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Insights and Inspiration at Wellspring’s Fifth Festival of Learning

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Earlier this month, on Friday 9th February, Wellspring’s thriving community of 2041 colleagues came together online for the Trust’s fifth annual Festival of Learning. This eagerly anticipated event, meticulously crafted to ignite inspiration, foster collaboration, and enhance skills across Wellspring, proved as impactful as ever.

The day began with a thought-provoking and inspiring keynote speech from Leeds Rhinos’ legend Jamie Jones-Buchanan MBE, who gave a fascinating insight into life at the top of professional sport. Jamie also discussed the importance of shared values and shared destinations, teamwork, wellbeing, and treating success and adversity just the same. 

71 different workshops were held throughout the course of the day, and participants delved into everything from behaviour management and subject-specific teaching techniques to stress management and mastering spreadsheets. Notably, this year marked a milestone as catering staff were also able to participate in the day for the very first time. As catering operations have now been moved in-house, school catering employees are now a direct part of the Wellspring workforce and able to benefit from the Trust’s commitment to professional development for all.

Attendees headed to social media to express how much they enjoyed the day, describing it as ‘an incredible learning experience’ and declaring that the ‘workshops were incredibly inspiring.’

Natalie Hardman, Chief Administration Officer at Wellspring, said: “Our Festival of Learning has become a real highlight in the Wellspring calendar, and something colleagues from across the Trust look forward to each year.

“Sharing knowledge and professional generosity is a key part of who we are at Wellspring. It was wonderful to see so many of our colleagues giving up their time and sharing their expertise to support others and ensure there really was something for everyone, whether based in our schools, or part of the central or estates teams.

“It takes a huge amount of hard work and commitment to successfully host an event of this size and scope, and I am very proud of the team who put so much effort into ensuring the day went off without a hitch. We’re now looking forward to next year!”

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Educators Urged To Embrace Creativity at 4th Festival of Learning

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Earlier this month Wellspring held its fourth Festival of Learning, bringing together experts and colleagues from across the trust to share their knowledge and expertise, and be inspired by a range of speakers. 

This year’s festival, which was held online for the third time, kicked off with a thought-provoking keynote speech by Ian Gilbert, founder of Independent Thinking, and a leading voice in the field of education. Ian’s speech focused on the need for educators to embrace creativity and innovation in their teaching practices, and to encourage their students to think critically with curiosity.

Discussing the increasing use of AI and the changing nature of the skills required in today’s workplaces, Ian explained how ‘thinking logically isn’t enough,’ and encouraged teachers to provoke debate and emphasise creative thinking in their students. In a world where Google can teach basic facts, Ian argued that educators have a very different role to play and focus should be on giving students the space and confidence to explore new ideas and perspectives.

Ian’s speech was followed by a series of workshops and discussions, covering a wide range of topics, from teaching strategies for students with special educational needs, to the latest developments in subject-specific areas. 49 different sessions were held throughout the day, and there were 3138 session bookings, with many sessions being viewed by multiple colleagues at their own school settings. 

“Our Festival of Learning just seems to be getting better and better each year, and we’re delighted with how the day went,” said Natalie Hardman, Chief Administration Officer at Wellspring Academy Trust. “It’s been fantastic to see so many amazing education experts coming together to explore new ideas and to share their knowledge and experiences. We’re committed to providing the best possible education for our students alongside continuous staff development, and events like this are an important part of that. “