A conference for staff working with children exhibiting behavioural, emotional and social difficulties will be held in Cardiff next week.
The inaugural ‘BESD to BEST’ conference is the brainchild of headteachers in Cardiff who work in the BESD sector with children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. Peter Owen, headteacher of The Court School, Jane Counsell, head of Greenhill School and Fiona Simpson, head of Bryn Y Deryn Pupil Referral Unit have arranged the event to highlight the issues that young people face not only in education but in their everyday lives as well.
Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, the conference will take place at the All Nations Centre on Monday February 28 and will be opened by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Keith Hyde.
Motivational speaker Will Murray, a renowned ‘trouble shooter’ in the business and education sector, will speak at the conference followed by a number of workshops throughout the day covering areas such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, the use of ICT and the role of Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCo).
Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Freda Salway, said: “This conference reflects the tremendous work being undertaken by the skilled and dedicated staff working with extremely challenging youngsters throughout the local authorities in South Wales. It is hoped that BESD 2 BEST will become an annual event with invitations extended to all schools in South Wales dealing with children with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties (BESD).”
