Bursar’s Review ISBA Annual Conference 2019

CONFERENCE SPEAKERS 30 expulsion from) some world class institutions (Cheltenham College, Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the Army)”. He is an enthusiastic advocate of educational excellence and what he says is the crucial but often undervalued contribution made by our support services. Michál Cohen Michál studied architecture in South Africa and moved to London, setting up Walters & Cohen with Cindy Walters in 1994. Michál's many completed projects include a wellness centre in the depths of the Bank of England, a gallery in Durban and the refurbishment of Boathouse 4 in Portsmouth. She is also responsible for many of the practice's education projects, which began in 2003 with designs for an exemplar primary school under the Department for Education's Schools for the Future initiative. Since then, she has visited and researched school design in Italy, Scandinavia, Australia and South Africa to understand best practice in a wider context. She takes a keen interest in government initiatives and policy, as well as how children learn, and her expertise on the subject of design in learning environments is now well established. Several innovative schools have been completed based on the principles of the exemplar, which were reviewed and revised in 2012 for the multi award-winning Lairdsland Primary School in Glasgow. Current projects include a major new teaching building at St Paul's School in London, and an Innovation Centre for Somerset College in South Africa. In 2012 Cindy and Michál were awarded the inaugural AJ Woman Architect of the Year Award and have been on the judging panel of subsequent awards. Michál is one of the Design Council's built environment experts. She regularly examines and lectures at universities, speaks at conferences and judges awards. She is also a trustee for Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust and a member of the Design South East panel, the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Camden Design Review panel. Panel Rob Grant Rob is director of operations at Loughborough Schools Foundation, a charitable foundation of four independent schools operating under a single board of trustees/directors. The Foundation comprises Loughborough Grammar School (boys, 10-18, day and boarding), Loughborough High School (girls, 11-18), Fairfield Prep School (co-educational, three-11) and Loughborough Amherst School (co-educational four-18). He has responsibility for the estate, catering and HR functions of the organisation. He started his career in the construction industry before moving to facilities management with Amec Facilities, looking after the data centres, head offices and branch network for a major UK bank. In 2006, Rob joined Berkhamsted Schools Group as estates director. While at Berkhamsted, he oversaw the merger with two other schools and the capital development programme which, together, grew the school by 33 percent. He is a member of the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) and has gained a reputation as a speaker on best practice, presenting at ISBA training events and the FM show. In his spare time Rob is a director of the Shared Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust based in Bedfordshire and serves on the audit and risk committee for the BIFM. He is also an endurance sportsman and has completed the Ride Across Britain and the Race to the Stones as well as other cycling, marathon and triathlon events. He is currently training for the Threshold Sports Trail Series which comprises four marathons and two ultra-marathons over five weeks. Ian Phillips Ian is assistant headteacher and director of computing and ICT at The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School. He was named in 50 people, projects and products shaping UK's edTech. Intel visionary and chair of the Independent Schools Council’s (ISC) Digital Strategy Group, he has helped to support schools through the national conferences the ISC has run for the past 11 years and in strategic planning through action research projects, regular bulletins, audits, workshops, training days and blue sky consultancy. A Microsoft independent school steering group member and an enthusiast for using technology to help inspire students, Ian is an IT director and teacher, overseeing IT support departments as well as the school’s technical development with 32 years of teaching experience in the classroom. He is responsible for assessment of pupil learning using technology and is passionate about developing systems which simplify the way schools work whilst providing the valuable insights necessary to develop learning communities. Ian is currently harnessing the appetite of tech companies to enable our pupils to become the global problem-solvers who will tackle the world's current and future unsolvable issues. C2 11.55 – 12.55 VALUE OF WELLBEING AND HOW TO ACHIEVE IT David Smellie, chair David Smellie heads Farrer & Co’s employment team, is a member of the firm's schools group and separately leads the safeguarding unit. In employment law David has consistently been rated amongst the top rated UK employment lawyers by Chambers and Legal 500. He advises institutional employers on the discrete handling of potentially high profile employment cases. He is also acknowledged to be one of the leading employment law advisers to senior executives, typically advising on PLC board and private equity moves and departures. In advising schools, David focuses on issues relating to staff, pupils and parents – from sensitive dismissals to pupil exclusions and parental complaints. David's leadership of the safeguarding unit stems from many years of advising schools on safeguarding and child protection. He founded the firm's safeguarding unit in 2015, which advises organisations either working or coming into contact with children. These include schools, universities, charities, churches and religious organisations, visitor attractions, sports clubs and the medical sector. David advises on the full range of safeguarding issues, from creating safer systems to handling live cases and carrying out retrospective reviews. He is particularly well known for his role in advising on the Southbank International Vahey case where he led the Farrer & Co team in conducting the independent review of Hugh Davies QC. www.theisba.org.uk