Halton Governors Conference 2022

The annual Halton Governors Conference took place on Friday 18th November 2022 at the DCBL Stadium in Widnes. Attended by governors from across the Borough of Halton, the theme of the conference was “The Role of Governors in Ensuring Schools Provide for All”.

The Keynote speaker was Natalie Packer, a leading SEND expert for Optimus and The Key for School Leaders. Natalie, author of the book ‘The Perfect SENCO’, delivered a comprehensive 90-minute session entitled “What Does An Inclusive School Look Like?” which was well received by delegates. Following Natalie’s session, Graham Tague, Head of School Improvement and Governor Services at Entrust, delivered a session which covered the statutory duties of governors as outlined in the SEND Code of Practice 2015.

In the afternoon, delegates attended three workshops:- The Dyslexia Friendly School, delivered by Emma Buckley-Bridgett from Entrust’s Special Educational Needs and Inclusion Service; How Governors Can Monitor SEND Provision, delivered by Harry James, an independent governance support consultant; and Effective Practice in Halton, delivered by two Halton schools – Lunts Heath Primary and The Brow. This workshop was particularly inspiring and covered the schools’ challenges in relation to SEND provision and how they had tackled them.