The BEST Inclusion Conference held on 10th June at King’s House in Bedford, was a resounding success! The event was exceptionally well attended by SENCOs and school leaders from across our region, creating a fantastic buzz of collaboration and shared purpose. As we all navigate system-wide changes in supporting children with SEND, we were incredibly fortunate to welcome a lineup of highly regarded speakers. Their sessions offered both the inspiration we needed and the practical tools we can take straight back into our classrooms and offices. • Malcolm Reeve (National SEND Advisor): Delivered a clear, powerful keynote on developing fully inclusive schools. His afternoon workshop dived deeper into how we can design robust, whole-school systems to better meet individual needs. (A huge thank you to NASEN for supporting Malcolm’s attendance!) • Natalie Packer (Independent SEN Consultant & Author): Drew on her extensive UK and international experience to discuss setting up school-based Inclusion Bases. Natalie provided invaluable guidance on the upcoming SEN reforms and what they mean for us as we shape these new provisions. • Heba Al-Jayoosi (Deputy Head, SENCO, and NASEN Advisor): Brought brilliant on-the-ground energy to the stage, sharing practical advice and pointing our primary school teams toward some exciting new resources. Inspiration and Insights at the BEST Inclusion Conference • Dr Stephanie Little and Dr Alice Edmanson (Educational Psychologists): Representing Central Bedfordshire Council, Stephanie and Alice ran a vital workshop packed with strategies for supporting children facing Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). It was fantastic to see the local authority’s excellent EBSA toolkit shared firsthand. Looking Ahead Overall, it was a day filled with ideas that both challenged and encouraged everyone who attended. A massive thank you to the organising team, our brilliant speakers, and all the staff who attended and contributed to making the day such a triumph. Let’s carry this momentum forward as we continue to champion inclusion across all our schools! FOLLOW BEST School Improvement on LinkedIn. “Thank you for putting this training together. It’s not often I come away from training buzzing and with lots of great and easy to implement ideas but yesterday was full of good ideas” 22
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODA2Njk=