Attended by no less than 1000 senior leaders from the world of education every year and supported by the NAHT, headline sponsor ‘Show-Me’ and media partner, Schools Week, the Inspiring Leadership Conference is now firmly established as a must-attend event for the UK education sector.
This year’s conference will continue to feature some of the familiar elements from recent years which regular attendees will know and love such as inspiring keynotes from leaders in academia, business and the sporting world, and the ever popular conference gala dinner, but the 2025 conference programme will also reintroduce workshops and masterclasses, include roundtable discussions and see new extended opening times for the conference exhibition.
“Today’s educational leaders face as many challenges as ever and this conference continues to give them an essential opportunity to recharge, learn and connect with others in the educational sector.”
Paul Whiteman, NAHT General Secretary
Conference highlights:
- Inspirational keynotes
The conference will give delegates the chance to listen to nine keynote presentations delivered by inspirational leaders from business, sport, education and more. To learn more about this year’s keynotes, scroll down for full details in the ‘speaker spotlight’ section
- Meet The Leader Theatre
Journalists from leading education magazine and conference media partner, Schools Week, will once again be delivering our Meet The Leader Theatre and conducting thought provoking interviews with key education sector figures on topic issues that matter to today’s education leaders
- Masterclasses
Reintroduced at this year’s conference, our masterclasses will enable delegates to hear the views of respected experts and gain additional knowledge on a range of important topics including the very latest developments in leadership best practice, rethinking your leadership style and what we can learn from Tim Brighouse.
- Workshops and round table discussions
Also reintroduced by popular demand, our workshop programme will comprise a series of interactive breakout sessions where you can take part in discussions or participate in live coaching sessions. Workshops will explore key areas including behaviour and leadership, the development of core skills and how to incorporate new approaches to learning in your teaching.
- The Conference Exhibition
Our popular exhibition will again be running throughout the conference but this year will have extended opening hours enabling delegates to talk to our exhibitors, old and new, and network with colleagues for an extended time during the conference.
- The Inspiring Leadership Gala Dinner, 12 June
Last but by no means least, our popular black tie gala dinner will be taking place on the evening of 12 June at 7:30pm. One of the highlights of the conference, the Inspiring Leadership Gala Dinner sees education professionals come together to enjoy a night of fine dining, live entertainment and relaxed networking, and is the perfect opportunity for senior leaders and their teams to celebrate the end of the year with their colleagues and other education professionals. Tickets include a three course meal, wine on the table and live entertainment for £85 per person.
“We know that the conference is going to be good. It’s a sure-fire thing that we’ll get somebody who is going to inspire us, somebody who is going to uplift us, somebody who is going to make us think and somebody who is going to demonstrate real resilience.”
Gary Wilkie, CEO, Learning in Harmony Trust
Speaker Spotlight
The Inspiring Leadership Conference keynotes continue to be a core part of our conference programme, enabling delegates to listen to thought provoking and informative presentations from leaders in the fields of education, business, academia and sport.
This year’s keynotes will be delivered by:
Adam Davies, Head of Talent Development and Internal Communications at Gymshark
A coach and leader in talent development, internal communications, and culture and performance, Adam combines his experience in elite sport and a rapidly growing commercial business to bring the human to leadership. First and foremost, he believes in putting people at the forefront of an organisation and engaging them with “a collective reason to graft” in order to elicit true performance.
Naomi Sesay, Head of Diversity for Channel 4
With over 30 years’ experience in television and media, Naomi has devoted her career to serving as a powerful advocate for diversity and inclusion, and trailblazer for social enterprise. At Channel 4, she is responsible for developing and delivering diversity initiatives and ensuring commissioning reflects the UK’s culturally and ethnically diverse community. While in 2020, she embarked on her biggest social enterprise to date, the development of the first smart sustainable female-centric city in Sierra Leone, West Africa.
Ben Hunt Davis MBE, Olympic Gold Medallist and Performance Coach
With more than 20 years’ experience, Ben specialises in leadership and team development. He is also a best-selling co-author of the book ‘Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?’ in which he tells the story of the 24 months leading up to the Sydney Olympics and how the Great Britain Men’s Eight changed as a crew from being a regularly seventh placed boat to a winning one. The story is one of a group of individuals who became an winning team by following a set of performance principles, habitually and consistently, in everything they did, and asking the question, ‘will it make the boat go faster?’.
Chris Packham CBE, Wildlife TV Presenter, Campaigner and Author
Extraordinarily creative and prolific, Chris has led a remarkable life and embodies his mantra of ‘winning is not giving up’. He’s gained recognition as a naturalist, television presenter, photographer, conservationist, campaigner and filmmaker, and is the author of three books including Sunday Times’ No 1 bestseller, ‘Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir’. Perhaps best known for presenting the BBC’s BAFTA award-winning, long running series ‘Springwatch’ and ‘Winterwatch’, Chris is also an active and vocal campaigner for wildlife and conservation issues and injustice.
Nicky Perfect, International Hostage and Crisis Negotiator
Nicky’s career includes 31 years spent as a Metropolitan police officer, the last 10 of which were spent working for the elite New Scotland Yard Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Unit as an international hostage and crisis negotiator. Author of the best-selling book “Crisis – true stories from my life as a hostage negotiator” and recipient of a British Empire Medal for “meritorious service to the community during the pandemic”, Nicky has travelled the world teaching negotiation. She was also the first woman to become the Director of UK Training for the National Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Course.
Darren Coxon, The Co-Founder and Executive Director of Kompass Education
Specialising in providing schools and colleges with the training, support and tools they need to innovate safely and ethically with AI, Darren was one of our most popular speakers at the 2024 conference. A major thought leader on AI in education and an educator for 26 years, Darren has also worked in almost every role including teacher, Head of Department (mainstream and SEND), Head of Teaching and Learning, Principal (UK and international), Director of Education, and Chief Operating Officer during his career.
Conference programme
Day One: 12 June
09:00: Conference registration desks open
10:30: Ben Hunt-Davies, MBE, Olympian, author & coach
11:30: Naomi Sesay, Head of Creative Equity, Channel 4
12:30: Lunch and Exhibition
13:45: Darren Coxon, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Kompass Education
13:45: Masterclass and workshop sessions
14:30: Education Keynote – TBC
14:30: Masterclass and workshop sessions
15:00 Refreshments and Exhibition
16:00: Plenary 4 – TBC
17:00: Drinks reception
19:30: Inspiring Leadership Gala Dinner
Day Two: 13 June
09:00: Adam Davies, Head of Talent Development, Gymshark
09:45: Nicky Perfect, International hostage and crisis negotiator
10:45: Refreshments and Exhibition
11:30: Schools Week, An Interview with…
11:30: Masterclass and workshop sessions
12:30: Refreshments and Exhibition, 60 mins
13:30: Chris Packham, Naturalist, television presenter and campaigner
14:30: Conference Close
Book Places Now: For You & Your Team
- Individual and group bookings available
- Book 20 or more and save £100 per person
- Large group bookings include access to meeting rooms with refreshments
- Early Bird Discounts available until 5pm, 31 March 2025
“We’ve exhibited at the Inspiring Leadership Conference for the last seven years and believe it’s one of the best shows in the education calendar…The conference is extremely well organised and there is a real buzz at the event because delegates meet up there year after year.”
Greg Hay, Managing Director of school wall graphics specialists, Outta Reach UK
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