You can view an agenda for the event below. By clicking the drop-down arrows you can view the facilitator’s name, session description and facilitator bio. Some sessions will contain pre-reading or require you to have access to a particular website during the session, so it is important to check your agenda properly before the event.
Breaks & Lunch: There will be regular breaks throughout the day. During breaks and lunch, all sessions will be closed to reduce screen time. Before a break is due to start, the presenter will remind everyone when the next session will start. Please ensure you return from your break in time to join the next session.
The meeting links for each session will be sent to you via email. Please do not share these with anyone outside of United Learning, attendee lists will be monitored, and non-registered attendees removed.
If you have any queries or are experiencing any problems on the day of the event, please email bie.induction@unitedlearning.org.uk.
An introduction to our group - its history, values, strategic aims, and our Framework for Excellence.
Since January 2012, Jon Coles has been Group Chief Executive of United Learning.
Prior to this, he spent much of his career in the Department for Education, including four years on the Board as Director General for Schools and then Director General for Education Standards. Previously, as Director of 14-19 Reform, he led work to raise participation post-16 and attainment at 19 and reduce NEET numbers.
As Director of London Challenge, Jon was responsible for developing and implementing the strategy to improve secondary education in London, which also led to similar approaches in other parts of the country. In his career, Jon has been responsible for various Green and White Papers and for taking the 2002 Education Act through Parliament.
A qualified secondary teacher, his previous jobs included implementing the infant class size pledge and, on secondment to the Cabinet Office, developing a strategy for e-government.
A welcome to the conference and what you can expect from the day. Split into Primary Academy and Independent School teams.
Download the United Learning Way - Primary
Darran has a wide range of achievements in Education, including leadership in both Primary and Secondary phases as well as in Special Education.
Darran was a National Leader of Education, leading one of the first national teaching schools and a federation of primary schools in the North of England. The teaching school under his leadership provided a wide range of school improvement work and was one of the first schools providing training for Schools Direct.
Darran has overseen growth of our primary schools, which now includes over 35 schools. Darran’s leadership of improvement work has secured enhanced quality of teaching, resulting in schools moving from Special Measures to Good, at times requiring him to step in as Exec Head or acting Principal to support. In addition,
Darran is Director with responsibility for the Trust’s support, challenge and accountability on Safeguarding, ensuring that United Learning meets Statutory requirements and that Safeguarding processes across the Group are robust and effective.
Fiona became Director of Independent Schools in September 2022. She originally joined the organisation in 1995 when it was the Church Schools Company; it later became United Learning. She was Head of Guildford High School from 2002 – 2022. Guildford High became a Teaching School in 2013 and Fiona was appointed an NLE, leading the United Learning Teaching School Alliance from 2013 - 2020.
She has a variety of Governance roles; she is an Associate Director of Cumbria University (since 01.06.21), she is on the Governing body of Epsom College (since 01.11.09) and she is a member of the ‘Learning Partners Academy Trust’. Fiona is on the Advisory Board of the School Partnerships Alliance and she has helped to establish the West Surrey Partnership of all the state and independent schools in the Guildford area. She was Chair of HMC in 2019-2020, and on the Advisory Council of the Institute for Ethical AI in Education (IEAIED) (2018 – 2021). In 2023, Fiona was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list for services to education.
All sessions will be closed during break times. Please ensure you return and join the next session before it is due to start.
An introduction and overview of English support available on The Hub and CPD support for teachers and English Leads
Jen joined United Learning in 2018 and has worked in Primary Education for over 30 years, much of the time combining teaching with other roles. Jen is a former English Advisor for the CAM Academy Trust and facilitated writing moderation with large clusters of schools throughout Cambridgeshire sharing her work at Beyond Levels conferences. She is also a former English Adviser for Cambridgeshire and tutor on the PGCE and GTP at the Faculty of Education, Cambridge University. Jen has researched several areas of children's literacy, including gender differences in responding to texts and has written guest blogs for The Chartered College and No More Marking on the use of Comparative Judgement to assess writing. She was a researcher on the Cambridge University government funded project, ‘Raising Boys’ Achievement’, specifically researching the role of drama and talk to develop writing.
Jill joined United Learning as Primary Maths Adviser in September 2018.
Prior to joining United Learning, she was the Primary Maths Lead for Bradford College ITT for 5 years and the Teaching for Mastery Lead for West Yorkshire Maths Hub (previously known as White Rose Maths Hub) for 2 years.
Jill has 26 years’ experience in teaching mathematics in a wide range of schools. She has a Master’s in Education and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Mark joined the Primary team at United Learning in September 2019 as Maths Advisor supporting schools mainly in the South and the Midlands. Prior to joining the Primary team, Mark was a primary school teacher and maths subject lead for over 10 years in schools in Westminster and Hammersmith & Fulham, one of which was Langford Primary School, which is also part of the group. Mark has completed the NPQSL and is accredited as both an NCETM Professional Development Lead, and School Development Lead.
In this session, we will explore the principles that underpin the United Curriculum and share what we’ve learnt about bringing this curriculum to life in our schools.
Since leaving the classroom, Charlie has spent more than 6 years in curriculum policy and development. She worked in curriculum policy at the Department for Education, leading research projects and engaging with thought leaders in the field. Since joining United Learning in 2019, Charlie has led the development of the primary curriculum, ensuring that it is well sequenced, is built upon United Learning’s evidence-informed pedagogies, and meets our teachers’ needs. She also has oversight of the secondary curriculum, ensuring consistency and progression from EYFS to KS3 and beyond.
This session will focus on the importance of routines to support behaviour for learning. Drawing on research, we will understand more about how we can embed strong routines to ensure our pupils can focus, learn and stay safe.
Victoria joined Langford Primary School in 2015 and is currently the Head of School. As well as leading Langford, Victoria runs the ECT programme for the Central London Teaching School Hub, facilitating the Early Career Framework for over 400 ECTs in last three years.
Victoria has 20 years of experience in Primary Schools, including five years teaching internationally in Vietnam, but is particularly passionate about providing high quality education to disadvantaged communities in London.
This session is introduced by Stephen Adcock (United Learning Deputy Director of Secondary Academies) and features an address from Doug Lemov, Co-Managing Director of Teach Like a Champion. It will explore a variety of teaching and assessment techniques in both primary and secondary phases, focusing on easy to adopt ‘Teach Like a Champion’ strategies and understanding how these can be linked to the Rosenshine Principles in order to effectively apply them in the classroom, to assess pupil knowledge and ensure progress.
Doug Lemov is an American educator and the author of the international bestseller Teach Like a Champion which provides educators with a set of techniques, a shared vocabulary, and a framework for practice that equip teachers to achieve dramatic results with their students.
He is currently Managing Director of TLAC Uncommon Schools and the coauthor with TLAC team colleagues of Practice Perfect, Reading Reconsidered: A Practical Guide to Rigorous Literacy Instruction, and Teach Like a Champion Field Guide 2.0.
Steve taught History in three London academies, including two senior leadership roles. He has now been with United Learning for nearly 10 years, initially leading on curriculum and subject support and now as a Regional Director. Steve is also an Ofsted inspector. Steve has a Master’s in Education Management and has recently gained the National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership. Steve loves working for United Learning because it provides the chance to visit schools up and down the country and work towards ensuring that all pupils get a great deal when they step through our doors.
Suzanne joined United Learning in 2012, having previously worked at the Department for Education. She is passionate about creating development opportunities for all staff in schools, and nurturing an inclusive environment, where diverse teams can flourish.