Hi Everyone,
It was terrific to meet so many old friends - and make new ones! - at the 5th Annual Independent Schools Portal Marketing Conference on Friday. It was the first time that we've had over 100 schools in attendance at one of our events and I'd like to thank Queen Ethelburga's for hosting us so magnificently in North Yorkshire, to the speakers who gave so freely of their time and expertise and to Alicia for organising and delivering such a fabulous event.
We're also planning an additional live event on AI in Education in the summer term - it's currently still in the development phase - but will be held in the Canva offices in London. I'm hoping to be able to share the date and programme with you very shortly.
The Easter break seems to be somewhat staggered this year, so whether you have already broken up, or still have a week or two to go, I hope that you have a great week and that you get to enjoy some of the sunny weather that has been forecast!
With all good wishes,
David
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David Winfield
Founder, Independent Schools Portal.

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Exclusive Offer for ISP Newsletter Readers: Sign up by April 30th and get 10% off your first subscription!

The Science of Reading
Join us for an enlightening webinar designed specifically for UK primary school head teachers and educational leaders, focusing on the Science of Reading. This session will delve into the comprehensive research and evidence-based methods that underpin effective reading instruction. Our expert speakers will guide you through the critical components of the Science of Reading, and demonstrate how these principles can be seamlessly integrated into your school's educational framework to enhance reading outcomes and foster a love of reading among students. Book your place.

Hi Everyone,
The Independent Schools Portal has always been a way for the rest of the team and I at BlueCow Education to give back to the sector, to support schools and provide high-quality CPD such as the 2025 UK Schools Employment Law Update which was delivered online last Wednesday evening and which you can watch in full here.
As everything we do at the ISP is either free of charge or delivered below cost, the work that we do is funded by the online market research and supplier showcases that we deliver under the BlueCow brand. These showcases are also extremely useful to school leaders in of themselves; they allow SLT members the opportunity watch 6 education product presentations over 90 minutes on weekday evenings from the comfort of their own home. This helps to keep schools up to date with the latest innovations without attending trade shows - and in return for filling in a short feedback form, we are also able to email a £40 Amazon voucher to each school leader on the night as thanks for their time.
What we have created is quite unique and I'm as proud of the fact that the market research and showcase evenings have a 100% recommendation rate - and 92% class them as CPD in their own right - as I am of the work that the ISP undertakes. They really do help school leaders to stay ahead of the game.
If you'd like to join us at one of these showcases so you can see how good they are (as well as claiming your £40 Amazon voucher and supporting the work of the ISP) - you can sign up here. Hope to see you at one of the sessions soon!
With all good wishes,
David
PS - MyBodyIsMyBody (MBIMB) is delivering a Strengthening Communities by Safeguarding Every Child conference in Barnsley on Wednesday. The conference programme and speakers are simply outstanding; the ticket price is only £15 so if you are in Yorkshire / North Midlands, I can strongly recommend attending what will be a superb event. Find out more and book.
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David Winfield
Founder, Independent Schools Portal.

ISP Marketing and Admissions Conference 2025: in-person and online
The speaker lineup includes:
Two keynote addresses: Sarah Cunnane, Head of Media and Communications at the ISC and Mark Brealey, former BBC Journalist and advisor to some of the most high profile public sector individuals on how to handle press and crisis situations.
Two case studies: Hear from fellow professionals - Jo Phillips from Giggleswick School and Laura Booth from Hymers College will be sharing their experiences.
Two topical sessions: We will hear from Sophy Walker as to how AI can aid your admissions  and marketing. Sally Alexander will also look at what we can do to drive admissions in the current period of economic uncertainty.
Two sessions of your choosing:  An opportunity to choose the topic causing your school most consternation, from SEO to Social Media to Research to websites. These sessions will enable you to tailor your day to suit YOUR school
This really is an excellent opportunity to ensure your marketing and admissions is at the forefront and available for just £45. Sign up now to benefit from an early bird ticket.

The Science of Reading
Join us for an enlightening webinar designed specifically for UK primary school head teachers and educational leaders, focusing on the Science of Reading. This session will delve into the comprehensive research and evidence-based methods that underpin effective reading instruction. Our expert speakers will guide you through the critical components of the Science of Reading, and demonstrate how these principles can be seamlessly integrated into your school's educational framework to enhance reading outcomes and foster a love of reading among students. Book your place.

