On Saturday 25 November 2017, education professionals from Birmingham and across the UK gathered at The Birmingham Repertory Theatre in the city centre for Teach 2017 – a one-day professional development conference open to all teachers.
The event featured a keynote speech from Chief Ofsted Inspector, Amanda Spielman, who talked about developing teachers to be curriculm experts and addressed the issue of teacher workload. There was a panel discussion on the need for collaboration in education, barriers to this and how to overcome them. The panel featured local leaders in education including the Regional Schools Commissioner for West Midlands, Christine Quinn and the CEO of Birmingham Education Partnership, Tim Boyes. The afternoon saw teachers take part in a variety of practical workshops and inspiring talks, ranging from Coaching for excellence and The behaviour management cycle, to Managing stress and Leading the class of 2030.
It was a great opportunity for teachers to come together to share best practice and learn from each other. Many delegates left full of ideas and eager to implement them in the classroom on Monday. Lucy Heller, Chief Executive of Ark, commented, "The best way to ensure teachers keep refining their craft is to encourage them to share their knowledge. That is what today has been all about – bringing together educators in Birmingham to collaborate, both through formal training but also informal networking."
Read our Storify below to find out more about the day.