ASCL - Programme

13-14 March |The ACC, Liverpool

Programme

ASCL Annual Conference 2026 will include a range of opportunities for senior and aspiring leaders regardless of their role.

Keynote addresses
Hear from policymakers, educationalists and inspirational leaders from other sectors.

Workshops
Get involved in individual sessions or follow one of our workshop themes including sessions focused on business leadership, primary, post-16, and diverse leadership.

Conference Hub
Get practical updates from our partners and supporters and insight into the latest developments to support you and your school, college or trust.

New for 2026
In a change to previous years, and in response to delegate feedback, at ASCL Annual Conference 2026 we will be hosting a drinks reception after the final keynote on Day 1 instead of the Annual Dinner. This will provide further opportunities to welcome and network with colleagues, as well as time to speak with our policy specialists and exhibitors in a more relaxed environment.

Please note: the programme is subject to change

Friday 13 March

8.00-10.00 Registration, exhibition and refreshments

09.45 Student music

10.00 Conference opens

ASCL General Secretary Pepe Di'Iasio opens Annual Conference

10.05 Keynote | Dr Jo Rowley

ASCL President 2025-26 and Deputy Headteacher, Walton High School

Jo grew up in Walsall in the West Midlands and attended a community comprehensive school. She was the first person in her family to go to university and studied chemistry at degree and PhD level at the University of Manchester before training to be a teacher.

Jo has always taught in Staffordshire across a range of secondary schools and has been teaching for 30 years. She has held a number of leadership roles including assistant head, and deputy headteacher as well as acting headteacher on a number of occasions.

She is currently deputy headteacher at Walton High School in Stafford. Jo is passionate about making teaching a well-respected and enjoyable career which attracts the very best talent from graduates to educate our children so that they can shape a better future for us all.

Jo's theme for her presidential year is 'Forward together'.

10.30 Keynote | Sir Martyn Oliver

HMCI Ofsted

Sir Martyn Oliver started as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector at the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills in January 2024. He has worked in education since 1995 starting as a teacher and joined Outward Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) in 2009 where he became Principal of Outwood Grange Academy and then a National Leader of Education (NLE). In 2016, Sir Martyn was appointed Chief Executive and Accounting Officer for OGAT, a role he held until he started as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector. Sir Martyn has also previously held Trustee positions for the Office for Students (OfS), Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Confederation of Schools Trusts (CST) and for the David Ross Education Trust (DRET), was a board member of the Department for Education’s (DfE) Opportunity North East and has advised both the government and the DfE on a number of groups.

10.55 Keynote | Bridget Phillipson MP

Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities.

Bridget is the Labour MP for Houghton and Sunderland South; one of three constituencies in the City of Sunderland. She was first elected to the seat on 6th May 2010, and was most recently re-elected at the 2024 General Election. She is Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities.

11.25 Break, exhibition and refreshments

12.10 Keynote | Colin Jackson CBE

Olympic Champion, Broadcaster, and Inspirational Speaker

Colin Jackson is one of Britain’s most celebrated athletes, renowned for his exceptional achievements in the 110m hurdles. Throughout his illustrious career, he secured an Olympic silver medal, became a two-time World Champion, and set multiple world records. His dominance extended to European and Commonwealth titles, solidifying his status as a leading figure in international athletics for over a decade.

Since retiring from competitive sports, Colin has transitioned seamlessly into broadcasting. A trusted and charismatic voice, he has been a prominent athletics commentator and pundit for the BBC since the 2004 Athens Olympics, with his expertise and engaging commentary shining at events such as the Paris 2024 Olympics.

In recent years, Colin has become a powerful advocate for diversity, inclusion, and mental health awareness. His open and connectible honesty has captivated the media and live audiences alike, as he speaks from the heart about the stressful demands of competing at the highest level and the impacts of anxiety. Through candid discussions, Colin has inspired countless individuals, offering a unique perspective on resilience and well-being. His work as the presenter of the BBC’s 2020 Panorama film Athletes brought crucial attention to the mental challenges faced by professional athletes, resonating deeply across the sporting community and beyond.

Colin’s versatility extends to entertainment, where he showcased his charisma on Strictly Come Dancing. Partnered with Erin Boag, he wowed audiences in 2005, finishing as runner-up and later winning the 2006 Christmas Special with a perfect score.

