AEPA Annual Conference 2025: Leading Education Locally

The countdown is on for our annual Conference at London’s Coram Conference Centre on 21st March. This highly anticipated event is a must-attend for anyone passionate about local education partnerships.

Centred around the theme ‘Leading Education Locally’, the conference offers an opportunity to foster collaboration, drive improvement across the country, and gain valuable insights from leading education experts.

Speakers and programme

The day will include leading speakers, a range of workshops, and opportunities to meet with education partnerships from across the country.

We are delighted to share that Sir Kevan Collins will join us. Sir Kevan Collins is adviser to Bridget Phillipson on ‘driving high and rising standards- focusing on finding solutions to the biggest barriers for opportunity for children’ and Lead Non-Executive Director on the Department of Education Board. He is also Chair of the Youth Endowment Fund and former Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation. He brings a wealth of expert experience to the role, having previously served in both local and central government. As Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), he examined and analysed evidence on education effectiveness. He also has experience as a classroom teacher and as Director of Children’s Services in Tower Hamlets.

We are pleased to share that John Edwards, Director General to the Regions Group will also join us. John Edwards was appointed Director General to Regions Group of the Department for Education on 13 June 2022. John has previously held senior posts both within government and in the local government sector. He began his career as a teacher of mathematics and senior leader in secondary schools, before moving into local government.

Tom Rees, Chair of the DfE’s Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion will also be joining the lineup. Tom is chief executive of Ormiston Academies Trust, one of England’s most established school trusts which serves over 35,000 children in 44 schools across the country, including special, alternative provision, primary and secondary. In November, he was appointed chair of the government’s new expert advisory group on inclusion, which will oversee reforms aimed at making mainstream schools more inclusive.

He has 25 years of experience working in education as a teacher, headteacher and in executive roles, most recently at Ambition Institute where he was responsible for the delivery of professional development to over 50,000 teachers and school leaders.

Dame Christine Gilbert and Baroness Estelle Morris, AEPA Co-Chairs; and further speakers to be announced.