BSA – Prep Boarding Conference

• Date: December 03, 2024
• Time: 09:00 – 16:30
• Cost: BSA Full Member – £110, BSA Affiliate Member – £140, Non-member – £165
• Audience: Head, Deputy Head, Bursar, Registrar, Head of Boarding, Marketing, Admissions, Medical, Head of EAL, DoS, Pastoral staff.
• Venue: Wellington College Prep, Sandhurst, Berkshire, United Kingdom

Our brand new conference brings together prep school professionals to share and debate current prep boarding issues.

Sessions will include:

• Safeguarding guidance updates
• Case study: Staff supervision initiative at Wellington College Prep
• Results from the latest boarding sector survey
• Youth leadership
• Anxiety
• Tech management

The conference is suitable for anyone in a boarding role, and we expect a mix of school leaders and other boarding practitioners. 

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Speakers:

Will Orr-Ewing, Schools Engagement Lead, Smartphone Free Childhood and Director, Keystone Tutors

Will is the founder of Keystone Tutors and Arka Learning, and has been a trustee of schools across the entire sector. Since it launched in February this year, he has been volunteering as the Schools Engagement lead for Smartphone Free Childhood – a cause close to his heart.

Katy Granville-Chapman, co-author, ‘Leader: Know, love and inspire your people’

Emmie Bidston, co-author, ‘Leader: Know, love and inspire your people’

Ally Onions, Head of Safeguarding and Mental Health, St George’s School, Windsor Castle

Ally has worked in boarding education for over 20 years. She recently completed an MA in Boarding Education, looking at resilience and prep boarders. Ally is a trained Mental Health First Aider and Instructor Member, and is currently rolling out training to staff and parents.

Jenny Griggs, Head of Student Emotional Health and Wellbeing, Wellington College

Jenny is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist with 18 years’ experience working in CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service) within the NHS, in her own independent practice, and for the University of Reading. Jenny specialised in CBT and has a passion for working with teenagers and young adults.

Jenny’s role at Wellington College has been designed to drive forward the momentum of Wellington’s wellbeing provision as the College builds the right support structures to help current and future pupils. She has oversight of all pupils who are struggling with their mental health and will ensure they receive the right care at the right time. This might be via Wellington’s expanding team of highly trained school counsellors or through external support.

Lauren Fisher, Head of Boarding, Wellington College Prep

Jess Goves, Deputy Head Safeguarding (DSL), Wellington College Prep

David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding and Director BSA/TIOB

David is the BSA Director and joined the BSA group in August 2023. He has over 20 years’ experience in boarding schools and has worked in a range of schools in the UK and Africa, alongside being a prep school governor and a trustee of a MAT. Before taking up his post at the BSA, David was Deputy Head Pastoral at a large co-ed independent school in the South-East.

Dale Wilkins, Executive Director, Scotland/Wales and Accredited/Compliance
Dale joined the BSA during Summer 2017 with responsibility for safeguarding and standards, having previously been a course tutor since 1998. In July 2019 he also assumed responsibility for the BSA’s training programme, including both day seminars and accredited training courses. Dale leads on all safeguarding and inspection matters for the BSA, including managing the Commitment to Care Charter and has also developed a process of BSA Accreditation for our international members. He also liaises with ISI, Ofsted and DfE on matters relating to compliance and inspection standards, and compiles the BSA Self-Assessment toolkit, which he first produced in 2002, since which time he has been closely involved in inspection in state and independent boarding.

For 31 years Dale was a boarding practitioner. After boarding positions at Norwich School and Tettenhall College, Dale became a Housemaster at Old Swinford Hospital in 1992, and was promoted to Deputy Head in 2007, and subsequently also DSL. He has also been a multi-agency trainer for the Dudley Safeguarding Children’s Board.

Ed Venables, Head, Wellington College Prep

After studying Classics at Oxford university and a 12-year career in the investment banking and private equity world in the City, Ed returned to his old school, Wellington College, to teach Economics and Business.  His time at Wellington saw him being Head of the Economics department, Housemaster of his former boarding house for six years and, finally, Director of Admissions and a member of the Executive Leadership Team.  In September 2023 Ed moved to become Head of Eagle House School, Wellington’s 3-13 prep school.  Ed remains on the Wellington ELT.

Ed is married and has three sons.  Away from school, he lives in Anglesey, North Wales, and loves getting there in the holidays for lots of walking, running and time in and on the sea!