Conference and course topics

New course programme for 2025/26

Below is an alphabetised list of the topics on which Matt has recently delivered conference keynotes and/or training courses:

  • Activating prior knowledge
  • Adaptive teaching / responsive teaching
  • AI in the classroom
  • Ambitious curriculum
  • Assessment
  • Assessment for learning
  • Attainment gaps
  • Attendance
  • Attendance and disadvantage
  • Attendance coding and data
  • Becoming a school leader
  • Becoming a subject leader
  • Behaviour management
  • Belonging
  • Boys and literacy
  • Broad and balanced curriculum
  • Change management
  • Closing the gap
  • Coaching and mentoring
  • Cognitive load
  • Cognitive science
  • Community cohesion
  • Converting cognitive science into classroom practice
  • Covid catch-up premium
  • Creating a culture for good beheaviour
  • Creating the conditions for learning
  • Cultural capital
  • Curriculum design (subject discipline)
  • Curriculum design (whole-school)
  • Curriculum impact
  • Curriculum implementation
  • Curriculum intent
  • Deep dives
  • Dialogic teaching
  • Differentiation
  • Disadvantage
  • Disciplinary literacy
  • Early career teachers
  • Engaging parents to improve attendance
  • English curriculum leadership
  • English teaching
  • Equality and diversity
  • Equity in education
  • Ethical leadership
  • Evidence-informed practice
  • Expert teaching
  • Extra-curricular activities
  • Feedback
  • Form tutoring
  • Formative assessment
  • Governance
  • Growth mindset
  • Headteacher recruitment
  • High attainers
  • High expectations / teaching to the top
  • Homework
  • Inclusion
  • Inclusive learning
  • Independent learners
  • Inspection
  • Leadership recruitment
  • Leading English
  • Learning environment
  • Lesson planning
  • Link governors
  • Literacy
  • Long-term learning
  • Low level disruption
  • Making key stage 3 count
  • Making marking manageable
  • Making marking meaningful
  • Marking and feedback
  • Mental health
  • Metacognition
  • Motivation
  • New to headship
  • New to SLT
  • New to subject leadership
  • Ofsted
  • One to one tuition / catch-up
  • Online learning / remote learning
  • Oracy
  • Parental communication
  • Parental engagement
  • Parents that are ‘hard to reach’
  • Pastoral care
  • Performance management
  • Planned and sequenced curriculum
  • Policy audit
  • Positive behaviour management
  • Preparing for college FE inspection
  • Preparing for school inspection
  • Preparing for subject inspection
  • Primary to secondary transition
  • Progression
  • Pupil Premium
  • Pupil Premium link governor
  • Quality assurance / deep dives
  • Quality improvement planning (FE)
  • Questioning
  • Raising boys’ attainment
  • Reading for pleasure
  • Research-informed practice
  • Retrieval practice
  • SAR validation (FE)
  • Scaffolding
  • School improvement
  • School improvement planning
  • Self assessment reports (SAR – FE)
  • Self evaluation (schools)
  • SEND
  • SEND inspection
  • SEND link governor
  • Senior leadership of assessment
  • Senior leadership of curriculum
  • Sequencing learning
  • Slow teaching
  • Social capital
  • Socractic questioning
  • Staff recruitment and selection
  • Stretch and challenge
  • Story and storytelling techniques
  • Study skills
  • Task scaffolding
  • Teacher explanations
  • Teacher modelling
  • Teacher professional development
  • Teacher recruitment and retention
  • Teacher wellbeing
  • Teacher workload
  • Teaching assistants
  • Teaching exam classes
  • Teaching for long-term learning
  • Teaching post-16
  • Teaching to the top
  • Transition
  • Vision and strategy
  • Vulnerable learners
  • Whole school behaviour
  • Working class students
  • Working with governors
  • Working with parents
  • Working with TAs
  • Workload and wellbeing
  • Year 7 transition

Matt has also given talks on the subjects of his published books:

  • How to Become a School Leader
  • How to Lead
  • How to Learn
  • How to Teach
  • Making Key Stage 3 Count
  • School and College Curriculum Design 1: Intent
  • School and College Curriculum Design 2: Implementation
  • School and College Curriculum Design 3: Impact
  • The Art of Public Speaking
  • The New Teacher Survival Kit
  • Intent, Implementation, Impact: How to design and deliver an ambitious school curriculum
  • The Working Classroom: How to make school work for working-class students
  • The Stories We Tell: The uses of story and storytelling in teaching and leadership
  • Why School Doesn’t Work for Every Child: How to create a culture of inclusion and belonging

To book Matt to speak on any of the above topics, or to create a bespoke programme that fits the context of your event, contact us.