Biography - Ben Bryant is a Director of the independent research and advisory organisation, Isos Partnership. Ben specialises in developing approaches to support young people with additional needs. He has undertaken high-profile national research on inclusion, exclusions, AP, additional needs and SEND , and worked with numerous local areas to strengthen aspects of their work around inclusion and SEND. Ben is one of the authors of a major report, published in July 2024 by the Local Government Association and the County Councils Network, on the root causes of challenges within the "SEND system" and what a new approach should look like.

Talk - Ben Bryant, one of the authors of Isos Partnership's report on the SEND system, will describe the context of the crisis in the SEND system, its causes and some potential solutions. He will explore the national debate about inclusion, both at a national level and in terms of what can be done locally to strengthen approaches to supporting children and young people with additional needs, including specific approaches that school and service leaders have developed in local areas.

Biography - Sam Freedman is a senior fellow at the Institute for Government and writes regularly on politics and policy for Prospect, the FT, the Guardian and others. Sam’s substack newsletter ‘Comment is Freed’ has over 75,000 subscribers. His first book “Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How to Fix It” was released in July, made the Sunday Times bestseller list and was named an Economist, FT and Daily Telegraph book of the year. Sam is also a senior adviser to the education charity Ark; Vice-Chair of Ambition Institute; and a trustee of the Holocaust Educational Trust.

Following his initial talk at the conference, Ben Bryant will go into more detail about approaches that other local areas have developed to foster inclusive practices at local level, and gather views about what system leaders in Waltham Forest think would enhance their current work in this space. 

Dr James Lane started teaching in Australia in 1995 but moved to England in 1997 and began his teaching career in this country in a Hertfordshire primary school. He now has experience of educational leadership in four different settings over the last twenty years. His four headships have all been in challenging and diverse London schools. 

James is the now executive headteacher of St Francis de Sales Federation in Tottenham and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary in Hendon. Ofsted have described his leadership as ‘assured and visionary’ and ‘inspirational’. In addition to his experience as a school leader, he has completed a doctorate in educational leadership and management, was the course lead for Future Leaders (Ambition Institute), is a Fellow with The Institute for Equity in Society and Education and has worked in school improvement for Haringey Local Authority.

Workshop - In today’s high-pressure educational climate, staff wellbeing can no longer be reduced to token gestures or fleeting happiness. This workshop invites school leaders to reframe wellbeing through the lens of workplace fulfilment—defined as meaningful effort toward a shared vision, in a culture of support and growth. Based on the latest educational research and organisational leadership, we’ll explore how fulfilment offers a deeper, more sustainable foundation for staff morale, retention, and performance. Leaders will learn how to shape supportive cultures, align vision with values and foster mutual accountability. The aim is to move beyond token wellbeing gestures and towards a practical, purpose driven model of staff development—because when school staff flourish, it is the young people who benefit.

Place and partnership matter in school improvement. Building on HEP’s engagement with all maintained schools in Waltham Forest, we want to work with you to develop a bespoke offer open to all schools in the borough. Being the ‘glue in the system’ is core to HEP’s values, so we want to include and engage with every Waltham Forest school in building a long term partnership for school improvement.    

TBC