The event commenced with a poem written especially for the Trust by Jasmine Gardosi, the former Poet Laureate for Birmingham. ‘Tomorrow Awaits' was performed brilliantly by primary and secondary learners, setting the perfect tone for the conference.  

One of the highlights of the event was the unveiling of the Trust’s new Innovation Exchange Centre, located at the heart of the Millennium Point building. This state-of-the-art facility is designed to foster creativity and collaboration among learners and staff, providing a hub for developing cutting-edge educational methods and technologies. The new centre will provide an incredible opportunity to provide learners of all ages with innovative, high quality learning experiences and to significantly enhance leadership and staff development programmes. There will also be numerous benefits through accessing a wide range of resources such as Think Tank, Birmingham City University, STEAMhouse and many more organisations literally on the doorstep. Furthermore, the Innovation Exchange Centre will enable the sharing of best practice with other Trusts and institutions in the West Midlands region and beyond, significantly strengthening collaborative sector led school improvement. 

The conference was a significant occasion for Dudley Academies Trust as it marked the launch of the Trust’s Strategic Plan for 2024 - 2027. This new plan outlines the Trust's vision and objectives for the next three years, focusing on nine strategic priorities. The conference also celebrated the strength of the Trust: all their schools are flourishing, and they have formed a pioneering Master Collaboration agreement with Dudley College of Technology and the Black Country and Marches Institute of Technology. This is a progressive group arrangement to extensively support an innovative and comprehensive educational provision for all learners from the primary phase, into secondary, further, and higher education at the IoT. Indeed, this powerful partnership, now cemented by a legally binding agreement, has been integral to their success as the Trust has developed and matured over the last seven years. 

The conference was also attended by the renowned guest speaker Professor Steve Peters, the esteemed author of "The Chimp Paradox". Professor Peters delivered an exceptional speech that captivated the audience, sharing insights on mental resilience and how the brain works, which are fascinating subjects.

The conference was a resounding success and shows just how far Dudley Academies Trust has come since it was established in September 2017. 

Image 1 (pictured above): Learners from Dudley Academies Trust's six primary and secondary schools.