Institute of Teaching and Learning
ITL Conference 2025
Educating for meaning and purpose
Friday 17 October 2025
Sevenoaks is delighted to host its biennial teaching and learning conference. This event will focus on meaning and purpose in education.
The conference will host keynote presentations, as well as talks and informal, practical workshops designed to help students lead more fulfilling educational lives.
Aimed at teachers and educators from the independent and state sectors both local and further afield, the conference will provide plenty of scope for networking and informal dialogue.
Tickets will be on sale soon from this page with free tickets available to state school educators.
About the conference
The conference will host keynote presentations, as well as talks and informal, practical workshops designed to help students lead more fulfilling educational lives.
Questions which will be addressed include:
- How can we integrate purpose-driven learning into standardised curricula?
- How can school cultures nurture intellectual curiosity and learning engagement?
- What is the relationship between meaning and wellbeing in education?
- What kinds of educational practices deliberately foster personal growth?
- How might ‘connectedness’ enable school communities to flourish?
Confirmed Speakers
Martin Robinson FRSA – Author, speaker, consultant and teacher, Martin has worked with a number of schools and other educational institutions and has spoken at a number of events and conferences both in the UK and abroad. His work derives from the great Liberal Arts tradition, where culture and curriculum meet to provide an education for the common good and individual growth. Martin is the author of Curriculum Revolutions: A practical guide to enhancing what you teach Curriculum: Athena vs the Machine, Trivium 21c: Preparing young people for the future with lessons from the past and Trivium in Practice.
Bradley Busch – Bradley is a Chartered Psychologist and Director at InnerDrive. He is one of the world’s leading expert at how schools can translate cognitive psychology research to improve learning. Outside of education, he has worked with Premier League footballers as well as with Olympians and Paralympians .
Claire Badger – Head of Teacher Professional Development at InnerDrive, Claire is also the co-author of ‘Creativity for teachers: a cognitive science approach’ and also a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, which she represents on the ISC Digital Strategy Group.
Dr Victoria Cook – Victoria is Lead Researcher at the Chartered College of Teaching. In collaboration with colleagues at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, Victoria is currently managing the scoping phase of an EEF-funded project on the impact of offsite Planning, Preparation and Assessment (PPA) on teacher retention. She is a trained geography teacher and her research interests include cultural literacy and technology-mediated dialogue.
Featured topics will include
- Purposeful curricula
- Teaching for creativity
- Meaning in the Arts and Humanities
- Independent and reflective learning
- Self-assessment and self-regulation
- Feedback and assessment for learning
- Service learning and the co-curriculum
- Artificial Intelligence
Read an article by the Director of the ITL, Mark Beverley on How can we find Meaning and Purpose in the taught curriculum? published in our journal, Innovate.
Call for speakers
Would you like to share your insights and knowledge at our 2025 conference?
If so, please apply by email to the Research and Development Coordinator, Hannah Barritt: hvb@sevenoaksschool.org.uk. We welcome applications from individuals and organisations. In your application, please provide a short outline of your chosen topic and a short biography (50-60 words). Speakers will be promoted on our website and social media channels and will receive a fee to cover travel and expenses. Applications are due by 31 May 2025.