The Day offered a wide range of presentations from inspiring and passionate speakers.

Our Keynote speaker, UK social entrepreneur Ruth Ibegbna, energised delegates with her discussion on the power and essential presence of ‘hard-to-reach’ youth voice, setting a tone for the day that felt hopeful and united.

Chris Slann of New Carnival Company and Creative Ways outdoors engaged the audience on the Creative Biosphere and directed an animated discussion on ideas for future projects and collaborations.

Peta Rainford of Independent Arts delivered a summary of the incredible things being achieved through the Supporting Young Minds project. This project is ongoing, so please follow the link for regular updates.

Corina Westwood brought to life the work of the Museums and Schools Programme and their great work in enriching local heritage education your our young people.

Franko Figueiredo and Caroline Diamond of StoneCrabs Theatre discussed ‘Out On An Island’ the Oral Histories project about Queer history figures on the Isle of Wight and bringing equality of representation into the classroom. This sparked an enthusiastic Q&A session that could have continued for the rest of the day!

Returning to the Victoria Hall at the end of the day delegates received a motivating and heartwarming closing address from Maggie Sanderson; Executive Head of St Thomas of Canterbury and St Marys Schools and Joy Ballard, Principal of Ryde Academy.

The second half of the day got hands-on as delegates could take part in 3 of 5 workshops, aimed to stimulate imagination and discussion, with practical, creative solutions for classroom learning.

1: Taking element of the Supporting Young Minds projects centred on mental wellbeing to create expressive paintings on a large scale to transform the space and reflect the place changing nature of the project.

2: Museums and Schools welcomed participants to interact with artefacts and explore what each museum site has to offer, as well as taking part in creative tasks inspired by the incredible sites and their collections.

3: StoneCrabs Theatre delivered a session on inclusivity in the classroom using the Out On An Island resources, inspiring discussion around how we can be more inclusive in the classroom.

4: Sustainable Development Goals and Heritage Biosphere in the Classroom. How can the UN’s SDGs be incorporated into our history and Geography classroom learning, in particular through local study.

5: This ‘Osborne House in your classroom’ session informed teachers how to make the most of an Osborne House visit back in the classroom and how to use an immersive experience as a learning tool.