DECP Annual Conference 2024

Jessica has spent over 20 years supporting some of the world's leading organisations and brands. As well as being a director of a number of global PR agencies, she also founded a multi award winning communications agency and coached and mentored young people to help them realise their potential. 

She founded Words Matter as a result of her own personal experience and that of the people she coached who had been so impacted by the words they had heard when growing up.  It is on a mission to improve children's mental and physical health and development by helping to end verbal abuse of children by adults. It is the first organisation in the world to focus solely on addressing this issue.

Launched in September 2023, through research, raising awareness of the lasting damage of childhood verbal abuse and collaboration with others it aims to inspire action and fuel change. 

Title and abstract

Words matter - help end verbal abuse of children by adults

We can all remember things adults said to us when we were growing up.  The words that built us up and those that knocked us down.  Words matter. They stick.  They last a lifetime. Their impact shapes who we are and what we become. 

New research shows 2 in 5 (41%) of children experience verbal abuse from adults in the form of hurtful and upsetting words to blame, insult and criticise. An increasing amount of research shows that verbal abuse can damage a child for a lifetime and affect their ability to function at home, school, the workplace, and in social situations.   

Often hidden behind closed doors like other forms of abuse, it is time it was brought out into the open so that the impact on children can be understood and given the attention it needs.

This is why Jessica Bondy has set up Words Matter, an ambitious new charity to improve children's mental and physical health and development by ending verbal abuse of children by adults.  It is the first organisation in the world to focus solely on this issue.  Founded as a result of her own personal experience and the numerous young people and adults she coached to help them realise their potential, she tells her story and discusses why it is imperative this issue is addressed, what is being done about it and the research to date.

Change is possible if we all work together to find lasting solutions that support children and the people around them. Let's build children up, not knock them down. 

To view Jessica Bondy's presentation please visit https://youtu.be/OxuAwEkjSbA

Since April 2010, André has worked as the DfE SEN and Disability Professional Adviser, contributing to a range of policy developments, including the Children and Families Act. He is currently working on the 2023 SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan.   

André has been a Teacher and an Educational Psychologist and held practitioner and leadership roles in local authorities. He was also a Regional Director in the National Strategies SEN team. 

Title and abstract

The SEND&AP Improvement Plan: next steps

This keynote address will provide updated information on the response to the 2022 SEND&AP Green Paper Which has formed the basis of the SEND&AP Improvement Plan (March 2023). It will also describe the Change Programme which is taking forward many of the proposals.

To view Andre Imich's presentation please visit https://youtu.be/HDYLlVzDX-s

Nana Owusu (RMN, BA, BSC, PGdip) is a distinguished Mental Health leader known for her innovative thinking and unique perspective as a Dyslexic professional. In her roles as a registered Clinical Nurse Specialist and Therapist, Nana is dedicated to advancing outcomes for young individuals and families while addressing health disparities.

With over two decades of experience in clinical and senior management, Nana has made significant contributions to NHS specialist CAMHS services and voluntary sector organisations. Currently, she serves as the Director & Clinical Lead for Children and Young People's Services at MIND (HFEH), successfully establishing two pioneering Trailblazer MHSTs commissioned in the UK. Nana spearheaded the design and development of West London's first Crisis Prevention Cafe for young people, 'CIRCLE,' funded by West London Trust.

Beyond her professional commitments, Nana is an active community volunteer and advocate, tirelessly working towards positive change for vulnerable young individuals. As a compassionate coach and mentor, she provides support to those with low confidence and self-esteem. Nana also serves as a board member for the national youth homeless charity, New Horizon Youth Centre, and is the co-chair of the National MIND Youth Network Summit.

To view Nana Owusu's presentation please visit https://youtu.be/8TjxOnOS5-A

Dr Victoria Showunmi is an Associate Professor at University College London in the Faculty of Institute of Education. BERA Academic Citerzin Award 2023: https://www.bera.ac.uk/award/2023-bera-academic-citizen-of-the-year

Her interests are gender, identity, and race through the lens of intersectionality, focusing on leadership and the lived experience of Black women and girls.  Victoria develops fresh conceptual frameworks focusing on equity and social justice, especially the interplay between people and the sophistication of behaviours which lead to disengagement with the promotion of equality. Her work shows how culture and cultural background have the potential to disrupt power structures and lead to transformational change. 

She has an international profile based on the dissemination of her research through publication and teaching. Her scholarly work is acclaimed nationally and internationally. 

She is a member of the Gender and Education Executive, Past Conference Chair for British Educational Leadership Management and Administration Society, Chair of the International studies SIG, American Educational Research Association, and co-convenor, Gender Network, European Educational Research Association. She is on the editorial board of Bloomsbury Educational Leadership: Innovative Critical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Transforming Education through `Critical Educational Leadership, Policy and Practice' (Emerald) as well as assistant editor for the International Journal of Leadership in Education.

To view Dr Victoria Showunmi's presentation please visit https://youtu.be/UiT3JWQHE6Q

Gaby Atfield is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Research (IER) at the University of Warwick. Her research focusses on access to education and employment opportunities, social capital and social mobility. This has included work looking at the determinants of workforce composition and progression in a range of industries, including the teaching profession and the armed forces, as well as tracking studies of graduates with different types of first and higher degrees.

In 2018 she was part of a team that produced a report for the Department of Education on 'The Educational Psychology workforce in England' (published in 2019), the findings of which contributed to the expansion in funding and training places for Educational Psychology doctorates. In 2022/23, she led a second research project for DfE on 'The Educational Psychology workforce and school's perspectives on impact'. The team included Beate Baldauf and David Owen from Warwick IER and Claire Davey and Lilly Monk at Ecorys.

The title of my presentation is: Determinants of the composition of the Educational Psychology workforce in England and its impact on children and young people and schools.

Abstract: Educational Psychologists provide an important and valued service. However, research conducted by the University of Warwick for the Department of Education in both 2018 and 2022/3 has shown that increased demand for their services, combined with recruitment and retention issues and other funding and resourcing constraints, have stretched the capacity of EPs to provide the kinds of support they believe will lead to the best outcomes for children and young people and schools.

This presentation will outline some of the mechanisms underpinning the issues identified in the 2022/3 Warwick and Ecorys report for DfE, focussing on the relationship between workforce composition, statutory workloads and early intervention work. It will also examine the potential of some supply and demand-side interventions to address some of the issues identified by EPs who took part in the research.

To view Gabriel Atfield's presentation please visit https://youtu.be/NV1HQxabFjo