27 March 2020 sees the second National Advanced Practitioner conference take place at the Hyatt Regency in Birmingham. Last year’s event, illustrated by graphic facilitator Pen Mendonça, introduced Advanced Practice in FE to a wider audience. This year, with Advanced Practitioners (APs) firmly established as an engine room of organisational culture change in further education, delegates will be showcasing how they embed, extend and enhance quality improvement across the full breadth of provision.
This event is unique because not only does it showcase great practice but also how projects and initiatives join up into the many ‘constellations’ of #APConnect. APs meet, they network, they stay connected on social media, they combine around shared energies and they work together, formally and informally. This conference illustrates how stepping mentally (and physically) outside the organisation can lead to new thinking and affirmative change.
Keynote speaker Professor Rachel Lofthouse, from the CollectivED Coaching and Mentoring Network at Leeds Beckett University, will frame the day by drawing on research into how coaching changes cultures. All workshops will be led by Advanced Practitioners, with culture change firmly in mind.
As FE enters a new era, movements such as the growth in #FEResearch make it clear that practitioners are doing it for themselves. #APConnect2020 will leave delegates buzzing with fresh, evidence-informed ideas. Having worked with nearly all of the presenters at one time or another, I don’t want risk offending someone by picking a favourite! Instead, I’m going to really enjoy seeing evidence of all the rich collaboration. I think it’s going to be profound to see the seeds sown in #APConnect real and virtual spaces flourish and blossom this year.
Anyone with an interest in quality improvement (and culture change) is warmly welcomed. Come prepared to think and discuss. Tickets are £100 (subsidised to £85 for Society for Education and Training Foundation (SET) members).