Ascentis Strategic Partnerships Manager Clarissa reflects on our 2024 events

The last week in June happened to be extremely conference heavy. Everyone in FE is rounding up, planning for next year and is ready to network and discuss the state of the sector. As someone who likes to attend events, I was excited and ready to see what the mood was from a wider range of stakeholders; it’s easy to get used to hearing the same opinions from those around you, but especially as the General Election was a week away, I knew that going to a big industry event like the AELP National Conference, or THE place to be for ESOL delivery, at the NATECLA National Conference, would generate a large amount of fresh debate and thought provoking insight.

I definitely wasn’t wrong!

AELP was a really different setup to the usual National Conference; with no political speakers at all due to the Election, there was more time to reflect and discuss. I particularly enjoyed Steven Evans’ keynote speech on the first day. This was mainly around the existing and projected future skills gap. There’s a lot of work to be done! As Steven said, we need a higher ambition for skills!

The following day, my highlight was hearing from Heather Frankham and then Matthew Syed about overcoming barriers and growth mindset. This left to so much positivity and talk in the room of embracing change, learning from mistakes and moving forwards.

Alongside some great speakers, the new change of evening event was a huge hit with everyone it seemed; a ‘Skills & Grills’ event rather than a formal meal. This led to networking opportunities with providers, other Awarding Organisations, networks and stakeholders who were all busy sharing their insights from the day.

See the image above of four strong women supporting each other and collaborating across different organisations!

In between main events, I then managed to attend the NELP Summer Conference and hear a little more from Ben Rowland on AELP direction and mini commissions, and also attend the West Midlands Combined Authority Adult Learning Awards, which was such a wonderful reminder of why we do what we do in this sector; some very worthy winners who have achieved incredible things.

Then it was on to the NATECLA National Conference, where of course, as with all ESOL events, there was a huge buzz and excitement. Ascentis are so proud to be partners of NATECLA’s and to support so many important ESOL conversations and learning opportunities. Being at the event in person and seeing how many tutors share so much passion and best practice with each other was a very inspiring thing.

We got to hear more from Steven Evans, who talked more about ESOL funding and cuts, whilst discussing how funding can also inspire innovation. Then on to the most incredible selection of workshops – I barely touched the surface, discussing AI in ESOL, Grammar techniques and employment options. Lastly, I couldn’t mention the NATELA event without also mentioned the Ruth Hayman Trust volunteers for an absolutely brilliant (and tricky) quiz! Those who know me will know I’m ridiculously competitive, and they put up with me very well… (our team came 4th… very acceptable!)