The Power of Bringing Everyone Together

There is something incredibly powerful about bringing every adult in a Multi Academy Trust together in one room. Not just teachers but teaching assistants, site teams, administrators, pastoral staff, finance teams, leaders, technicians and support staff. Everyone.

Because inclusion is not the responsibility of a particular team or role. Every interaction matters. Every adult can make a child feel noticed, valued and that they belong.

This year's Acer Trust Conference focused on three things: Inclusion, Oracy and Pedagogy. Three distinct priorities, but ones that become much more powerful when we see how they work together.

Inclusion ensures every child belongs, oracy gives them a voice, and pedagogy gives them access to great learning.

We were incredibly fortunate to have four brilliant keynote speakers who both challenged and inspired us with their presentations.

Dr Kate Paradine, CEO of Voice 21, spoke about the transformational power of oracy. Natalie Packer, author of The Perfect SENCO, challenged us to think deeply about what genuine inclusion looks like. Peps McCrea brought his extraordinary insight into the science and craft of great teaching. And finally, Rugby World Cup winner Jason Robinson brought those strands together in a completely different way. His story was a powerful reminder of why education and the adults within it matter. Some young people need somebody to see something in them that they cannot yet see in themselves. Somebody to believe in them, challenge them and refuse to give up on them.

We also launched our three Trust leads for this work: Rhiannon Sharman for Oracy, Jo Hatfield for Inclusion and Jack Miller for Pedagogy.

But perhaps the greatest power of the day was not simply who was on the stage. It was who was in the room. Hundreds of adults, from nine schools, with different jobs and different experiences, united by the same purpose.

Our conference is an opportunity to say that every role matters, every adult contributes and every one of us gets to change lives. That, for me, is the real power of bringing a whole Trust together.

Small moments, everywhere, every day. Collectively, they become something enormous.

That is Acer.

Photography by James Lloyd