Last Thursday 18 June 2026, Executive Director, Martin Smith and Director of Teaching School Hubs, Jen Knowles welcomed delegates to the seventh Summer Conference held this year at Exeter Racecourse (and destined to be a galloping success!).  

Fiona Harvey, Deputy Headteacher for Scholarships at Colyton Grammar School started off the proceedings.
Often ranked as the highest-performing State School in the South West, Colyton Grammar School is the Lead Trust for the Colyton Teaching School Hub – one of the halves of SWIFT, along with Education South West. Colyton is also home to the Colyton Foundation (due to feature later in the conference). 
 
True to her roots as a Teacher of English, Fiona referenced the nature book, “The Tale of Tommy Nobody” (by Ruth Thomson), who became Tommy Somebody. It is a reminder that classrooms are full of Tommies trying to work out who they are, because everybody is a somebody. As educators, we need to foster and encourage positive relationships for everyone in our care because belonging is shaped intentionally. By widening success, every child can enjoy the moment of realising, “This I something I can do… and I am somebody here… and I truly matter.” Educating is not only about raising attainment, but about building positive environments.
 
Being somebody counts for staff AND children and young people.
Identity and belonging were to be key themes during the conference and aptly prefaced the keynote speaker up next.

Education Leader and Director of Teaching School at Chiltern Learning Trust, Sufian Sadiq lured us in with his presentation title, “If You Can Be Anything in Life, Be a Good Egg.” With the potential for lots of memorable egg metaphors.
 
In a societal context where the national mood is changing and narratives that once were fringe voices are becoming increasingly normal and even acceptable, Sufian asked, “If we expected better from everyone what does better look like?” What does it mean?”
 
Schools are challenged to place character, relationships and culture at the centre of educational success. Like an egg Sufian explained how people thrive when they are supported by the right environment and valued for their unique strengths. He explored the characteristics associated with effective teachers, leaders and pupils - highlighting qualities, including passion, resilience, empathy, integrity, ambition, collaboration and a commitment to growth. The strongest schools create “perfect harmony” by developing these attributes across the entire school community, rather than focusing solely on academic outcomes.

Note the distinction between professional expertise and leadership. Excellence in a particular subject or role does not automatically translate into leadership capability, suggesting leadership requires a separate set of interpersonal qualities, including communication, accountability, adaptability and the ability to inspire others. Character develops during a teacher’s career, and personal growth is shaped by experiences, setbacks and the working environments.
 
Sufian cautioned against “deficit ideology” – the tendency to focus on people’s shortcomings rather than their potential. When organisations stop believing in individuals, or fail to provide supportive conditions, motivation and performance suffer. Think of the strength of an egg, showing how people are often more resilient than they appear when placed in the right conditions. Excessive workload is not solely what breaks people; rather, it is poor treatment, lack of recognition and weak relationships. Celebrate differences, noting how diverse communities are strengthened by varied talents and perspectives.​

With themes that were to echo throughout the whole conference, Sufian reminded us how successful schools are built on trust, care and human connection.
 
Create environments where people feel valued, supported and able to flourish – and above all, “be a good egg.”
 
Cracking good advice and a pertinent premise for this year's conference. ​

Educator and author, Lewis Wedlock in his presentation “Masculinities in Schools: Preparing for “Newniversal” Work,” encouraged rethinking a more nuanced and responsive approach to engagement with boys and young men. Amidst an increasingly complex social landscape, Lewis highlighted research suggesting that many boys are uncertain about their identity and place in society:
 
79% of boys are unclear about what masculinity means.
54% believe boys have it harder than girls today.
AND 86% of parents express worries about the challenges facing boys.

Ending on an upbeat note, Lewis urged schools to treat students as experts in their own experiences and advocated “attunement,” rather than immediate agreement, encouraging educators to understand how young people arrive at their beliefs before attempting to influence them. Through listening, reflection and continuous feedback, Lewis believes schools can create more meaningful conversations about masculinity and better support the development of boys and young men. ​

Using vivid images of seedlings and growth, Sally Apps, Deputy CEO of the Cabot Learning Federation presented the earthy presentation, “The Power of Voice: Oracy, Equity and Our Shared Social Soil.” 
 
Most importantly, developing pupils’ speaking and listening skills is essential to improving educational equity and tackling disadvantage.
 
Evidence shows that three-quarters of children experiencing persistent poverty start school without the language skills needed for learning, placing them at a significant disadvantage from the outset.

Drawing on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Sally explained that oracy is not simply an educational tool, but a matter of social justice. All children have the right to express their views, be heard and participate fully in society and schools may represent the final opportunity for some young people to develop the communication skills needed to thrive in employment, relationships and community life. 

