KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Lemn Sissay, OBE: More Than My Trauma – Harnessing the Healing Power of Creativity

During his keynote, Lemn will demonstrate how trauma is treatable and that the healing process can be a catalyst for profound awakening. You will be taken on his childhood journey of abandonment, adoption, care homes, neglect and rejection, while exploring the role of creativity insurviving childhood trauma. In an education system which leaves minimal room for creativity, music and the arts, Lemn will suggest ways in which teachers can surmount these challenges to prioritise children’s mental health

Lemn Sissay, OBE

Lemn Sissay is British and Ethiopian. He is a BAFTA-nominated, award-winning international writer and broadcaster. He has written collections of poetry and plays, and his critically acclaimed memoir, My Name is Why (Canongate) was published last year. He is Chancellor of the University of Manchester and has been made an Honorary Doctor by the universities of Manchester, Kent, Huddersfield and Brunel. He was the first poet commissioned to write for the 2012 London Olympics and was FA Cup poet in 2015. His series of Landmark poems are visible on buildings in London, Manchester, Huddersfield and Addis Ababa. In 2019, Lemn was awarded the PEN Pinter Prize, given to writers who, in the words of Harold Pinter’s Nobel speech, ‘cast an unflinching, unswerving gaze upon the world’. He was appointed OBE for services to literature and charity in 2021.

Julie Harmieson: School as a Pathway to Public Health: A Place to Heal, Recover, Discover and Learn to Live Life Well

Julie’s session will explore how trauma informed approaches can create a culture and ethos that provide a truly inclusive environment for all – children and young people and staff, regardless of their life experiences.
You will also examine what constitutes a healing environment and how to create this in your provision, including factors such as the role of enriched, relational, psychologically safe environments and how school staff can be emotionally available adults to buffer the impact of trauma through the everyday work of the school.

Julie Harmieson

• Co-Director, Trauma Informed Schools UK, National Strategy and Educational Development: informing delivering and supporting training and practice in schools in the UK
• Former Headteacher of a Primary Alternative Provision

Over 19 years experience as a qualified teacher, Senco and Specialist Area Nurture Provision Lead Teacher, supporting children and young people with social, emotional and mental health difficulties and/or challenging behaviour at both a practitioner and senior leadership level within mainstream and specialist sectors

• Member of The Trust Inclusion Team with responsibility for Trauma Informed Practice, Aspire Multi Academy Trust, Cornwall
• Independent freelance Consultant supporting teachers, education professionals and counsellors with individuals and groups of challenging and/or vulnerable children

Julie is passionate about supporting children and young people to be the best they can be, helping schools and organisations to remove the barriers preventing full engagement in life. She has a particular interest and expertise in supporting schools to develop a fully inclusive approach with both students and members of the school community, facilitating an environment where the mental health and well-being of all is central to the school ethos.

Julie divides her time between working at the chalkface in both a practical and advisory capacity, with training, supporting and challenging schools to embed and develop their trauma informed practice.

Stu Evans: Headteacher, The New Leaf Inclusion Centre     

Stu has worked in education for over 20 years within mainstream and alternative provision settings. He has 15 years experience of school leadership, with responsibilities across personal development, behaviour and attitudes and quality of education. Most of his roles have been within deprived areas, working with a wide spectrum of children and families. He has been part of leadership teams that have taken several schools out of special measures.

Stu is an energetic practitioner with the knowledge, skills and understanding of a range of teaching, learning, assessment, behaviour management and SEND strategies needed to make a positive impact on the progress and development of pupils. He is confident and innovative and possesses an open-minded and determined attitude to motivate and inspire both himself and others to succeed.

Stu is passionate about supporting individual pupils and families utilising a variety of flexible approaches within his school to best meet needs. As an outward facing leader he is keen to gain insight into other provisions whilst also sharing some of the fabulous practice demonstrated by the staff within his school.

