Professor Dame Alison Peacock to headline Educational Publishing Conference

The chief executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, which aims to place research and evidence ‘at the heart of learning for teachers’, Professor Dame Alison Peacock is to give the opening keynote at the PA/BESA Educational Publishing Conference.  She will speak alongside primary and secondary school teachers and headteachers and education research experts.

The Educational Publishing Conference, which takes place in London on Wednesday 29 November, aims to explore areas of education uncertainty and volatility where publishers can contribute.

The conference will examine how the new Funding Formula will impact procurement patterns, what the government, schools and inspectors expect from education resources, what the new GCSE and A level results say about the impact of the new curriculum, and how recent assessment reviews will filter into the classroom.

Other speakers include Professor Rob Coe, Director of Evaluation & Monitoring at Durham University, Jim Magee, Head of Assessment Policy at the Standards and Testing Agency, Steph Neale, Headteacher at Beatrix Potter Primary School, Alexandra Desbottes, Assistant Headteacher, Teaching & Learning, Ulverston Victoria High School and Sara Jenkins, Politics & History tutor, Loughborough Grammar School.

The day will also cover highlights from the Publishers Association’s and BESA’s educational resources campaigns, the Textbook Challenge and Resource Our Schools.

Deputy Chief Executive of the PA, Emma House, said:

“Given the difficult funding environment for schools and changes to the national curriculum and assessment framework, it is important that publishers understand how best educational resources can help schools adapt to these changes, whether this is through reducing teachers’ workloads or helping to boost pupils’ understanding of a topic. We have a great line-up of speakers this year who I am sure will provide real insight into this area, and I am particularly delighted to welcome Dame Alison in her inaugural year at the Chartered College of Teaching as our keynote.”

Caroline Wright, Director General of BESA, said:

“I am delighted to, once again, partner with the Publishers’ Association for our annual joint conference. As the school funding crisis has worsened over the past few years, it is crucial that we gather the industry and discuss the new procurement patterns and the decreasing school budgets, and how educational suppliers can make the best of the situation. I expect the conference will be a fascinating day full of insights and learning, and we at BESA are very much looking forward to it.”

This year’s conference, called “The Creative and Effective Use of Learning Resources”, will be held at Prospero House and is sponsored by the Publishers Licensing Society.  Click through for more programme information and to register.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

About Professor Dame Alison Peacock

Professor Dame Alison Peacock was appointed in August 2016 and became the Chartered College’s Chief Executive on 1 January 2017. Prior to joining the Chartered College, she was Executive Headteacher of The Wroxham School in Hertfordshire. Her career to date has spanned primary, secondary and advisory roles. She is a member of the Royal Society Education Committee, a peer member of the Teaching Schools Council and a trustee of both the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors and of Teach First. In March 2015, Alison was appointed by the Department for Education as a member of the commission on assessment without levels and she is author of Assessment for Learning without Limits.

About the Publishers Association

The Publishers Association is the leading trade organisation serving book, journal, audio and electronic publishers in the UK. Members represent over 80% of the UK publishing industry including global companies such as Elsevier, Wiley, Pearson, Penguin Random House, Hachette and the University presses, as well as many independent publishing houses. www.publishers.org.uk.

About BESA

BESA, the British Educational Suppliers Association, is the trade association covering the entirety of the UK educational suppliers sector. It operates on a not-for-profit basis, and is accountable to an Executive Council that is elected by member companies.

It has an 80-year heritage serving the UK education sector, and represents over 300 educational suppliers in the UK, including manufacturers and distributors of equipment, materials, books, consumables, furniture, technology, ICT hardware and EdTech to the education market.

BESA has a Code of Practice to which all members must adhere, along with a stringent membership process, both of which assure schools of a high standard of quality.

For more information, visit: www.besa.org.uk

About the Textbook Challenge

The Textbook Challenge is a campaign calling for every child to have access to a textbook in the main subject areas. The campaign is not a simple call for money. It is about raising awareness of the value using textbooks bring to the classroom and teachers and encouraging their use. It is about pointing out that in an environment of limited resources when sometimes tough choices have to be made, the cost of textbooks is more than balanced out by the benefits they deliver. For more information please visit the campaign website.

About the Resource Our Schools Campaign

The Resource Our Schools campaign aims to ensure that every school has access to the resources they need to deliver the education that our children deserve. Over 500 subject associations, unions, companies, and concerned parents and teachers have already signed up to the campaign statement, proving that the issue affects stakeholders across the education sector.