Hi Everyone,
This week saw us welcome the brilliant Darren Coxon to our Wednesday Wisdom Webinar series of free online CPD. Darren talked us through how we could use AI to write schemes of work, revision notes and quizzes. Plus, he also put together a handy "cheat sheet" with prompts on so that you can replicate this in your setting, no  matter what subject you teach. The prompts are available with the Youtube Video - definitely worth a watch. Thank you to Darren for joining us and making AI accessible by sharing the prompts. Watch the recording here.

We've also made a couple of other further additions to the YouTube channel with some excellent CPD being uploaded this week on  History Learning Using Multimedia (with Luke Whitehouse) and Co-commercial Strategies for Success(with Dorothy McLaren from the Schools' Enterprise Association).

Another potential date for your diary is the SchoolTV free Wellbeing event on Wednesday 19th March. The speaker line up is superlative and includes Dr Emma Woodward, Dr Joe Stammeijer, Andrew Hampton and Tom Batty.  There will be panel discussion on tackling key mental health challenges facing students in today's world together with evidence based approaches to support student resilience and wellbeing.  The session will be chaired by John Southworth and promises to be an excellent opportunity to learn from the experts and network with peers. Senior Leaders in State and Independent schools are welcome to join.Please register here.

I'm sure many of you will already be of aware of this, but I came across PHET Interactive Simulations last week; it's brilliant for both primary and secondary maths and science - and completely free! I'd also recommend taking a look at Anton App; this contains free education resources from reception to Ks3 and works across all devices - it's superb!

I'm also delighted that spelling, grammar and punctuation resource Rollama are offering readers of this newsletter a 4 week free trial along with 10% discount if you really like it - see further details below.

Finally, there are still online and in-person tickets available for the 5th ISP Marketing Conference on the 28th March, we have a FREE online Employment Law update on Wednesday evening with Alice Reeves of VWV Partners, and there is also a new session on The Science of Reading: Actionable Insights for Primaries on the 30th April; also online and free of charge.

As ever, I hope that you find all of this of use and that you have a good week.
David
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David Winfield
Founder, Independent Schools Portal.

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Exclusive Offer for ISP Newsletter readers: Sign up by March 28th and enjoy 10% off your first subscription!

The speaker lineup includes:
Two keynote addresses: Sarah Cunnane, Head of Media and Communications at the ISC and Mark Brealey, former BBC Journalist and advisor to some of the most high profile public sector individuals on how to handle press and crisis situations.
Two case studies: Hear from fellow professionals - Jo Phillips from Giggleswick School and Laura Booth from Hymers College will be sharing their experiences.
Two topical sessions: We will hear from Sophy Walker as to how AI can aid your admissions  and marketing. Sally Alexander will also look at what we can do to drive admissions in the current period of economic uncertainty. 
Two sessions of your choosing:  An opportunity to choose the topic causing your school most consternation, from SEO to Social Media to Research to websites. These sessions will enable you to tailor your day to suit YOUR school
This really is an excellent opportunity to ensure your marketing and admissions is at the forefront and available for just £45. Sign up now to benefit from an early bird ticket.

The Science of Reading
Join us for an enlightening webinar designed specifically for UK primary school head teachers and educational leaders, focusing on the Science of Reading. This session will delve into the comprehensive research and evidence-based methods that underpin effective reading instruction. Our expert speakers will guide you through the critical components of the Science of Reading, and demonstrate how these principles can be seamlessly integrated into your school's educational framework to enhance reading outcomes and foster a love of reading among students. Book your place.

​The ISP has a huge selection of videos to support school leaders on the ISP YouTube Channel. This week, Mark Langley gives an overview from his original academic research at the University of Hull into why Deputy Heads decide (or not) to proceed on the journey into Headship. Full of fascinating insights into this under-researched area of Education. Watch here.

​Can Ofsted listen it's way out of it's political bind?
Hundreds of Academy Heads paid over £150k as the number on the 'gravy train' doubles over 5 years
Sir Hamid Patel appointed interim Ofsted Chair
Teacher pension contributions to increase next month

Hi Everyone,

A reminder that we have lots of CPD coming up in March: There's still time to get either an in-person or online ticket for the 5th ISP Marketing Conference on the 28th. The speakers and programme is simply outstanding an with tickets priced at only £45, it really is an event too good to miss!

We also have 2 free webinars coming up on AI in Education (12th) and the Employment Law Update for Independent Schools (19th). All details and links to sign up are below.

There's also a co-commercial strategies for success webinar at lunchtime on Wednesday and we'll we popping up a recording of the History Learning through Multimedia session on our YouTube channel at the end of the week; make sure you're subscribed to the channel to be notified each time pre-recorded CPD is uploaded.

