Whole Education 8th Annual Conference

Attainment is not enough

28 February 2018

Central London

About Whole Education

What is Whole Education?

Whole Education is a dynamic partnership of schools and organisations committed to redefining today’s educational offering. We believe that all children deserve an engaging and rounded education that supports academic achievement, but also develops the skills, knowledge and qualities needed to flourish in life, learning and work.

As a national network, Whole Education facilitates shared learning and collaboration between innovative schools; exposes teachers to world-class thinking and approaches; and supports effective professional development, enabling our member schools to move beyond delivering the national curriculum to building a stronger foundation for learning – a ‘whole education’.

Learn More About our Programmes

The Conference

8th Annual Conference

#beyondattainment

28th February 2018

10:00 am

From our conception we have argued for a broader, more rounded education for all young people. One that develops knowledge across a range of subjects, supports young people to develop as strong independent learners and equips them with the wider skills and qualities they need to thrive in life, learning and work. The need for this kind of education today is as great as it has ever been.

The working theme of our 8th Annual Conference addresses an inherent contradiction in our current system - that attainment alone is not enough.

Employers large and small recognise this and, along with the CBI, consistently tell us how vital skills like communication, teamwork and resilience are. The Social Mobility Commission and Sutton Trust also recognise this in their most recent reports. The OECD recognises this, based on extensive work on future trends. With the rise of automation and AI, work in some sectors is likely to change dramatically.

In many ways, we have been very successful at getting as much as we can out of our current system, with students attaining more than ever and ‘the gap’ narrowing. However, our young people still report some of the lowest wellbeing in the developed world. All the while, accountability pressures in the system and changes to the curriculum have affected many schools’ confidence, capacity and bandwidth to deliver the broader kind of education that the economy, society, parents and young people need- and that you, educators, want.

Whole Education’s 8th Annual Conference will engage with leading thinkers and experts to examine the evidence and explore why attainment alone is not enough. These inputs will be balanced with leading practitioners who are successfully preparing young people for the modern world by helping all students achieve academically - and doing a whole lot more besides. Together, we will explore what schools can do to better prepare young people for their future.