As the Inspiring Leadership Conference enters its twelfth year, Georgie Butler, Director of Inspiring Leadership, is excited about the latest developments in the Inspiring Leadership Conference programme and specifically its workshop sessions.

Reintroduced last year in response to popular demand, all Inspiring Leadership workshops (like the conference itself) are now fully CPD-accredited and this year, will cover a range of topics grouped under the core themes of ‘Leadership Professional Development’ and ‘Education and School Development’.

“Our workshops proved incredibly popular last year, giving conference delegates access to high calibre speakers and expert guidance, information and the latest best practice with regard to leadership development and the handling of key issues that are impacting education,” says Georgie. “But we wanted to deliver more added value for our delegates and ensure their commitment to ongoing learning and development was officially recognised via the introduction of CPD accreditation.”

By partnering with the CPD Group, Inspiring Leadership has now ensured that workshop participants will gain professional recognition for attending one or more of the twelve 45-minute workshop sessions being held throughout the conference.

“Our workshop programme is an invaluable part of the conference programme. It’s designed to equip school leaders with actionable strategies and fresh perspectives that help them tackle the challenges of leadership in education while providing them with an opportunity to learn from experienced practitioners, collaborate with peers, learn about new approaches and ideas which they can apply in their schools, and further their own professional development.” says Georgie.

Free to attend for all conference delegates, the Inspiring Leadership CPD-accredited workshops will be run in the afternoon on day one of the conference (Thursday 4 June 2026).  

 

The In-depth View: Workshop Topics & Speakers

‘Leadership, Belonging and Social Mobility: What Makes a Long-Term Difference’

Jaz Ampaw-Farr, Broadcaster, Co-founder, Author and Amjad Al CPD and Inclusion Lead at Chiltern Learning Trust

In this open, audience-led fireside conversation, Jaz Ampaw-Farr and Amjad Ali explore leadership, belonging and social mobility through the lens of what truly creates long-term impact for schools and young people.

Drawing on lived experience and leadership across diverse contexts, the conversation will lift the lid on what sits behind the public narratives of leadership: the decisions, tensions and moments that quietly shape culture, opportunity and belonging. With honesty, humour and generosity, Jaz and Amjad reflect on how leaders create schools where ambition and humanity can coexist.

With lots of space for audience questions and shared reflection, leaders will leave with fresh perspective and practical insight.

 

‘Cultivating a Culture of Belonging in Schools’ 

Hannah Wilson, Director/ Founder of Belonging Effect and Chair of MAT Board

A former head teacher who is now a leading authority on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and the author of ‘Cultivating Belonging In Schools’, Hannah will be sharing her expertise on this important topic in this workshop.

The workshop will reflect on what gives us a sense of belonging, create an opportunity for participants to explore their own relationships and journeys with belonging; consider how we gather staff voice on belonging; review the perception gap between stakeholder groups, and consider how to create a belonging culture and a belonging curriculum.

It will also discuss the policies and practices that need to change to increase levels of belonging in schools.

 

‘The Perfectionism Pattern: How It Shapes (and Limits) Leadership’ 

Astrid Korin, Executive Coach at Astrid Korin Coaching

Perfectionism often hides beneath high standards but underneath sits fear, a fear of getting it wrong, being judged or not being enough.  In this reflective session, transformational coach and founder of Inside Out Leadership, Astrid Korin, will explore how perfectionism shows up in work, what deeper needs it tries to protect (safety, control, competence), and how it quietly fuels stress, overthinking and procrastination.

Through guided questions and shared insight, participants will begin to loosen the grip of “getting it right” and create space for presence, clarity and choice, leaving with a rewritten inner story and one tiny, practical habit to interrupt the perfectionist cycle in real time.

 

‘Cracking the Confidence Code - maximising individual and team effectiveness through sustainable self-efficacy’ 

Chris Baker, Trust Lead for T&L and CPD at Cabot Learning Federation

The role of confidence in successful leadership is both significant and undisputed, and yet organisations are full of leaders and teams who don’t have as much as they want and, even worse, are not doing anything about it.

In this session, attendees will explore the inner power of confidence, understand their own unique confidence stories and master the 4Ps of the confidence code.

Participants will leave with a greater understanding of their confidence triggers and strategies for systematic confidence development, and will be able to manage self-efficacy dips, spirals and build foundational confidences that unlock everything else.

 

‘The quiet power of kindness at work’

Graham Allcott, Author, Speaker and Entrepreneur

It's often thought that, as leaders, we have to choose between a kind working environment or a high performing one. This keynote sets out to prove that kindness actually drives success.