​Language, confidence and social capital are closely connected and confidence in speaking can shape access to opportunities, influence educational experiences and affect whether young people feel they belong. Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds can possess the same intellectual ability as their peers, but may lack the confidence, vocabulary or experience needed to express themselves in academic and professional settings.
 
It is important to listen to pupils lived experiences and ensure that disadvantaged students have a meaningful voice within schools. Sally exemplified a Trust-wide strategy focused on developing understanding of disadvantage, gathering regular student voice, investing in staff training and ensuring that support for disadvantaged learners is embedded across all school improvement strategies - rather than treated as a separate initiative.
 
Research and educational theory show that learning is fundamentally social and strong communication skills help young people to develop confidence, resilience and a sense of identity. Sally maintained that schools must create environments where every child feels known, valued and able to contribute.
 
Negative stereotypes associated with disadvantaged communities need to be challenged, and education should enable children to understand their place in the world, to develop a strong sense of self and to gain the confidence to shape their own futures. 

​In conclusion, oracy is a powerful lever for social mobility and inclusion. By giving every child the confidence and opportunity to be heard, schools can strengthen belonging, improve outcomes and help young people overcome barriers created by disadvantage.

​Leadership and wellbeing specialist, Shaheen Myers brought some practical wellness to the conference with her presentation on “Taking Care of Hearts and Minds.” Strong relationships, psychological safety and human connection are fundamental to creating healthy, high-performing school cultures.
 
Shaheen encouraged school leaders to focus not only on systems and outcomes, but also on the emotional and relational conditions that enable people to thrive. Top of the list are meaningful dialogue, reflective questioning and opportunities for staff to connect with one another through structured conversations - rather than relying solely on informal interactions. 

At the heart is connectedness. Too often stress leads to disconnection, which in turn can negatively affect wellbeing, engagement and performance. Relationships are the “hidden infrastructure” of organisations, and schools function most effectively when staff feel connected, valued and supported.
 
Effective leadership is as much about winning hearts as convincing minds, echoing Simon Sinek’s view that people are motivated by connection and purpose rather than instruction alone.
 
Drawing on wellbeing research, leadership theory and cultural traditions, Shaheen explored how belonging influences both individual and collective success. Referencing the work of performance coach, Owen Eastwood, she highlighted the importance of creating environments where people feel a genuine sense of belonging and shared purpose.  Leaders can use questions that promote deeper thinking and self-reflection, asking individuals about their strengths, purpose and identity beyond their professional roles, building trust, understanding and stronger relationships across organisations.
 
Psychologically safe workplaces are essential with leadership approaches that prioritise wellbeing, care and openness, enabling staff to contribute ideas, discuss challenges and seek support without fear of judgement. Care-centred school cultures built around leadership support, relational practice, sustainable performance, staff development, recruitment and retention. 

Shaheen concluded that connection should be viewed as a strategic priority in education. When people feel connected, they think more clearly, make better decisions and contribute more positively to their communities leading to personal and organisational success. 

Director of the Colyton Foundation, Nick Wakeling and Agnes Fitzpatrick, Regional Director of The Engagement Platform (TEP) were well-appointed to present on “Engagement, Belonging, and High Attainment - from Hidden Need to Building Opportunity in the South West.”
 
Pupil engagement should be treated as a leading indicator of educational success, particularly for disadvantaged pupils in the South West. Understanding pupils’ experiences can help schools to identify barriers to achievement before they appear in attainment data. 

​Drawing on research from TEP, engagement is closely linked to attendance, attainment and reading progress.

Pupils who feel a greater sense of agency and control over their learning make stronger academic progress and are more likely to achieve expected standards. Measuring engagement provides schools with valuable early warning signs that can inform targeted interventions.
 
National concerns around pupil engagement include a significant decline during the transition from primary to secondary education, described as the “Year 7 engagement cliff.” Whilst engagement levels vary between different groups of pupils, schools need to understand these differences, rather than relying solely on broad demographic labels.
 
It is important to move from “assumption to assessment” when addressing disadvantage. Disadvantaged pupils are not a homogeneous group, and the traditional indicators such as free school meal eligibility or deprivation measures often fail to capture the complexity of pupils’ needs. This is particularly true in the South West, where “pretty poverty,” dispersed deprivation and educational isolation can mask significant disadvantage. 

​In conclusion engagement and attainment should not be seen as competing priorities. But schools should use engagement data to identify hidden needs, understand barriers, design supportive conditions, build strong support networks and create sustainable pathways that enable disadvantaged pupils to succeed. 

