The Modern Head of Year: Leading with Confidence, Clarity and Care

SPEAKERS

Michael Power is the Headteacher of two Pupil Referral Units, but his journey in education began long before stepping into school leadership. Starting out as a youth worker, he was driven by a deep belief in the potential of every young person, especially those too often written off by the system. He went on to become a teacher, then a Head of Year, where he found his calling in pastoral care and inclusion. His experience on the frontlines of school life inspired him to write The Head of Year’s Handbook: Driving Student Well-being and Engagement. Today, as a PhD researcher, he explores how school leaders can close the gap between government inclusion policies and the lived realities of students . His work is rooted in both theory and practice, but above all, in the belief that every child deserves to be seen, heard, and supported.

Dr Jo Trevenna is an experienced school leader and academic researcher, who has worked from primary through to secondary, further, and higher education. She has over 20 years’ experience of educational leadership from early years to post-graduate level. She supports pastoral teams to embed vision and policy into every day, consistent practice. She is driven by an inclusive ethos and her work is research informed. Her research interests centre on leadership and inclusion. She leads Potential Education, which specialises in the leadership of EDI in schools. Building understanding of the Equality Act (2010) and ensuring compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Sam Garner is a renowned speaker, trainer and author specialising in mental health and SEN. She has been a SENCo in a large secondary school and is a qualified Cognitive Behaviour Therapist and a Child and Adolescent Counsellor. She also set up a company providing mental health CBT programmes for schools. She is in high demand to speak at conferences and events and provides in-house training for schools and companies, nationally and internationally. Lauded for her humour and ‘telling it like it is’ approach to mental health, she has had her book Mental Health in Education published by Routledge, and regularly writes for several publications with more books in the pipeline for publication.

Clare Duffy is Senior Deputy Headteacher, leading on Quality of Education, at Uppingham Community College, an inclusive 11-16 secondary school in Rutland. A member of SLT for the past 6 years, she has led on a number of areas including Teaching and Learning, Professional Development, Curriculum, Pupil Premium, Personal Development and Careers and has supported colleagues through successful Ofsted inspections. Originally an English teacher, she was subsequently Head of English for 10 years of a large successful department. For the last 9 years she has also been a primary school governor holding the positions of Chair and Vice Chair. She is passionate about ensuring every child achieves their full potential and strongly believes that this can only be secured through a school’s academic and pastoral teams working closely together.

Dr Emma Kell is director of Those That Can Ltd. She has 25 years of experience as a teacher and leader in UK secondary schools and currently teaches in Alternative Provision. She is a qualified Performance Coach and speaks regularly on teacher wellbeing, recruitment and retention, She writes for a variety of publications including TES and BBC Teach. She has completed a doctorate on teacher well-being and parenting at Middlesex University and is author of How To Survive in Teaching (Bloomsbury, 2018) and A Little Guide For Teachers: Wellbeing and Self-Care and A Little Guide for Teachers: Engaging Parents and Carers. She is currently writing her fourth book, Real Lives of Teachers, due for publication with Sage Education in 2025. She is also Mum to two teenagers and a golden retriever.