• How demographic shifts, funding pressures and national workforce shortages are reshaping the operating reality for academies
• The long-tail impact of COVID on attendance, behaviour and pupil wellbeing — and what resilient school cultures look like now
• The growing influence of technology, social media and AI on learning, safeguarding and school strategy
• What academy leaders need to prioritise in the next 3–5 years to remain stable, future-focused and able to thrive in continued uncertainty

• How the Bill reshapes academy freedoms, accountability and local authority involvement
• Implications for MAT governance, oversight and future consolidation
• What new expectations around wellbeing, behaviour and safeguarding mean for leaders
• Risks and opportunities: will the Bill strengthen or constrain the academy model?
• What trusts should be doing now to prepare for implementation

Speakers:

• Warwick Mansell, Freelance Education Journalist and Writer/Editor, Education Uncovered
• Meg Powell-Chandler, Director, New Schools Network

• Impact of falling pupil numbers on per-pupil funding models and long-term MAT/academy viability
• Practical cost-saving strategies: curriculum planning, staffing models, shared services and estate optimisation
• Building efficiency: energy management, smarter procurement, and leveraging technology to reduce overheads
• Alternative income streams: partnerships, commercial opportunities, grants and community-based revenue
• How to plan for resilience — scenario planning, financial risk management and trust-level strategic decision-making

Speakers:

• Steve Docking OBE, CEO, North West Academies Trust
• Jane O'Brien, CEO, The Dean Trust
• Ruth Bradbury, Experienced Headteacher and Executive Principal, a former Ofsted Inspector

In this session, Lewis will explore how Jigsaw Education Group is working alongside Multi-Academy Trusts and academies across the country and internationally to rethink and strengthen their PSHE/RSHE provision in response to evolving national expectations from the DFE. Drawing on real examples from across the country, this session will showcase how trusts are using Jigsaw to create a coherent, strategic approach to RSHE that goes beyond compliance to build cultures of wellbeing, resilience and personal development across their schools.

This talk explores why the technology skills gap is not about a lack of student interest, but a lack of clear next steps. It focuses on how schools can move beyond one-off inspiration and create simple, structured pathways that connect classroom learning to real career opportunities — helping students turn early interest into confident choices about their future.

• Why the school introduced a phone ban
• The rollout: policy design, parental engagement, staff training and practical enforcement
• Understanding and monitoring early outcomes
• Challenges faced - and how they were addressed
• What other schools and MATs should consider when evaluating phone-free policies, and how this aligns with emerging national guidance

• Understanding the interconnected drivers behind behaviour, mental health, attendance and engagement - and what today’s pupils need from school culture
• The impact of social media, anxiety, and post-COVID pressures on pupil wellbeing and classroom behaviour
• Whole-school strategies that build consistency, connection and emotional safety - from routines to relational practice
• How academies can strengthen pastoral systems, early intervention and family engagement to improve attendance and motivation
• Empowering staff with the right tools, training and support to manage behaviour effectively and model positive, resilient culture

Speakers:

• Ruth Bradbury, Experienced Headteacher and Executive Principal, a former Ofsted Inspector

• David Hunter, Deputy Headteacher, St Teresa's RC Primary School

• Emma Mills, Headteacher at Birchwood High School and Director of Education at One Community Trust
  

• Joining up curriculum and financial planning
• Creating staffing structures to support core business
• Weighted benefit analysis: a structured approach to decision-making