​"EVERYONE is a leader at every level" - leader guru Steve Margetts told us in his presentation, “If Leadership Is So Important, Why Don’t We Deliberately Improve It?”  Unbelievably, knowing the depths of a school leader’s in-tray, Steve found the time over the past six years whilst doing his day job as Principal of Torquay Academy to muse and then write and publish a book with the empowering title, “Everyone Succeeds,” divulging his leadership wisdom. 

It was time for lunch! As glorious as a summer's day.

A big thank you to our sponsor, Educatering for providing us with the delicious lunch showcasing their nutritious and exciting food.

​​In her presentation, “Outsourced to Outstanding,” Assistant Head of Educatering, Lucy Painter highlighted the benefits of bringing school catering services in-house. Schools can gain greater budget control, eliminate third-party mark-ups, retain profits, and create bespoke menus tailored to pupils’ needs.

To the afternoon speakers.
It appears to have crept up on us surreptitiously. At one not too distant point Artificial Intelligence seemed like a half reality, but it is clearly here to stay and is rapidly part of (and driving) our lives.
 
In the next presentation Daisy Christodoulou called for a major rethink of AI and Assessment, ably positioned as Director of Education at No More Marking in her presentation, “AI and Assessment: What Needs to Change.” 

Daisy referenced three key points:
 

1. Students should not use AI in assessments.
2. Teachers should use AI as an assessment tool to support marking and evaluation.
3. Schools should develop systems that combine human and AI expertise.

 
Daisy cautioned that AI-generated work is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from genuine student work. Drawing on both No More Marking's research and wider academic studies, she reported that teachers cannot reliably identify AI-generated writing and frequently misclassify authentic student work as AI-produced.  Revealingly, in a 2024 university study in which fully AI-written submissions were secretly entered into undergraduate assessments, researchers found that 94% of AI submissions went undetected; whilst the AI essays achieved grades averaging half a grade boundary higher than those earned by real students.
 
All of which challenges the purpose of assessment itself; which is valuable, not because of the final mark awarded, but because of the inferences educators can make about a student's knowledge and capabilities. If AI completes the work, those inferences become unreliable.
 
In the context of increasing teacher workloads, speed matters. AI can process large volumes of student work quickly, potentially reducing teacher workload and enabling more frequent assessment cycles. BUT there is a big caveat. Human oversight remains essential to validate AI decisions and prevent gaming of assessment systems. Daisy cautioned about fully automated assessment systems with insights into the history of automated essay scoring, including the Project Essay Grade (PEG) system developed in 1968, which often matched or exceeded human marker reliability, yet was easily manipulated.

No More Marking has already trialled a combined approach using AI and human comparative judgement, with approximately 400,000 pieces of student writing assessed. AI agreed with human judgment 80 – 85% of the time, a level close to typical agreement rates between different human markers.
 
Looking ahead, Daisy proposed various models for integrating AI into assessment across different age groups: including AI-assisted redrafting in primary schools, AI undertaking most judging at Key Stage 3 with teacher oversight, and increased moderation and practice assessments at GCSE level plus new forms of feedback powered by AI.
 
By integrating the strengths of both AI and teachers, the foreseeable future with AI should be harnessed to improve the efficiency, consistency and quality of professional assessment. 

Our final speaker was Kamila Sidiqi, with quite the CV: Afghan educator, entrepreneur, and lead character in the novel, "The Dressmaker of Khair Khana" that tells the story of her women-led tailoring business, as well as founder of the Kamila Sidiqi Foundation. In her presentation, “Every Girl Deserves a Classroom” Kamila shared her personal journey and highlighted the transformative power of education for women and girls. 

From her own heartfelt experiences as a teacher, business leader and former Deputy Minister of Commerce, Kamila believes that education, supremely creates opportunities, builds confidence and drives economic and social progress. There is a personal pertinence as Kamila was in Afghanistan in September 2021 when girls above Grade 6 were barred from attending school by the Taliban (later extended to universities). Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where girls and women are formally prohibited from accessing secondary and higher education. More than 2.2 million girls have been excluded from secondary education, resulting in billions of lost learning hours.
 
“For many Afghan girls, the ban did not only close a school gate — it paused their childhood, their friendships, their confidence, and their future plans.”

Girls lose much more than their own education. Educated women are more likely to earn incomes, improve family health outcomes, invest in their children’s education and contribute to wider economic growth.

​Director of Education at Education South West, Suzannah Wharf summed up the conference and commended bringing together the collective wisdom to inspire and deepen thinking in our educational worlds.

