Download our Conference App before you arrive - kindly sponsored by Trinity College London

Essential information for delegates

#NATECLA26

Information to help Annual Conference 2026 delegates prepare for the event

We are looking forward to seeing you at this year’s Annual Conference. Please find some information here which you may find useful:

📅 When and Where

Date: Friday 26h to Saturday 27th June 2026
Venue: Conference Aston - Conference Centre and Hotel, Aston University, Aston Street, Birmingham B4 7ET
Programme and timings: Please check the Conference Programme and your booking confirmaiton from TicketTailor to check when you should be arriving

💚 A big thank you to our sponsors

A huge thank you to our main sponsor, NOCN, and supporting sponsors: Ascentis, City & Guilds, ESB International, Gateway Qualifications, and Trinity College London for their generous support.

Find out more about all our sponsors and exhibitors for this year's conference.

📱Important contact details

You can contact the National Centre team prior to or during the event:

By mobile - 07443 601 298
By email - For non-urgent enquiries only - info@natecla.org.uk

Or get in touch with Conference Aston:

By email - conference_events@aston.ac.uk
By phone - 0121 204 3884

📍 Getting there

Conference Aston on the Aston University campus is based within a 10–15-minute walk of Birmingham New Street, Moor Street or Snow Hill train stations and the main Bull Ring shopping centre. It's easily accessible by major bus routes and only a few minutes’ drive from the M6 / Aston Expressway. It is located within Birmingham's Clean Air Zone so charges for car users may apply. Check your vehicle online in advance.

Find more information on the location.

🚘 Car parking

Car parking is available at Conference Aston and must be pre-booked and paid for online, as far in advance as possible.

Further information about car parking can be found here.

📋 Get to know the programme: The Conference app and more!

For the first time, we're introducing a mobile friendly App to NATECLA Annual Conference to help attendees make the most of their experience - Kindly sponsored by Trinity College London.

Browse the programme, plan your schedule, connect with attendees, and stay up to date throughout the event.

📱Find out more about the app and download it before you arrive

You can also familiarise yourself with the plan for the weekend by taking a look at the following:

A programme for the full conference
PDF programmes for you to print and bring with

💻Friday afternoon and Saturday morning plenary events: Overflow viewing room

This related to the following plenary events taking place in Conference Room 1:

Friday 26th June, 13:15 -14:15 - lived experience of the UK asylum system and ESOL
Saturday 27th June, 9am -10am - Spoken Grammar by Jon Hird

Due to large delegate booking numbers and capacity limitations at Conference Aston, delegate access to our two plenary events in Conference Room 1 will be on a first come, first served basis.

The capacity of Conference Room 1 is 220 delegates. Once this capacity has been reached, delegates will be asked to take a seat in a syndicate room upstairs (Room 144) to watch a live streamed version of the plenaries. We strongly urge you to arrive in Conference Room 1 early if you wish to be seated in that space.

We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

📝 Arrival & registration

Please walk straight past the Conference Aston reception desk and head to the NATECLA registration desk, to collect your name badge and delegate bag. Light refreshments will be available in the exhibition areas.

Friday registration: 12:00 – 13:00. Buffet lunch for all delegates and exhibitors, kindly sponsored by Gateway Qualifications.
Saturday registration: 08:00 – 09:00

When you arrive, please have your order number ready, this is the 8-digit number on your booking confirmation (e.g. 69379919). If your ticket was processed via an invoice, your invoice number works too!

This is different from your ticket code (a mix of letters and numbers e.g Q66bCjL), so the order or invoice number is the one we'll need at registration.

🥗 Food & catering

Light refreshments provided throughout the event.
Friday lunch: A sandwich buffet is included for ALL Friday attendees this year
Friday dinner: 2-course hot meal for residential guests ONLY in the Courtyard Restaurant.
Saturday lunch: Included for all Saturday attendees.

Thank you to Gateway Qualifications for sponsoring this year's catering package.

All catering and reshments are kindly sponsored by:

🛌🏼 Hotel accommodation at Conference Aston

If you booked a FULL Weekend Residential Conference ticket, this includes dinner and hotel accomodation on Friday 26th June plus breakfast on Saturday 27th June at Conference Aston.

Please note:

Bedroom check-in is from 14:00 on the day of your arrival. Please collect your room key at the NATECLA desk when registering your attendance at the conference.
Check-out: by 10:30am Saturday.
Return key cards to the NATECLA desk.
Luggage can be stored in the designated room behind the desk.
Late check-out must be arranged with the hotel directly and is at your own expense.

You also have access to the onsite gym, swimming pool, and other leisure facilities. Visit the Conference Aston website for more details.

🛍️ Residential guests & luggage:

There is a luggage room situated behind the NATECLA registration desk in the Courtyard Lounge. You can leave your luggage here before registering. Bedroom check-in is from 14:00 on Friday. Please collect your room key at the NATECLA desk.

🛜 WiFi

The W-Fi code will be made available at points throughout the Conference Aston building during the event.

🎟️Friday night quiz and raffle (Ruth Hayman Trust)

Join us for the much-loved Ruth Hayman Trust Pub Quiz.

🕣 Friday 26th June 20:30 – 22:00

Open to residential guests and dinner attendees.

Due to high attendance this year, seating may be limited – we hope some of you will be happy to stand.

Don’t forget to bring cash for the charity raffle supporting the Trust. If you can donate a prize for this raffle - a book, an item of stationery, a voucher or something else - please bring it with you and give it to a member of the Ruth Hayman Trust team. They'll be on their stand in the main exhibition hall.

Find out more about the Trust here.

👩🏼‍🏫Workshops

Workshop locations are listed in the programme and on the Conference app and will be clearly signposted.

No pre-booking is required – arrive up to 15 minutes early to secure a place.

Please respect room capacities.

📣 City & Guilds Teachmeet – There's Still Time to Sign Up!

We’re still looking for volunteers to take part in our renowned Teachmeet! A more informal way to share your favourite classroom activities in only 3 minutes!

Learn more about the Teachmeet and sign up

And huge thanks to City & Guilds for sponsoring what has become a staple of our Annual Conference.

🎥 NATECLA’s filming corner

At this year's conference, we'll be continuing with our initiative to hear directly from you, our attendees.

Throughout the event, we’ll be asking questions about your experience at the conference, your connection with NATECLA and perhaps one or two teaching tips. Whether it's through a short video, a quick interview, or a written quote, we’d love to capture your thoughts to feature in future social media posts. Look out for our NATECLA-branded backdrop or catch us around the venue.

📲 Social media publicity

NATECLA will be posting throughout the event on our LinkedIn channel.

We welcome your support in helping us to publicise this unique and important conference. Please tag @NATECLA in all posts and include #NATECLA26.

🗣 After the Conference

Please take a moment to complete our Delegate Feedback Form after the event. Your feedback helps us improve and shape future conferences.

If you have any questions before the event, don’t hesitate to contact us.

📧 info@natecla.org.uk | 📞 07443 601 298

We are looking forward to seeing everyone!

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