Reflections on the conference

Steve Munby, NCSL Chief Executive comments:

“This year’s Seizing Success conference was hugely successful thanks to the attendance of record numbers of school leaders and educationalists and the wide variety of inspiring and thought-provoking presentations and workshops. The opportunity, as leaders, to share and discuss our current work, as well as our ideas and vision for the future of school leadership, was incredibly valuable for all involved. It was a real pleasure to welcome so many leaders to Birmingham, and we look forward to seeing you again next year.”

Next year's annual conference will be held on 10-12 June 2009 at Birmingham ICC. To receive our early bird notification, email seizingsuccess@ncsl.org.uk.

The picture above is the view from the ICC to the wonderful canal basin, which was such a great setting for a conference.

Literacy unpacked

Professor David Booth of Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto speaks on the last morning.

With his wonderful, dry sense of humour, Professor David Booth captured the hearts and minds of the audience as he explored the central importance of literacy in the 21st Century. He challenged us to think what literacy is and will be, what needs to be done to develop the literacy skills of today’s children and celebrating the powerful range of literacy available to us now. Get a taste of what he said in the day three highlights from the conference .

The end of the this year's conference

Delegates stream out of the ICC and make their way home.

Dont forget to visit the website for all the videos, presentations, online seminar recordings and other resources.

See you next year!

Mythodrama

Richard Olivier of Mythodrama had Shakespeare fans enthralled with his look at leadership through Julius Ceasar.

Last day thoughts

Some responses to the conference:

"As always its a stimulating place to be!"- Liz Talmadge, Leeds

"We need this... and well done to NCSL, to turn this event from 400 delegates to 1700 in four years... it's not to be missed." - Paul Urry, Bolton

Christine Gilbert, HMCI

Starting off the first session of the day, Christine Gilbert, Chief Inspector of Schools for Ofsted, spoke to a packed auditorium so many delegates clustered around the viewing screens in breakout areas.

Ani Magill of St. John the Baptist School, Surrey, thought the Chief Inspector had made some fundamental mistakes.

Conference online

While the conference goes on here in Birmingham, other colleagues are joining the discussions online through online seminars. Pictured here is Bob Mitchell, Vice Principal and Maggie Farrar, NCSL's Operational Director for Every Child Matters (ECM) and Standards, discussing the development of student leaders as part of the diverse workforce of the extended school with staff and students of Beauchamp College in Leicester.

A recording of the seminar is available.

Ishmael Beah, lessons from a child soldier

Ishmael Beah recounted his experiences of the war in Sierra Leone and of his slow and painful rehabilitation. His observations of the value of the gift of education and the way that the western world squanders this precious resource were both funny and moving.

Ishmael's message to education leaders in the hall was that they need to give all children the same chances, even if that means taking a risk, and that they should work to ensure that children and teachers understand the humanity of all peoples and cultures.

Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey Jnr, son of the bestselling authour of 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' presented his work on 'The Speed of Trust' outlining a number of features that leaders should develop.

'A good list but it's a lot of things to remember!' was the reaction from one bemused school leader.

Reaction to Ed Balls speech

Liz Talmadge, Executive Head of a federation and all through school in Leeds and Regional Facilitator for Models of Leadership had concerns about the mechanisms involved in getting schools to collaborate.

Reaction to Ed Balls speech

Although Ed Balls generally recieved a positive reception, with many headteachers commenting on his confident delivery without a single sheet of notes, there were also some reservations...

Hasan Chawdhry of Crowland School, Haringey comments

Ed Balls speech streamed live

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls delivered his speech to a packed auditorium.

Delegates unable to get in to the hall gathered around monitors and screens throughout the venue for what promised to be the most keenly scrutinised speech of the day.

Speaking without notes, he discussed a range of issues about leadership and moral purpose and didnt shy away from the issue of those schools who have failed to reach GCSE targets.

Watch Ed Balls' speech.

Steve Munby - NCSL Chief Executive

Steve Munby spoke of the role of the College and of how it will move forwards from its most successful year. He challenged the traditional role of the headteacher and spoke of the complex role of leadership in a single institution. He finished his speech by asking colleagues to think about leadership being 50% consistency and 50% challenge. Steve's speech was streamed live from NCSL's website for viewers across the country.

Read Steve's speech or watch it here

Headteacher John Winter of Weydon School in Surrey gave his reactions.

Evening reception

Chilling out after the first day, delegates take a well earned break and enjoy networking and looking at the exhibition stands.

A delegation from Bolton LA including leaders of special, primary and high schools.

"We're just looking forward to hearing about new stuff and we want to talk to people from other places doing new and different things."

21st Century Learning Alliance

Congratulations to the winners of the 21st Century Learning Alliance awards. Alex Bedford and Amy Arnold of Abbots Green Primary School were thrilled with their award. You can listen to Alex describing the pedagogy behind their innovative approach to learning.





Read more about the winners.

Sir Gerry Robinson, business guru

As usual, Gerry Robinson delivered a challenging, inspiring talk with delegates engaged in and delighted by the session. Not shying away from controversy, Gerry talked candidly about his experiences in the NHS, with the government and other organisations. He suggested 20 key principles of good management - hopefully we will be able to list them for you here. Watch out for him in the video highlights from the first day.

After the session from Kati Haycock, Education Trust

Feedback from Dr. Dolapo Ogunbawo, London Centre for Leadership in Learning.

Headteacher, Martine Woods and Deputy, Julie Guzder

Martine and Julie from Hodgehill Primary in Birmingham are keen to listen to alternative perspectives on leadership.

Hodge Hill Primary School website

Spectacular start to the conference!

The conference opened with the sound of drums from all corners of the hall as the local drumming group made their way to the stage. The group called Azaad Dhol were represented by two Birmingham schools, Hampstead Hall Secondary and King Edwards, Rose Hill.

YouTube video of the group performing at the Birmingham Festival.

Phil Keay's conference expectations

Phil Keay, Headteacher of Greencroft Business and Enterprise Community School