the teaching profession – and so her keynote address on the future of assessment for learning in English and demonstrating the comparative judgement alternatives, will be eagerly anticipated by those staff attending the English Team Networking Group (TNG).
In an additional coup for the trust, the international speaker Dr Margot Sunderland will be leading the Child Mental Health Conference for Education Professionals, also run by the Diverse Academies and which takes place on the same day. Margot has over 30 years’ experience of working with children, teenagers and parents in the field of mental health. She is a published author, a member of the Early Years Commission, the Centre for Social Justice, and co-authored the cross-party advisory report ‘The Next Generation: Early Years Intervention’. Delegates to the mental health conference will gain a greater perspective on demystifying mental health, how to remove barriers to learning and attendance, and how to empower all educational professionals to deal more effectively with the rising number of mental health conditions in children.
CPD is a key facet of all working life, and across the Diverse Academies staff have access to an extensive programme of training and development, which includes this trust-wide professional development day. 25 dedicated sessions will take place on 26 February 2018, offering colleagues time to reflect, network and focus on areas most closely aligned to their expertise and organisational roles – in teaching, learning and operational functions.
As a multi-academy trust, colleagues have the opportunity to contribute to the whole partnership, offering scope to influence beyond their own, day-to-day academy environment. All staff members are actively encouraged to engage with others across the group – with a dual expectation that the impact of their work is widely benefitted, as well as supportive of their career progression.
Limited places are available for those outside of the trust wishing to attend the Child Mental Health Conference and delegates can book online. Please note, the English TNG with Daisy Christodoulou is an exclusive event for Diverse Academies staff only.