Based on the scientific research and principles included in Graham Allcott's book ‘KIND’, this workshop will show participants how kind acts lead to higher levels of teamwork, innovation and productivity as well as help shift work culture and society at large to something better.

Key areas to be covered include: why kindness is essential for success; the 8 Principles of Kindfulness at Work; discovering how kindness boosts productivity, creativity, and happiness; gaining insights into building a culture of high performance through kindness, and how kindness drives employee engagement and retention.

 

‘Using AI in Education Settings: A Practical Guide for School Leaders’

Craig McKee, CEO of SLT AI, Chair of Governors & Former Head Teacher

Run by former Head Teacher and education expert Craig McKee, this interactive workshop will equip school leaders with a clear, compliant framework for implementing AI in educational settings.  Participants will understand what generative AI is and isn't, including its capabilities, limitations, and bias considerations.

The session also explores applications for supporting students, teachers, and leadership teams, emphasising human-in-the-loop approaches and essential safeguards.

Providing strategies for developing school-specific AI policies ensuring data privacy and ethical use, participants will leave with immediate next steps to begin their AI journey confidently, aligned with DfE guidance. Leaders will also receive a toolkit including an AI evaluation checklist, responsible use policy template and implementation plan.

 

‘What do we do about the flags? Developing the inclusive narrative inside the school gates to counter division’

 Andrew Moffat, MBE, PD Lead at Excelsior MAT

Many of us returned to classrooms after last year’s summer break to be greeted by St George flags on lamp posts outside our schools.  The current rhetoric about refugees and the divisive language that surrounds us on social media about groups of already marginalised people is a challenging one for schools. 

In this workshop, Andrew Moffat MBE - a British educator, author and creator of the No Outsiders programme – will explain how schools can counter a strong narrative that appears to be building and taking root without being political or 'taking sides'.

Andrew will demonstrate how his school have used weekly assemblies and a clear consistent "No Outsiders" ethos throughout the year to counter division, and equip delegates with strategies, resources and ways to talk to parents and bring people on board.

 

‘Simple steps to reduce stress and help your team thrive’

Rowena Hicks, Speaker, coach and author of Teach Flourish Thrive

According to the Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025, 86% of school leaders and 76% of teachers are stressed. The current climate in many schools is resulting in teachers and leaders feeling exhausted, unseen and speeding toward burnout. This level of overwhelm leads to high staff absence costs, poor retention, and inevitably impacts the students’ ability to learn, grow and flourish.

In this fun and interactive session, Rowena will look at reducing stress and reigniting a passion for the role. Participants will learn practical, easy-to-implement strategies to create a thriving culture of well-being across their schools and teams.

Drawing on her 30-year career in education and a passion for inclusion, Rowena will also give participants three keys to go from overwhelmed to thriving both as a leader and an organisation; tools to improve productivity, energy and fulfilment at work; and ways to improve school culture and save resources.

 

‘The Science of Staff Development: Which 'Ogogy' Actually Sticks?’

Amjad Ali, CPD & Inclusion Lead at Chiltern Learning Trust

To drive genuine improvement, Amjad Ali argues we must master Didagogy: the science of professional development, teachers teaching teachers.

Delivered by Amjad, an experienced SENCo, senior leader and TEDx speaker, this fast-paced, high-impact workshop deconstructs the shift from Pedagogy (teaching children), Andragogy (adult learning) and Heutagogy (self-determined growth) to Didagogy.

This workshop will dive into the cognitive science of teacher development, exploring why most CPD fails and how to build a culture of "micro-refinements." Grounded in the "Try, Refine, Ditch" mantra, participants will leave with a toolkit to transform performative sessions into sustained professional learning. Expect no fluff, just evidence-informed tactics to ensure your T&L vision actually sticks in the classroom.

 

‘Botheredness: storytelling, learner investment, and joy’

Hywel Roberts, Teacher, Writer and Speaker

Delivered by one of the most in-demand educational speakers around, this pacy, informative and fun workshop will explore the key areas of:

• Storytelling and learning: the research into how stories engage and motivate learners
• Embracing enactive practice through simple Drama pedagogy to support great planning
• Getting children to lean into learning
• Encouraging great talk from reluctant students
• Putting some ‘oomf’ into curriculum delivery
• Transformative practice through transformed and informed delivery
• Contextual and Storytelling approaches to help children be curious about the world
• Employing discerning pedagogical decisions

This workshop will also equip participants with powerful ‘Botheredness’ models which can be used as a boon to creative practice and placing learning into contexts that bring the abstract to life.

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