She encouraged delegates to follow up on:

✅ One idea to act on intentionality.
✅ One conversation with a colleague.
✅ One reminder to look after yourself and your teams for sustainable improvement.

Keen to provide a wide delegate experience, we also thank our other attending sponsors:
Exeter Supply Partnership who connect exceptional primary teachers, Teaching Assistants, and nursery practitioners with schools across Exeter, Devon and Torbay and SchoolPro TLC who provide a wide range of education support for Schools and Multi Academy Trusts.
 
Thank you to our other exhibitors for showcasing their products and services:
 
Healthy Bs for all things relating to Bladders, Bowels & Bathrooms!
PHP Law LLP who provide complete support for Trusts and Schools
Rhino Play (SW) Ltd for sustainable playground design for every age.
Tute Education DfE-accredited online education partner for students in Key Stages 1 to 5
YPO leading education supplier of stationery, furniture and equipment. 

Today's the day!
You can see here the programme for our 2026 SWIFT Summer Conference at Exeter Racecourse:

We want this year's conference to be memorably meaningful presenting on issues that matter to YOU and bring the best of regional and national:

AI | Assessment | Equity | Wellbeing | Leadership | Care | Culture | Oracy | Disadvantaged | High Attainers | Masculinities

Every year we strive to build on the success of the previous Conference and the feedback speakers from last year's conference speaks for itself:

“Excellent presentation and super relevant to improving the quality of education in our schools”
“Challenging and engaging.”
“Powerful and passionate speaker.”

TWO THIRDS of delegates Strong Agreed the conference made a positive impact on their understanding of educational practices.
​A THIRD OF delegates Strongly Agreed the conference provided a high-quality experience.
OVER HALF of delegates rated the conference as Very Good.

Do look out for our sponsors and exhibitors who will be with us in person and find out more about their educational products and services: 

Exeter Supply Partnership
Educatering
Healthy Bs
PHP Law LLP
RHINO PLAY (SW) LTD
SchoolPro TLC
Tute Education
YPO

Applications are now open for the 2026 - 2027 cohort of Leading High Attainment – a year-long leadership development programme for secondary school leaders across the South West and the Colyton Foundation is pleased to be working in partnership with SWIFT and Devon Research School
 
Participants will benefit from:

• Expert-led webinars.
• Peer networking opportunities.
• Study visits to leading universities and some of England’s highest-performing schools.
• A strategic school improvement project, guided by the EEF Implementation Framework.

 
This year’s programme has brought together leaders from 36 secondary schools across the region and feedback from the inaugural cohort has been exceptionally positive:
 
100% of respondents rated the study visits as excellent.
88% reported they were very likely to apply their learning in school.
 
“Hugely impactful.”
“An excellent opportunity to build a South West network focused on excellence and aspiration.”
“A privilege to experience this insight and academic discussion.”
“I’ve learnt so much from these experiences and conversations, and I’m excited about what the future holds.”

“I hope the sense of a regional movement to support under-resourced pupils will have gathered further momentum, and that the Colyton Foundation will have become a ‘go-to’ hub for all schools and other organisations looking to support higher attainers & HE progression within the region.”

Nick Wakeling is Director of Studies at Colyton Grammar School, and Director of the Colyton Foundation, a charity established to ensure that, for Young People in the South West, background is no barrier to flourishing at school, attaining highly and progressing to higher education. 
 
We were pleased to interview Nick to find out more about his work for the Colyton Foundation. 

1. How does your position as Director of the Colyton Foundation draw on your qualities and aptitudes?
The Colyton Foundation exists as a charity to support schools and pupils in the South West to make sure that students - particularly those from under-resourced backgrounds - are able to attain highly and access higher education. My background as a teacher with 15 years’ experience in different schools, has been very helpful in terms of understanding schools as institutions.  The way schools work, the challenges that teachers and school leaders must deal with every day and in particular, working at Colyton Grammar School for eight years, I have gained an understanding of what academically able students need to thrive and succeed.
 
This experience is combined with another huge influence on me personally from taking part in the SW100 Programme run by the Reach Foundation. In conjunction with lots of other schools and Trusts in the South West this provided me with fantastic opportunities to visit incredible schools and to hear from national experts who are doing great things to supporting disadvantaged and under-resourced students to flourish. Drawing on this experience and national expertise in visiting some inspiring schools has played a big part in the development of the Colyton Foundation.

