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We are delighted to bring delegates to our 2025 Annual Conference two contrasting plenary events:
We are delighted to bring delegates to our 2025 Annual Conference two contrasting plenary events:
On Friday 27th June from 13:15 -14:15
On Friday 27th June from 13:15 -14:15
Expert panel discussion and Q&A on ESOL in devolved authorities.
On Saturday 28th June from 09:00 to 10:00
On Saturday 28th June from 09:00 to 10:00
A National Geographic Learning sponsored keynote speaker:
Emily Bryson on From ESOL classroom to the world: Inspiring Voices that make an Impact
Friday 27th June 2025, from 13:15 - 14:15
Friday 27th June 2025, from 13:15 - 14:15
Expert panel discussion and Q&A on ESOL in devolved authorities
Expert panel discussion and Q&A on ESOL in devolved authorities
Making ourselves heard: the importance of practitioner voice as ESOL policy and funding approaches devolve, develop and diversify.
Making ourselves heard: the importance of practitioner voice as ESOL policy and funding approaches devolve, develop and diversify.
Demand for ESOL in each of the regions and nations where NATECLA operates has never been greater, yet English language provision in every part of the UK has been devastated by a decade and a half of funding cuts, policy confusion and a scaling back of teacher education.
We’re opening this year’s Annual Conference with a panel discussion that will compare approaches to ESOL within England, as well as exploring recent developments across Wales, Scotland and throughout the island of Ireland. One of the more exciting developments we’ve seen in the last few years has been the devolution of Adult Skills policy and funding to England’s Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs), yet there are limits to what each can do on its own – especially when the UK Government holds the purse strings.
One voice that’s too often absent from these discussions is that of ESOL teachers. NATECLA is uniquely placed to bring together the insights and expertise of ESOL and community language practitioners throughout these islands, yet we’ve an increasingly diverse range of influencers and decision-makers to engage with – and are having to make our case amidst increasingly coarse discourse about migrants and migration.
Are there other ways in which we could amplify the voices of ESOL practitioners? What more can we learn from each other contexts?
Submit your questions for the panel in advance
Submit your questions for the panel in advance
More and more funding for adult ESOL is being devolved, so do you have a question about how devolved authorities manage and fund ESOL?
Your question could be put to our expert panel during the conference.
Our panel members:
Our panel members:
Alex Stevenson
Alex Stevenson
Learning and Work Institute
Alex Stevenson is Deputy Director at Learning and Work Institute (L&W), an independent policy and research organisation dedicated to lifelong learning and better work. Alex is L&W’s lead on essential skills, supporting a number of Mayoral Combined Authorities with adult skills devolution. This includes recent policy research on ESOL for the Greater London Authority and the West Midlands Combined Authority. Before joining L&W, Alex was an ESOL teacher and manager for over 13 years in colleges, adult community education and for an independent training provider. Alex is an executive committee member at the European Basic Skills Network.
Miguel Silva
Miguel Silva
West Midlands Combined Authority
Miguel Silva has worked in the field of language acquisition and linguistics for over two decades in the Netherlands and England. He currently leads on skills delivery at the West Midlands Combined Authority, overseeing the delivery of skills programmes at all levels and in all subjects for ca. 75,000 individuals per year. His area of work also involves policy, outcomes and curriculum design. He is currently developing and implementing a Foundation Skills strategy/programmes that deliver social and economic outcomes through the development of social capital, cultural capital and transferable skills for individuals.
Philida Schellekens
Philida Schellekens
Bell Foundation
Dr Philida Schellekens is a past Chair of Natecla and contributor to the 2016 ESOL strategy. She has 30 years’ experience of working both in the UK and internationally as a consultant, author, teacher trainer, and researcher. Philida’s special interest is in the quality of first and second language learning, teaching and assessment in vocational training and work contexts.
Philida works as an Ofsted inspector across all provision types and is a consultant to The Bell Foundation. She has published widely, e.g. the OUP ESOL Handbook (2007) and the ESOL Qualifications and Curriculum Review (2024).
Naheed Hussain
Naheed Hussain
Bradford Metropolitan District Council
After graduating from Bradford University, Naheed discovered her passion for adult learning and embarked on a CELTA, PGCE and MA TESOL. She has 24 years’ experience of teaching and managing ESOL in Further Education and community learning in Kirklees.
For the past six years she has been the English Language Service & Partnerships Manager at Bradford Council, with responsibility for establishing an impartial English Language Advice Hub and Bradford District ESOL & Community Learning Consortium. Co-designing and commissioning ESOL and wellbeing courses were informed by baseline needs assessments and focus groups with ESOL learners, tutors and stakeholders. The overarching objective is to reduce inequalities experienced by new arrivals and settled communities, supporting economic growth and community cohesion.
Mary Osmaston
Mary Osmaston
The panel convener and NATECLA trustee
Mary Osmaston is an experienced ESOL teacher, manager and teacher trainer, a previous co-chair of NATECLA and a current trustee. She now works mainly in teacher development and quality improvement for ESOL, and has carried out research on ESOL provision and qualifications. Her policy work on behalf of NATECLA includes responding to Government and other consultations on ESOL curriculum and qualifications, funding and strategy, and working together with other organisations to highlight ESOL issues.
Saturday 28th June 2025, from 09:00 - 10:00am
Saturday 28th June 2025, from 09:00 - 10:00am
From ESOL classroom to the world: Inspiring Voices that make an Impact
From ESOL classroom to the world: Inspiring Voices that make an Impact
This keynote talk is kindly sponsored by:
A plenary talk by Emily Bryson
A plenary talk by Emily Bryson
About the talk
The ESOL classroom is a microcosm of the world, rich with unique stories, cultures, and beliefs.
This session will share trauma-informed approaches that create safe, inclusive spaces for sharing stories and building connections. Drawing on National Geographic Learning’s Teaching through Crisis, Voices, and Impact series, it will explore social-emotional learning , strategies to develop intercultural communication, and project-based learning methods to build confidence in addressing global and local issues. The practical ideas will amplify learner voices and help them to thrive in new communities and make a meaningful impact in the world.
About Emily Bryson
Emily Bryson is an ELT professional with over 20 years’ classroom experience. She has written various print and digital materials, including National Geographic Learning’s Voices & Impact series, 50 Ways to Teach Life Skills and the A-Z of ESOL. She is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion and the use of visuals and graphic facilitation strategies to make learning more engaging, accessible and fun. She is a resident blogger for Ellii learning and frequently delivers teacher education sessions for a variety of ELT organisations. Her teacher development courses in visual thinking have been described as ‘the nicest corner of the internet’.
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