Supporting Staff Wellbeing - Digital - Speakers

Tuesday 17 Nov 2020 - Wednesday 9 Dec 2020
Online - Digital delivery

John Rees, Education Consultant, PSHE Solutions

A former secondary school leader, John leads the development of Health Education programme at Exeter University.  Since 2006 he has worked across the UK and overseas to provide coaching and training, to improve the learning and life chances of children and young people.

Watch John introduce his session: Student behaviour and the impact on staff


David Beeney, Founder of Breaking the Silence

David has committed the rest of his working life to reducing the stigma of mental health in the workplace. He enjoyed a successful career in newspapers and magazines for more than 30 years, and was MD of a regional daily newspaper and commercial director for Auto Trader. He always knew that he wanted to do something different at the latter end of his career, he just didn't know what that would be! He now feels he has found true purpose in life and is helping many of the leading brands in the UK to create kinder more compassionate cultures of trust. He was recognised in 2018 as one of the top 101 influencers globally on employee engagement. He is also a qualified Mental Health Counsellor affiliated to the BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Practitioners) and a trustee for Mind.

Watch David introduce his session: Creating kinder cultures is the key to employee engagement 


Karen Dempster, Fit2communicate

Karen is a highly-experienced communicator and is passionate about the power of relationships and communication in making a difference to future generations through a student's experience of school. As a parent and communication professional, she co-founded Fit2Communicate in 2014. Since then, she has worked with many UK schools and supported school leaders and the broader school community. She co-wrote a book about the Fit2Communicate school communication approach that was published in 2017. Karen is also a professional photographer and a Fellow of the Institute of Internal Communication.

Watch an intro to Karen and Justin's session: Communicating Change


Kimberley Evans, Nourish the Workplace

Kimberley firmly believes that looking after all your staff is the key to a happy school where pupils reach their potential. After working in education for 20 years as a primary school teacher, TA and HLTA she set up her own business to help schools address the issue of staff wellbeing. Nourish the Workplace has positively impacted over 2500 school staff in its first 2 years by helping schools identify what works well and what can be improved in regards to workload, retention, staff facilities, health and wellbeing. She is passionate that this should apply to every member of staff, not just teachers, to create a truly whole school approach.

Watch Kimberley introduce her session: Meeting the wellbeing needs of support staff whatever their role


Alison Kriel, Education Consultant and Founder, AMAYA Trust

Alison Kriel was an inner city Executive Head Teacher for nearly 20 years and a CEO for 5 years. She has a passion for social justice leadership, wellbeing, equity, inclusion and diversity. She has a reputation for excellence in leadership, leading schools with high social challenges to be in the top 0.1% nationally, top 3 in London and sustain high attainment over time. Her turnaround school won many prestigious awards including London Gold School Status, SSAT Award winner for Attainment and Pupil Progress, National Pupil Premium Award winner. Both schools her schools were listed in the Sunday Times Top 500. Alison is a Fellow of Chartered Teachers, a HundrEd Ambassador and a RSA Fellow. She is also the founder of Talking Circle, a support network for black and Asian teachers. She was awarded Doctor of Philosophy Honoris Causa for attainment and services to education in 2018.


Professor Jonathan Glazzard, Professor and Head of Department for Children, Education and Communities, Edge Hill University

Jonathan has recently become Professor and Head of Department for Children, Education and Communities at Edge Hill University. He is formerly director of the Centre for LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Education and principal researcher in the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools at Leeds Beckett. In 2015, he was awarded National Teaching Fellow status by the Higher Education Academy and is one of HEA's Principal Fellows. Jonathan is a researcher, teacher educator and qualified teacher. His research focuses on a broad range of topics and disciplines, including mental health, LGBTQ+ inclusion, SEN, critical disability studies, critical psychology, sociology and early literacy development.


Nickii Messer, School Business Management and Leadership Development expert, All the geese

Nickii and her company, All the geese, specialise in training, developing and promoting school business management and leadership.  A well-known national and international conference speaker, Nickii’s work often focuses on supporting school leaders to ensure improved wellbeing and resilience within their workforce. Nickii is a published author and a regular contributor to Optimus Education and is keen to help school leaders at all levels develop the skills and confidence to embrace the complex challenges facing schools today.

Watch Nickii introduce her session: Wellbeing of business leadership and support staff


Patrick Ottley-O'Connor, Headteacher, Westhoughton High School, Bolton

Patrick is the executive principal of North Liverpool Academy, part of the Northern Schools Trust. He has been a senior leader for more than 25 years, including 16 years as a principal/executive principal in secondary, primary and special schools. Patrick leads and facilitates a variety of leadership programmes, including the NPQ programmes ranging from middle to executive leadership courses. He is a DfE coach for the Women Leading in Education initiative. Patrick is also a trustee of the Watergrove Trust and founding director of Collaborative Leadership Ltd.


Sue Plant, Head of School, John Taylor Free School

Suehas worked in education for the last 23 years with experience of a wide range of schools and different settings. Her extensive leadership experience spans 2 highly successful Multi Academy Trusts based in the East Midlands. She has established a Teaching School Alliance and School Centre for Initial Teacher Training and understands the importance of professional learning for teachers and leaders.


Justin Robbins, Co-founder, Fit2Communicate

Justin has been delivering communication professionally since 2001. His purpose of co-founding Fit2Communicate in 2014 was to make a difference to education through communication. He now helps schools and school teams work together more effectively for the ultimate benefit of their students. He co-wrote a book about the Fit2Communicate school communication approach that was published in 2017. Justin is a school governor, triathlon coach, and a Fellow of the Institute of Internal Communication. He is passionate about helping people to better understand themselves and achieve their dreams.

Watch an intro to Justin and Karen's session: Communicating Change


Steve Waters, Founder and CEO, Teach Well Alliance

Steve has 30-years’ experience as a secondary teacher, head of department and assistant principal and six years as a local authority consultant. He founded Teach Well Alliance to support schools to implement a culture of staff wellbeing and mental health. Steve is a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and a member of the Council. A qualified counsellor and mental health first aider, Steve holds the NPQH and is an online tutor and project assessor for NPQML and NPQSL. He has lived experience of burnout while teaching and is researching teachers’ experiences of mental ill-health at school. Steve’s belief is that we must make the wellbeing and mental health of our teachers a priority so that they are able to take care of our children and teach effectively.