At 57, Colin is arguably more relevant now than ever. His personable and professional approach, combined with his high profile, ensures he remains in high demand from the commercial sector. Colin delivers more talks now than ever before, captivating audiences as a confident and charismatic conference and awards host, as well as an outstanding motivational speaker. With his dynamic presence, wealth of experience, and genuine ability to connect, Colin inspires teams to build resilience, embrace inclusion, and achieve excellence.

12.55 Workshop session 1

Workshop session titles include:

Building the National Union of School Students
Seven steps to improve teaching and learning
Adapted curriculum pathways and provisions - they key to 'inclusive mainstream'
Strategic voices on school and college leadership
Forward together: feeding minds, not just bellies!
What we have learned so far about the renewed inspection framework
Elevating group professional development
AI in Education: Strategic Leadership and practical tools
Future-Ready: Young voices on digital literacy
The paperless curriculum 2030 - A tide in the affairs of men
The graduated response:a whole school approach
Leading professional development for Impact: culture, principles and evidence in 16-19 settings
Master your schools policies, streamline and onboarding and more with NotebookLM

13.40 Lunch and exhibition

14.45 Workshop session 2

Workshop session titles include:

Adaptive expertise
Equitable and intentional staff development to unblock talent pipelines
Chaotic Corridors to Calm Purpose
Enriching the curriculum in a changing world
Reaching readers:Practical strategies for KS3 literacy success
Preparing students for the future with Canva Education
A leader's guide to safe and responsible AI with Google
Maintaining standards in a changing landscape
Every student, every step: building equitable pathways from Primary to Post 16
Leading and developing effective internal alternative provision
Protect your people: legal support for staff reputation in the Digital Age
The power of presence: visibility and voice for women in school leadership
The inextricable connection: supervisions role in the future of education
Beyond feedback: embedding listening into leadership

15.30 Break, exhibition and refreshments

16.10 Keynote | Google

16.30 Keynote | Katriona O’Sullivan

Professor, Maynooth University and Psychologist and Memoirist

Katriona O’Sullivan is a Professor in the faculty of science in Maynooth University, a psychologist and memoirist. Her first book, Poor, debuted at #1 on the Irish Non-Fiction bestseller list.

As one of 5 children in a home shaped by her parents' heroin addiction, Katriona's story chronicles her journey from poverty, teenage pregnancy, homelessness to graduating with a PhD from Trinity College Dublin and becoming an award-winning lecturer whose work challenges barriers to education.

17.15 Drinks reception

18.45 Close of day one

Saturday 14 March

08.30 Registration, exhibition and refreshments

09.30 Keynote | Pepe Di’Iasio

ASCL General Secretary

Pepe Di'lasio was most recently Headteacher at Wales High School, a 11-19 High school in Rotherham from September 2012 to March 2024.

Pepe began his teaching career in Doncaster before moving as Deputy Headteacher to an 11-19 outstanding school in Sheffield. Pepe has also worked as an Executive Headteacher of two high schools and more recently has been Assistant Director of Education for Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.

Pepe is also a former Chair of ASCL Equality, Inclusion & Ethics Committee and ASCL President 2021-2022. He was elected as ASCL General Secretary in 2023 and took over the role in April 2024.

09.50 Keynote | Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Children's Laureate and award-winning children’s book author

Frank Cottrell-Boyce is a multi award-winning children’s book author and screenwriter. Millions, his debut children's novel, won the prestigious CILIP Carnegie Medal.

His other books include Cosmic, Framed, The Astounding Broccoli Boy, Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth, Runaway Robot, Noah’s Gold and The Wonder Brothers. He has enjoyed a long-time collaboration with award-winning illustrator Steven Lenton. His books have been shortlisted for a multitude of prizes, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children’s Fiction Award, The Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Blue Peter Book Award.

Frank is also a highly successful screenwriter. He has written for the hit TV series Doctor Who and his script for Michael Morpurgo’s Kensuke’s Kingdom won a British Animation Award. Along with Danny Boyle, he devised the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics. Frank has been the judge for the 500 Words competition and the BBC's One Show As You Write It competition.

Frank is a lifelong champion of children’s books. In 2023 he launched a successful podcast with Nadia Shireen, The Island of Brilliant!, celebrating writing and illustration for children of all ages.

He lives in Merseyside with his family.

10.20 Keynote | Sal Naseem

Award-winning public servant and best-selling author

Sal Naseem is an award-winning public servant and best-selling author.

