Managing our schools well is critically important, but the challenge is getting harder with constrained resources and a variety of increasing demands.  More of everything is needed, so what is the way forward for those involved in school business management?

This conference will take place online.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is now incorporated into Scots law and the new Act takes effect from 16th July 2024. This means that all public authorities in Scotland must now act compatibly with the UNCRC requirements or face legal remedy. What do Scottish public bodies – and those acting on their behalf such as third sector organisations – need to know and do in order to stay within the law and to more proactively promote wider cultural change in children's rights?

This conference will take place online. 

Scotland's voluntary sector and the staff and volunteers working within it deliver vitally important services in every Scottish community. However, crisis in funding, capacity and its future are some of the few certainties the sector can currently anticipate. How should charitable organisations, staff and the sector as a whole now be thinking, planning and reacting amid widespread crisis and challenge? How do you navigate a way forward – and what does coherent purpose and success look like – in this context?

This conference will take place online.

The 2016 Programme for Government pledged to substantially eliminate the poverty and attainment gap within a decade.  A tough enough challenge to achieve.  Since then, COVID has impacted massively on education, childhood development, the economy, incomes, benefits and curriculum delivery.  So where do we now stand in attempting to eradicate by 2026 what may be the biggest driver of long term inequality in Scotland?

This conference will take place online.

Scottish transport is critical to our ability to sustain economic success and thriving, stable communities. However, the strength and development of our transport systems is under challenge. We have fragile public finances. We need to attract private investment and confidence. There are now reshaped travel patterns following COVID. Transport is expected to simultaneously help deliver economic growth and meet net zero targets while remaining affordable and reliable. What therefore should be our strategic objectives and targets for transport? How can we innovate to fund and deliver both projects and services? Who should transport policy and delivery be seeking to serve?

This conference will take place online.

Emergency planning, resilience, business continuity and risk reduction are the activities we plan, practice and train for in the hope they will never be needed.  They mitigate the worst when it happens and bring assurance and stability when it does not.  However, the threats presented to normal order are magnified by local, national and international events which can bring instability to our own front door. So how do we plan for the unexpected, ensure that we learn from every opportunity, collaborate to maximise best practice and keep our emergency planning and resilience practitioners, and our responders at every tier, well-resourced and able to prevent and react?

This conference will take place online.

The Scottish Government has recently launched and concluded three planning consultations. The first covers the National Planning Framework and local development plan amendments.  The second relates to masterplan consent areas.  The third looks at resourcing Scotland’s planning system. The intention is to ensure that planning is more flexible and nimble and also better resourced in funding and staffing terms. What are the likely outcomes of these consultations? Will final decisions result in a system that works faster and more efficiently? Will the planning environment and outcomes for planners, developers and communities be improved? 

This conference will take place online.