Hundreds of teachers inspired and equipped at Christian Teachers’ Conference

Christian Concern’s Head of Education, Steve Beegoo, comments on what happened at our Christian Education Conference at the end of October.

On Friday 29 and Saturday 30 October, Christian Concern, in collaboration with the Christian Schools’ Trust, held an inspiring online conference. Incredibly, over 240 were booked in, from across 9 nations, and they connected with 13 different events over the two days. The conference was entitled, ‘Further Up Further In: Going Deeper’, and followed up an equally successful event in February.

Sessions were taken by Christian Concern’s chief executive Andrea Williams; our Head of Policy, Tim Dieppe; our educational law expert, Roger Kiska; and Director of our Wilberforce Academy, Dr Joe Boot. As the Head of Education, it was my pleasure to host and organise the event with our team. One delegate commented about Andrea’s session, “I love her passion! She is such a motivator!”

Canon J John, Baroness Cox, UCB’s Mike Beaumont, and the BBCs Sheridan Voysey also brought excellent keynote talks which inspired and encouraged teachers.

Amongst some excellent equipping sessions, support was given to Christian teachers in the areas of special educational needs, discipleship, online safety, teacher approaches, changing communities, and curriculum approaches. All of these sessions were taken by committed Christians who are experts in their fields, and who were able to bring a distinctively Christian perspective and practice, to their topics.

The online platform allowed for multiple meet ups and chat room conversations, as well as engagement with exhibitors booths for several organisations. There were 1,592 messages sent between the delegates!

As I was mid-conference, it struck me how unique these conferences have been. There are very few occasions where hundreds of teachers across the country gather, apart from for union rallies. These gatherings of Christians in Education with such eminent speakers were historic moments.

The conference was rounded off by a true heroine of the faith, 84-year-old Baroness Caroline Cox, Chair of the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, who envisioned us about the importance of education, giving us a perspective on global issues. One delegate commented,

“Baroness Cox’s vision, passion and commitment shone through. Her challenge that we must not do nothing, really stood out as the conference highlight for me.”

Our children are our future. How we train them matters deeply to the Lord. Through our work here at Christian Concern we are standing against the anti-Christian trends, damaging our children. But we are also continuing to invest in activities which will promote the truth of Jesus Christ being proclaimed in schools, and to children across this nation and beyond.

Will you join us in this mission?

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