However, what is slightly different about my role with the Colyton Foundation from my previous experience in schools is leading a charity that has grown from nothing. It feels more entrepreneurial in some ways compared to my first experiences as a teacher in terms of forging partnerships, bringing together different organisations, and scaling up an idea to something that is having an impact on the ground, and drawing on a different creative skill set. It has been fun, but also challenging, because there is no safety net of existing systems and institutions to draw upon.

As for my qualities, I would say perseverance and determination, and the ability to have a long-term vision and to put together into a strategic plan in order to get to where we wish to be.
 
2. What have you found to be the most personally rewarding in your role to date?
Following on from question 1 above, it has been most personally rewarding to take something from an idea to a reality. We are now at the point where the programmes are designed are now fully up and running.
 
We have yet to experience this moment, but we will shortly reach a hugely significant milestone when our cohort of 130 Year 7 pupils from 32 different schools across the South West physically come together for the two employer visits organised later this month to Leonardo Helicopters and Spaceport Cornwall. This will be a very special moment because the programme is all about bringing together those students and creating that sense of shared belief and a cohort identity, connecting the students and schools. Previously, we brought the cohort together remotely at the launch event back in October. It was wonderful to see all the students there in their schools waving to each other, supported by their parents, teachers and senior leaders. This brought home that project was up and running. It was real and reaching the students that we want to help access to opportunity. When we are together in person, I imagine it will be even more powerful.
 
Another particularly striking moment was our study visit for senior leaders in November to the University of Cambridge and two high performing schools in London. It was very rewarding to spend time with leaders from schools across the South West who so obviously share a commitment to supporting their students to achieve as highly as possible. It was hugely affirming to spend time in their company and hearing their reflections, for example when visiting Cambridge, commenting how the students were both hugely impressive, and on another level, no different from students in their schools in the South West, who can absolutely achieve the same things.
 
3. What insights are you gaining from working with various partners?
A huge amount!
Our model is fundamentally collaborative: it’s about bringing together organisations with shared goals to pool expertise and resources.  Our work can be so much powerful when we pull together.
 
Our partner universities, for example, are very experienced in widening participation and how to support students at the application stage of the university application process, and this advice and guidance have been hugely valuable.
 
Our partner schools have a highly nuanced understanding of the South West context and specific challenges facing their communities – often linked to rural and coastal isolation. Bringing together these first-hand lived experiences with the university perspective has been very powerful.

Finally, working with SWIFT has been incredibly helpful (and I am not only saying that because I am the January interviewee!). The experience and expertise of all the wonderful SWIFT colleagues in designing programmes at scale for teacher professional development has been instrumental as we have started to get our programmes up and running.

4. What would you wish “a regional centre of excellence for high attainment” to look like?
Our vision is for the South West of England to be seen in the same way as the areas of London – the Borough of Newham is one particularly striking example – which have transformed school outcomes, HE progression and other opportunities for under-resourced young people over the last 10 to 15 years.
 
The context in the South West is very different, with different challenges, but there is no reason that, through the collective effort of schools, universities and the Third Sector, we can’t develop a similarly transformational model. On the one hand, it is about improving school outcomes and progression rates. But it is also about creating that powerful network of organisations and schools with a shared commitment to ensuring all young people from the region can access opportunity.
 
Sadly, there are not many rural areas where these efforts have been successful, and that is why our partnership work at the Colyton Foundation is all the more important and exciting. We have interest from the Department of Education from HE partners looking at our work as a potential model to be replicated and repeated in other areas with similar demographic contexts. I am hopeful the South West can become a model and inspiration for other areas of the country facing similar challenges can help young people to flourish.
 
5. What are your top three aspirations for the Foundation over the next five years?
In five years’ time, “Your Future Story” will have been running for five years, and will have supported 500+ children. Our pathfinder cohort, who have started the programme this year, they will have taken their GCSEs and we will look forward to seeing the impact of the programme on their outcomes, and in our partner schools more widely.
 
I hope the sense of a regional movement to support under-resourced pupils will have gathered further momentum, and that the Colyton Foundation will have become a ‘go-to’ hub for all schools and other organisations looking to support higher attainers and HE progression within the region.

Our work with “Your Future Story” work, which starts support at Year 7 and runs throughout secondary school will, I hope, have fully connected with our partnerships with Atom Learning offering attainment support to all FSM & PP pupils in primary schools, and the support we offer Sixth Forms in the region with applications to the most competitive university courses, to see outcomes for young people in the region improve in all these areas.
 
In other words, there is lots of look forward to over the next five years and every moment will count!
 
We thank Nick for sharing his passion and vision for the Colyton Foundation.
Interview by Jude Baylis, SWIFT Executive Assistant