Guest speakers

Hugh Elliott

Hugh Elliott

Hugh Elliott joined the Diplomatic Service in 1989. Since August 2019, he is HM Ambassador to Spain and Andorra. Hugh joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1989. A specialist in the EU and the Hispanic world, he has served in a variety of roles in London and at British Embassies overseas. He first worked at the British Embassy in Madrid from 1991 to 1996, covering EU and economic issues. He then served from 1999 to 2002 in Buenos Aires, working on economic and political issues, and from 2002 to 2006 in Paris, working on global issues and strategic threats. 

From 2006 to 2013, he worked at Anglo American plc, a diversified global mining company, where he was global Head of Government Relations, and where he worked extensively in Latin America, among other regions. He returned to the FCO in 2013 to take up the position of Director of Communication, responsible for the FCO’s internal and external communication and public diplomacy work. 

From 2017 he served as Director for Europe, then Director for International Agreements in the FCO and until this year as Director of Communications and Stakeholders at the Department for Exiting the European Union. Hugh has served in a voluntary capacity as a Trustee of the British Spanish Society and as a Trustee, then Chairman of Canning House, the UK´s centre for Latin America and Iberia. Hugh read Modern and Medieval Languages at Trinity College, Cambridge. He is married to Toni. They have two children, Edward (1993) and Alba (1995). 

Alejandro Tiana Ferrer

Alejandro Tiana Ferrer

Alejandro Tiana Ferrer is Professor of Theory and History of Education and Secretary of State for Education. He has served as rector of UNED (2013-2018) and Secretary General of Education (2004-2008), among other responsibilities. He has authored 25 books and more than 200 chapters or articles about the history of education systems, educational policy, comparative education and the evaluation of education systems.

Keynote Presenters

Paul McGee

Paul McGee

Paul McGee is a visiting professor at the University of Chester and a Sunday Times bestselling author. His most recent book, YESSS! The SUMO Secrets to Being a Positive, Confident Teenager became an instant bestseller and is being used by several schools in the UK as part of their approach to supporting pupil’s mental and emotional wellbeing. He has over 20 years experience working in the world of education and has spoken at two previous NABSS conferences. His areas of expertise are in relation to change, resilience, well-being and self-leadership. He has worked with over 1,000 organisations worldwide and has spoken in 41 countries, the highlight being when he worked with Dr Stephen Covey, author of ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ in Australia.

How to Survive and Thrive in Uncertain times

In this fast paced engaging session, Professor Paul McGee, a Sunday Times bestselling author, will equip us with insights and ideas on how to take control and create some certainty in a world of uncertainty. The session will explore ways in which we can get the best out of ourselves and get the best out of others and is relevant in our professional and personal lives. Paul’s approach will be practical as well as entertaining, leaving us feeling better able to adapt to our changing world.

Mickey Revenaugh

Mickey Revenaugh

Mickey Revenaugh is co-founder of Connections Academy, a pioneering online school provider that launched in 2002 and now serves more than 100,000 K-12 students around the world as part of Pearson. Mickey’s current work at Pearson is focused on bringing innovative education opportunities — including those harnessing big data, artificial intelligence, and immersive technologies — to learners around the globe. Mickey is Board Vice Chair of the Aurora Institute (formerly iNACOL, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning), and Board Chair of Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, winner of the $10M prize for innovative school design from XQ Institute. Previously, Mickey helped launch the E-rate to wire every American school to the Internet, and was education technology editor at Scholastic. Mickey holds a BA from Yale University, an MBA from New York University, and an MFA from Bennington College.

Embracing Online/Blended Learning: From Crisis Response to Future-Focus

Many schools adopted “emergency remote instruction” in response to the pandemic over the past year. But what future-focused role could online and blended learning play for you and your students? This session will mine two decades of global online learning experience to explore online learning’s potential for forward-looking educators. You will come away with pragmatic inspiration for making quality online/blended learning part of your ongoing practice.