Stu is currently headteacher of New Leaf Centre pupil referral unit. He has led the school from being inadequate in 2018 to RI in May 2021, with the rapid improvement trajectory still being maintained.

Stu and his team provide outreach services to a number of schools, supporting staff and parents working with vulnerable and challenging children. They are currently supporting the local authority with their inclusion strategy, providing expert advice and guidance to effectively support vulnerable children and families.

“The headteacher has shown strong leadership and a great deal of resilience. He has driven improvement despite the continued serious challenges” (OFSTED December 2019)

“(The interim headteacher) has gained the trust of staff, who are working well as a team. The interim headteacher has a calm and visible presence around the PRU” (OFSTED October 2018)

Dr Janet Rose: Emotional Development and Wellbeing – What can neuroscience tell us and what can we do about it?

This session will outline new insights from the neurosciences which appear to provide the foundation for mental health and wellbeing. It will highlight important neurobiological and neurophysiological research which is enriching our understanding of human relationships and behaviour. It will introduce an evidence based strategy called Emotion Coaching which is informed by neuroscientific research. This practical tool can be used by all practitioners to foster wellbeing and support behavioural self-regulation in young children. Evidence suggests that children who are emotion coached achieve more academically, are more popular, have fewer behavioural problems, fewer infectious illnesses, and are more emotionally stable and resilient.

Dr Janet Rose

Dr Janet Rose is currently Principal of Norland College and a former Associate Professor and Reader in Education at Bath Spa University

She has a wealth of experience in supporting children and young people, including those who have experienced trauma.  She led the national research project Attachment Aware Schools and Trauma Informed Practice, which comprised a comprehensive programme of support for children and young people affected by early attachment difficulties, trauma and neglect. She is the co-founder of Emotion Coaching UK which trains and researches the use of Emotion Coaching as a practical strategy to support the development of children’s and young people’s self-regulation, behaviour, wellbeing and resilience, including children and young people who have experience trauma.  She has worked closely with numerous Virtual Schools and organisations who support Looked After Children and is currently a member of the Ministerial Care Leaver Summit.  She is the author of numerous academic and professional publications related to attachment and trauma, the most recent of which is a book entitled Emotion Coaching with Children and Young People. Janet is also a Level 1 Theraplay Practitioner, a Sensory Attachment Intervention practitioner and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Dr Mine Conkbayir: Introduction and Summary

Dr Mine Conkbayir will act as the moderator and presenter for this online event, but will also kick off the event with an overview of what trauma-informed practice is and why it is important in early years provision; she will also lead the Q&A sessions and sum up at the end of the day!

Dr Mine Conkbayir

Mine Conkbayir, Doctor of Philosophy, specialises in neuroscience. An award-winning author, lecturer, trainer and researcher, she has worked in early childhood education and care, for over twenty years. Mine is passionate about bridging the knowledge gap between neuroscience and Early Years. She designed the new Cache Neuroscience in Early Years qualifications and accompanying textbooks as part of this endeavour and her latest award-winning book, Early Childhood and Neuroscience: Theory, Research and Implications for Practice, is now in its second edition.

She is the winner of the Nursery Management Today Top 5 Most Inspirational People in Childcare Award.  She is the founder of the award-winning Cache Endorsed Learning Programme, Applying Neuroscience to Early Intervention and the two times award-winning online training programme, Self-regulation in Early Years. She is the designer of the two times award-winning free self-regulation app, the Keep Your Cool Toolbox and has contributed to the development of the Birth to Five Matters non-statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage, on the subject of self-regulation. Trained in trauma-informed approaches, Mine regularly delivers training on behalf of local authorities and fostering organisations, as well as various Early Years providers in achieving trauma-informed care. Mine is a frequent main stage speaker and has spoken at the Ofsted Big Conversation events, as well as hosting three sold-out Funzing lectures and Q&A on the subject of adverse childhood experiences and the long-term impact of trauma.