I hope that you find this of use and that you have a great week.
​
David
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David Winfield
Founder, Independent Schools Portal.

ISP Marketing and Admissions Conference 2025: in-person and online

​The speaker lineup includes:

Two keynote addresses: Sarah Cunnane, Head of Media and Communications at the ISC and Mark Brealey, former BBC Journalist and advisor to some of the most high profile public sector individuals on how to handle press and crisis situations.

Two case studies: Hear from fellow professionals - Jo Phillips from Giggleswick School and Laura Booth from Hymers College will be sharing their experiences.

Two topical sessions: We will hear from Sophy Walker as to how AI can aid your admissions  and marketing. Sally Alexander will also look at what we can do to drive admissions in the current period of economic uncertainty. 

Two sessions of your choosing:  An opportunity to choose the topic causing your school most consternation, from SEO to Social Media to Research to websites. These sessions will enable you to tailor your day to suit YOUR school

This really is an excellent opportunity to ensure your marketing and admissions is at the forefront and available for just £45. Sign up now to benefit from an early bird ticket.

AI in Education - An Introduction. Free CPD webinar - Wednesday 12th March 2025. 1930-2030.
Using AI in your teaching and equipping pupils with the skills to know how and when to use it themselves is vital. We will look at how AI can transform your teaching and learning. This session will delivered by leading expert Darren Coxon. Darren speaks regularly around the world on the topic of AI in education and is a leading expert. Book your place.

Employment Law Update for Independent Schools
We are delighted to be joined by Alice Reeves from VWV who will give us a whistle stop tour of the latest changes in employment law, and crucially, how they impact on the Independent Education Sector. Wednesday 19 March 2025 7:30 PM - 8:15 PM. Book your place.

Dear Colleague,
This week, I want to share an exciting opportunity for teachers. The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is offering its free LTA Youth Schools Teacher Training Course, designed to help teachers deliver high-quality, inclusive PE lessons with confidence.
What’s in it for teachers?

• A 90-minute online training course designed by teachers, with practical strategies to introduce tennis to all abilities – including SEND students.
• Ongoing access to resources, including lesson plans, activity guides and videos.
• A £250 voucher for their school to spend on tennis equipment or 10 hours of team teaching with an LTA Accredited Coach.
• Primary schools receive a resource pack with pupil rewards, fun games and exclusive LTA Tennisables character cards.
• Secondary schools are entered into a prize draw to win a money-can’t-buy experience for students and 16 tickets to the HSBC Championship WTA 500 event at The Queen’s Club.

With more than half of Britain’s schools signed up, the LTA is keen to ensure even more schools benefit - and it is completely free.
I hope that you find this of use and that you have a great week.
As ever,
David.
--
David Winfield
Founder, Independent Schools Portal.

The speaker lineup includes:
Two keynote addresses: Sarah Cunnane, Head of Media and Communications at the ISC and Mark Brealey, former BBC Journalist and advisor to some of the most high profile public sector individuals on how to handle press and crisis situations.
Two case studies: Hear from fellow professionals - Jo Phillips from Giggleswick School and Laura Booth from Hymers College will be sharing their experiences.
Two topical sessions: We will hear from Sophy Walker as to how AI can aid your admissions  and marketing. Sally Alexander will also look at what we can do to drive admissions in the current period of economic uncertainty.
Two sessions of your choosing:  An opportunity to choose the topic causing your school most consternation, from SEO to Social Media to Research to websites. These sessions will enable you to tailor your day to suit YOUR school
This really is an excellent opportunity to ensure your marketing and admissions is at the forefront and available for just £45. Sign up now.

History Learning through Multimedia
This webinar will look at how you can build a multimedia experience to ignite children's love of learning in history. 3D learning enables children to understand historical topics and really bring it to life through immersive and interactive scenes.
Wednesday 5 March 2025 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM. Book your place.

AI in Education - An Introduction. Free CPD webinar - Wednesday 12th March 2025. 1930-2030.
Using AI in your teaching and equipping pupils with the skills to know how and when to use it themselves is vital. We will look at how AI can transform your teaching and learning. This session will delivered by leading expert Darren Coxon. Darren speaks regularly around the world on the topic of AI in education and is a leading expert. Book your place.

Employment Law Update for Independent Schools
We are delighted to be joined by Alice Reeves from VWV who will give us a whistlestop tour of the latest changes in employment law, and crucially, how they impact on the Independent Education Sector. Wednesday 19 March 2025 7:30 PM - 8:15 PM. Book your place.