Thursday:

John MacBeath

Chair of Educational Leadership, University of Cambridge

John MacBeath is the Chair of Educational Leadership at the University of Cambridge and Director of Leadership for Learning: the Cambridge Network. Until 2000 he was Director of the Quality in Education Centre at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. As well as his interest and research on leadership he has for the last decade worked with schools, education authorities and national governments on school self-evaluation. Five books on self-evaluation have been addressed mainly to a teacher and senior management readership. These include Schools Must Speak for Themselves, Self-Evaluation in European Schools, Self-evaluation: what's in it for schools?, Self-evaluation in the Global Classroom and School Inspection and Self evaluation - all published by Routledge and now in twelve European languages. All of these books derive from collaboration with schools, with teachers and schools students, the Global Classroom book being written mainly by school students from eight different countries. Issues in School Improvement, a CD-rom resource for schools in Hong Kong, contains many of these self-evaluation tools in both English and Chinese while a recent addition to self evaluation and inspection Hong Kong is an interactive website illustrating good practice in Hong Kong special, primary and secondary schools. 

Mick Waters – QCA – After Dinner speaker

Director of Curriculum at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

Mick’s role as Director of Curriculum at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is ‘to develop a modern, world-class curriculum that will inspire and challenge all learners and prepare them for the future’. Mick was Chief Education Officer for the City of Manchester and before that he worked in Birmingham LEA where he drove forward a school improvement agenda that saw increasing achievements and schools seeking new horizons in educational development. Previously Mick had experience of headship in two schools and of working in teacher training.
He was also part of an Education Development Unit which worked on a contract basis with LAs and other agencies across the UK and worldwide. Mick believes in being close to teachers, children and schools, and is often to be found in the classroom working with children. He has written books on the curriculum, teaching and learning, and management, as well as making presentations at numerous national and international conferences. He is passionate about the role of education in improving life chances for pupils. He enjoys asking adults to look at learning through the eyes of a pupil. 

Friday:

Ralph Tabberer

Director General of Schools – DfES

Awaiting Biography

Estelle Morris

Chair of the Children's Workforce Development Council

Baroness Estelle Morris is the Chair of the Children's Workforce Development Council. Estelle Morris started her career as a teacher at Sidney Stringer School and Community College in 1974, progressing to the post of Head of Sixth Form Studies. During her time as a teacher she was elected as a member of Warwick District Council and led the Labour Group for seven years.
In 1992 she was elected as MP for Birmingham Yardley and in 1994 she was appointed as Opposition Spokesperson for Education and Employment. After Labour's 1997 election victory, Estelle Morris became Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the department for Education and Employment and in 1998 she became the Minister for School Standards.
In 2001 she was appointed as the Secretary of State for the newly created Department for Education and Skills. Ms Morris resigned from this post in 2002 but returned to the front bench eight months later as Minister for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Ms Morris has been awarded an honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University in 2004 for her outstanding career in politics; she has also received honorary degrees from the Universities of Warwick, Wolverhampton and Bradford.
Ms Morris stood down earlier this year after thirteen years as MP for Birmingham Yardley. She was appointed to the House of Lords after the May 2005 election. Her involvement in the field of education continues, in 2005 Estelle Morris became the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Sunderland University.