Nicola Morgan

Nicola Morgan

Nicola Morgan is an international educational consultant, author and teacher. With over two decades of experience in education, I have a reputation for successfully managing the most challenging behaviour and motivating staff to help implement change. Currently, she works closely with senior leaders, schools and parents and she frequently speaks at conferences on behaviour management, engaging families, growth mindset and resilience.
When working with educational staff and students she receives comments on how motivated and inspired they feel following my sessions which gives them the confidence to really push their own boundaries for personal achievement. She is also the author of over ten educational books and countless articles. An International Values Based Education approved trainer, NLP Master Practitioner, Channel Swimmer and TEDx Speaker.

The Learning Brains in Your Classroom

How the biology of their brains and the reality of their lives affect how the minds in your classroom hear what you teach. This covers: how the immature prefrontal cortex affects emotions/mood, decision-making, control, focus and more; motivation; how stress affects listening and info-processing; the effects of screen use on concentration; a mention of sleep.

Fleur McLennan

Fleur McLennan

Fleur graduated from Curtin University in Western Australia with a degree in English, followed by a Graduate Diploma in Secondary English and Humanities Education and is currently studying a Masters Degree in Education. Alongside a successful career spanning 20 years as a secondary teacher in Australia and the UK, she has spent 5 years supporting and training teachers internationally in enrichment and curriculum areas.

Learning in a Changing World

The past year has provided some challenging times for teaching and education. Blended learning, access to resources, motivation to learn and personal resilience have been some of the issues facing teachers and students and testing capacities like never before. This session will focus on what we have learned over the past year, how remote learning has impacted on language learning and student engagement and how teachers can use this knowledge to ensure learning is taking place. The aim is to provide teachers with some practical and accessible tools to assist with blended learning and develop existing pedagogy in Active Learning and Assessment for Learning.

Luis Torres Conde

NABSS Legal Advisor

David Díaz Lima

David Díaz Lima

Lawyer of Privacy, Data Protection and Compliance and NABSS Data Protection Officer.

Sonja Ullmann

Sonja Ullmann

Sonja Uhlmann is working for the British Council Spain as Child Protection Manager. Sonja’s main responsibility is to put in place corporate requirements in order to prevent and reduce the risk for children to suffer from any type of abuse including bullying. She has also to ensure compliance with Spanish and British Law concerning Child Protection and has to train the team about how to deal with an incident if it finally takes place. Finally, she is the point of contact in Spain with the Global Child Protection Team of the British Council and has to ensure that policies and procedures are implemented.

Psychologist, Master in Speech Therapy and Early Intervention she has worked for over 18 years with parents, teachers and children at the Down Syndrome Foundation in Madrid. Simultaneously she has been involved in several projects, research and training delivery related to Children’s Rights both nationally and internationally. She has also developed materials to promote children’s rights at schools and has extensive experience in delivering child protection trainings.

LOPIVI: First Comprehensive Safeguarding Law in Spain now in place. What does it mean for each of you?

After many years talking about the development of this law finally it will came into force highly likely even before the start of the Conference.
Which implications does it have for you? Which benefits?
This talk will guide you briefly through the law and provide details of next steps to take as well as possibilities to be seen as best practice.

Training Course Presenters

Eva Cartwright

As Principal of The Teaching Assistant College, Eva has led a team of trainers, tutors and consultants delivering in schools and early years settings in over 50 countries. She has worked closely with the awarding body CACHE (Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education) to write and consult on qualifications and has great pleasure in being able to share a programme specifically designed for Early Years practitioners in NABSS schools at the conference.

Breakout Sessions Presenters

Eva Cartwright

As Principal of The Teaching Assistant College, Eva has led a team of trainers, tutors and consultants delivering in schools and early years settings in over 50 countries. She has worked closely with the awarding body CACHE (Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education) to write and consult on qualifications and has great pleasure in being able to share a programme specifically designed for Early Years practitioners in NABSS schools at the conference.