west midlands

Seminar Options & BOOKING

Welcome to the seminar timetable and selections page. Here you will see an overview of all the sessions running at the event AND CHOOSE which you would like to attend

instructions to book seminars

Please select one seminar per session from the available options. Some seminars run more than once, giving you flexibility to attend them at a different time.
All seminars have limited capacity and will close once fully booked. Sessions will be removed from the booking system as they fill up, so we recommend making your selections early to avoid disappointment.
Delegates will receive a printed copy of their seminar selections and personalised itinerary on the day at registration.

STEP 1

Choosing Your Sessions

Full details of all seminars, including session overviews and speaker information, can be found in the Seminar Timetable below.**

Step 2

Booking Your seminars

Once you’ve chosen your sessions, please complete the booking form HERE

** The event includes an extended working lunch period with food, networking, and exhibition time. During this period, a small number of optional shorter sessions are also available.These sessions are completely optional – if you prefer a little more downtime to enjoy the exhibition and networking with colleagues, just select no thanks for the optional lunchtime sessions. If you’d like to attend more organised sessions within your day, choose one or two of the lunchtime sessions on offer

Seminar TIMETABLE

option one

Procuring Well in an Ever Demanding Landscape

In a more demanding procurement landscape, a strategic approach matters more than ever. For schools and trusts, procurement is no longer just about compliance or process. In the post-PA23 environment, leaders need to think more carefully about tendering, specification, contract set-up, supplier oversight and long-term value. This session explores what that looks like in practice, and how a broader commercial approach can help organisations strengthen contract performance, manage risk more effectively and secure better outcomes over time.

In this session we explore

• What the post-PA23 procurement environment means in practice for tendering, flexibility and oversight

• Strategic approaches to procurement and contract management in schools and trusts

• How to strengthen specification, supplier oversight and contract performance

• Defining and monitoring performance beyond headline KPIs

• Strengthening commercial relationships while maintaining challenge and accountability

• Identifying and mitigating contractual and commercial risk before it becomes costly or disruptive

• Building stronger internal capability to support better procurement outcomes

Take home points

• A clearer understanding of what a more strategic procurement approach looks like in practice

• Practical ways to strengthen supplier oversight, reduce risk and improve contract performance

• Greater confidence in taking a broader commercial view, not just a compliance-led one

This session is for

CFOs, COOs, procurement leads, contract managers, school business leaders, operations leads and trust central teams involved in buying, tendering, supplier oversight and commercial decision-making.

Estates Triage

Reactive issues, statutory compliance, ageing buildings, limited capital, and a queue of “must do” jobs that never shrinks. Estates leads and operational leaders are expected to keep schools safe and open while proving every pound is well spent. This session gives you a practical way to sort genuine risk from noise, build a prioritised plan you can stand behind, and get SLT, trustees and governors aligned when the right answer is not the popular one.

In this session we explore

• A simple prioritisation framework that balances risk, impact, urgency and value for money

• How to separate emergencies, compliance critical work, and planned maintenance without losing control of the backlog

• Turning site issues into evidence, condition data, statutory logs, incident trends, and lifecycle costings

• Making confident decisions with limited capital, including what to pause, what to phase, and what to stop

• Navigating capital routes (CIF, SCA, local authority, internal reserves), and matching the job to the right pot

• Communicating trade-offs to SLT, trustees and governors, with clear options and consequences

• When to say no, and how to do it without burning relationships or taking on unmanaged risk

Take home points

• Prioritisation matrix you can use tomorrow

• Risk-based language for senior buy-in

• A defensible estates plan structure

• Capital bid readiness checklist

• A clear “say no” script

This session is for

School business leaders, operations leads, estates and facilities managers, trust COOs and CFOs, premises leads, and anyone responsible for estates risk, compliance and capital planning in a school or MAT.

option one

ICFP: The power couple of curriculum and cost

ICFP is one of the most effective tools for managing rising costs and staffing pressures. With staff making up around 80 percent of school spend, even small shifts in deployment can make a significant difference. This session shows how integrated curriculum and financial planning can improve curriculum design, strengthen staffing decisions and support long term sustainability. It focuses on practical, proactive ways to use ICFP so you can deliver value for money without compromising the offer for pupils.

In this session we explore

• How ICFP aligns curriculum ambition with financial reality

Using staffing data, class size and timetable structure to maximise the impact of your team
How SMRA style analysis strengthens ICFP and highlights inefficiencies
Using ICFP for scenario planning and forward budgeting
Presenting ICFP findings to SLT, governors and trustees

Take home points

A clear understanding of how ICFP improves staffing deployment and value for money
Practical steps to build an ICFP model that supports long term planning
Insight into how SMRA aligned metrics reveal risks and opportunities
Tools to turn ICFP outputs into evidence for strategic decision making

This session is for

School business leaders, CFOs, COOs, heads and senior leaders who want to use ICFP to shape curriculum, staffing and financial strategy in a more proactive and sustainable way.

