The Society for Education and Training (SET), the Education and Training Foundation’s (ETF) professional membership body, is celebrating the success of its sixth annual conference, SET24, which brought together more than 300 Further Education (FE) and skills sector colleagues at the Vox Area, Birmingham, on Tuesday 16 January.
The event was chaired once again by the hugely popular Sarah Simons. The morning’s keynote speaker was Anthony Bennett, who spoke powerfully about mental health, motivation and resilience. After lunch, delegates enjoyed a moving performance by performing arts students from Derwen College, a specialist college for young adults aged 16 to 25 with special education needs and disabilities.
Throughout the day, delegates were able to visit a host of exhibition stands and attend a variety of breakout rooms on topics ranging from supporting learners with maths anxiety to taking action on climate change and making use of AI.
Jane Galbraith, Head of Membership and Accreditation at ETF, commented: “It was fantastic to see so many colleagues from across the FE and skills sector coming together in Birmingham to network, share ideas, and motivate one another. Our speakers were excellent, delivering a huge variety of highly relevant topics and content throughout what was an inspiring and motivational day. Thank you to everyone who joined us at SET24. We look forward to reflecting on the feedback we’ve received about the day to deliver another successful event next year.”
SET24 attendees shared their reflections on the day:
“I love networking, so it’s great to meet like-minded people. I’ve got a motto that is ‘the more we share the more we have’, so it’s great interacting with other like-minded people that are passionate about student experience and improving student outcomes.” – Kirsty Ingleson, Teaching, Learning & Digital Lead, Kirklees College
“Today is a chance for me to leave my place of work and have a day out where I can learn about what’s at the forefront of education. The breakout sessions were really informative, the speakers are really knowledgeable, but I also felt they were accessible and enthusiastic. I can take away that enthusiasm and use it in my workplace.” – Azmol Hussain, Lecturer and Learning Coach, United Colleges Group
“It’s my first time at the SET conference, and today I’ve taken away lots of ideas about different skills being used for teaching and learning, how to embed different types of problem solving and collaboration skills in the learning environment, and it’s been a good opportunity to network and meet people.” – Lisa Alexander, Education & Training Specialist, Capita, working for the Royal Navy
“I’ve been to the SET conference before, and every time I come, I get so much from it. This year, I’m in my third year of teaching teachers and I use SET for a lot of resources and for the professional standards – so it’s integral to my role to come to this event. The best session I’ve attended today was about decolonising the curriculum – it was fantastic! It was about making it inclusive, and making sure that everyone feels valued.” – Catherine Gray, Teacher Educator, East Coast College, Great Yarmouth & Lowestoft
Find out more about SET membership and its benefits on the SET website.