He is the former Director for London at the Independent Office for Police Conduct, where he spent the best part of a decade working in the police accountability framework in England and Wales. Sal is currently a Senior Associate Fellow at The Police Foundation and served as an independent panel member at the National Fire Chiefs Council, supporting their work on culture and inclusion, and on the board of the Electoral Commission.
Through Sal’s work in policing as the first South Asian to hold his post at the IOPC, he gained remarkable recognition. Notably, his pioneering efforts exposed the toxic culture inside the Metropolitan Police. As a result, he directly challenged discrimination in all forms and addressed racial disproportionality on both regional and national levels.

Sal has worked on some of the most high-profile misconduct cases featuring the Metropolitan Police Service in recent years. As the Strategic Lead on Discrimination, his work focused on stop & search, racism, misogyny, and police culture. His portfolio of work has been cited by Parliamentary Select Committees, respected academics, and major media outlets. One example, the Guardian highlighted his stop and search work as one of the “key moments in police relations with Britain’s BAME communities since 1999.”

Sal is the author of True North: A Story of Racism, Resilience, and Resisting Systems of Denial. The book explores his life and career and how values-based leadership and moral courage are the catalysts for change, both personal and professional. Sal has also contributed to several documentaries on policing and appeared in both national and international media, most recently featuring in the Panorama Documentary: ‘Undercover in the Police’.

Sal has been recognised as one of the leading voices in the world on diversity & inclusion on LinkedIn by Favikon in 2025. Honoured as one of the 50 most influential people driving change in the UK through inclusion in the Diversity Power List 2023/2024 and also recognised as one of the most inspirational leaders on inclusion by D&I Leaders 2024.

Sal holds a law degree from the University of Glasgow and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is the founder of True North Leadership and is currently a Trustee at the Centre for Justice Innovation and Prince Albert Community Trust. Sal is also an Ambassador for White Ribbon UK.

11.00 Break and exhibition

11.45 Keynote | Evelyn Forde MBE

Author and former headteacher

Evelyn Forde is the former headteacher of Copthall School and now a leading voice on ethical, values-driven leadership in education and beyond.

Evelyn won the TES Headteacher of the Year Award in November 2020, followed shortly thereafter with being awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List on 31 December 2020. Her debut book, Herstory: A Leadership Manifesto (2024), explores the lived experiences of Black leaders and the barriers they face whilst offering practical suggestions for improvements.

Her forthcoming title, Authentic Leadership: How to Win Hearts and Minds (2026), expands on her approach to leading with purpose, integrity and lasting impact across sectors.

12.25 Workshop session 3

Workshop session titles include:

Staff wellbeing - menopause in the workplace
Building your tribe
Beyond compliance: building a bold data protection strategy
Harness your hopes: what will the independent sector look like by 2036 and how we can prepare for it
Delivering the P16 Skills white paper proposals for young people
Communicate with confidence for leaders
Shared expertise, stronger schools: A specialist-mainstream collaborative model
The future of flexible working in our schools - What's possible
Creating effective well-being cultures for leaders and school staff
The power of a connected staff culture
Bills and white papers and reviews! Oh my!
Maximising the impact of the pupil premium through academic and social inclusion
No pupil left behind through strategic online/hybrid provision
Breaking down barriers - empowering student decision making in a changing world
How to stay well when the work's never done

13.10 Lunch

14.10 Keynote | Susie Dent

Writer and broadcaster

Susie Dent is a writer and broadcaster on language. The resident word expert on C4's Countdown, she also appears on the show's comedy sister 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown. Susie comments regularly on TV and radio on words in the news. She has contributed to discussions on Radio 4's Woman's Hour, 15 x 15, Word of Mouth, Saturday Live, More or Less, Today, and on Radio 5 Live's Breakfast and Drive programmes, and has been a regular panellist on R4's Wordaholics. She has made guest appearances on many TV programmes including BBC Breakfast, Newsnight, This Morning, Test the Nation, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Not Going Out, and The One Show.

Susie answers notes and queries about words and phrases in weekly columns in the Radio Times and The Week Junior. She has written for the Independent on Sunday, the Telegraph, and the Times, and is the author of several books, including the Sunday Times Bestseller, Guilty by Definition. She is a spokesperson for Oxford University Press, and has been a judge on the Costa Book Awards and on the Academy Excellence Awards. Susie regularly delivers key-note speeches to both small companies and major corporations on language and communication.

Susie lives in Oxford where she has developed a passion for cycling - Lycra or no, she is never without her little black book for jotting down any new words picked up in the wild

14.50 Keynote | James Graham (tbc)

15.30 Close of conference