Make Governance More Strategic

Governance should drive strategy, clarity and confidence. Yet too often, meetings slide into operational questions, overly detailed scrutiny or long lists of compliance checks that add workload without improving outcomes. Both governors in maintained schools and trustees in MATs are expected to focus on strategic priorities, risk and long-term impact, but many boards struggle to hold that line in practice. This session offers fresh insight into how you can reset that balance. We will explore the core pillars of effective governance, how to keep conversations anchored in strategic intent rather than operational detail, and how to shape reporting that genuinely supports better decisions. You'll also look at the nuances between governing bodies and trustee boards, and how to work with volunteer members confidently and constructively.

In this session we explore

The difference between strategic and operational governance and how to reinforce it
Where governance, compliance and operations overlap and how to keep boundaries clear
How to recognise when you're being asked for detail instead of insight
Practical ways to redirect questions towards strategy, risk and impact
What purposeful financial and risk reporting looks
How to make the most of volunteers' expertise while managing challenging dynamics

Take home points

Clear, workable boundaries for what belongs on a board agenda
Language and framing that lift conversations out of the operational weeds
A simple structure for reporting that supports strategic decisions
Practical approaches for strengthening relationships with governors and trustees

This session is for

School and trust leaders who want more focused, strategic board conversations, reporting that drives better decisions, and the confidence to guide governors and trustees towards the issues that matter most.

Hidden Savings, Better Outcomes: Strategic School Catering

Rising food costs, escalating staffing pressures and increasingly complex compliance requirements mean school catering is under more strain than ever. For many schools and trusts, catering is the second largest expense after staffing, yet significant efficiencies often sit undiscovered in the kitchen. At a time when budgets are tightening and operational risk is increasing, leaders need models that protect quality while reducing cost and complexity.

This session lifts the lid on where hidden savings can be found and how a strategic shift in catering provision – including the role of high-quality prepared solutions – can reduce waste, ease staffing demands and still meet nutritional standards. Using real examples from schools and trusts, we explore how the right catering model can enhance financial resilience, support inclusion, and improve the overall dining experience for pupils.

In this session we explore

• Where the real costs sit in school catering and why many schools underestimate them

• How smarter menu planning can cut waste and simplify operations

• Approaches that help schools manage staffing challenges without compromising quality

• How trust-wide procurement, central production and supply efficiencies create long-term savings

• The link between consistent catering models, pupil outcomes and overall school performance

Take home points

• Clear insight into hidden cost drivers and quick wins

• Practical ideas to improve efficiency and reduce waste

• A strategic view of catering that supports budgets, staff and pupils

• Considerations for schools and trusts reviewing or reshaping their catering model

This session is for

School business leaders, CFOs, COOs, operations leads looking for sustainable, financially sound catering solutions that reduce pressure and deliver better outcomes for pupils.

option three

option one

Tackling the Time Thieves!

School and trust business roles are relentless. The day fills itself, priorities collide, and the most important work gets squeezed by the “urgent” crowding out the important. This session helps you regain control by identifying the real “time thieves” in your environment, and in your own habits, then building simple, practical techniques to respond.

We will bring in Edward de Bono’s tools as a simple structure for clearer, faster thinking under pressure, including his Six Thinking Hats approach (parallel thinking, one lens at a time) and lateral thinking prompts to break stuck patterns and find better options. This supports a mindset of protecting time for high-value work, reducing rework, and designing routines that stop firefighting becoming the default.

In this session we explore

• The most common time thieves in schools and trusts, and how they typically show up

• Interruptions, reactive culture and procrastination, and practical ways to reduce the drag

• De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats as a quick framework for decisions and problem solving (facts, risks, benefits, feelings, options, next steps)

• Lateral thinking prompts to reframe “stuck” problems and generate realistic alternatives

• Simple tactics for boundaries, triage, batching and decision shortcuts that work in busy environments

• A few OpEx style changes that improve flow: clearer ownership, fewer handoffs, less repeat chasing

Take home points

• Practical techniques to reduce daily time loss

• A simple thinking structure to make better decisions, faster

• Ways to challenge unhelpful habits, individually and across teams

• A short list of process tweaks that give time back without adding admin

This session is for

School business leaders, SBMs, CFOs, COOs and operations teams who want to protect time for high-value work, reduce daily friction, and feel more in control of the working week.

Estates Triage