As a recommended service and product provider to the education sector, SG World attended the National Association of Head Teachers annual conference for Northern Ireland in May 2014.
An independent trade union and professional association representing over 28,500 teachers, NAHT’s members hold leadership positions in a vast array of educational settings. SG World were given the opportunity to meet a wide proportion of Principals from Northern Ireland schools, as well as representatives from the Department of Education.
105 Principals attended the event from Northern Ireland, making up 10% of Northern Ireland education. A wide range of school types were present, from nurseries to primary and secondary schools, along with a selection of guests at the product exhibition. SG World were a guest at the exhibition, where they provided advice and guidance on their products and services which help schools to meet their various best practice, regulatory and compliance goals – particularly those concerning child safeguarding.
Julia Irvine, SG World Sales Executive for Northern Ireland, enjoyed the rare opportunity to meet head teachers from all schooling levels. She says: “It was great to be able to meet the head teachers, particularly those from secondary schools, as they don’t usually personally attend events like these due to their large workloads. Having the ability to thoroughly understand their needs and wishes was fantastic, as it’s our job to fully cater for their genuine concerns about school visitors and child safety.”
Julia continues: “It was also very good to be able to meet representatives from the Department of Education. I had a genuine concern regarding the guidance for Personal Safety and Security in Schools, which hadn’t been up-dated since 1999. Due to a recent incident in a school, this did need addressing. It was good to be able to speak directly to the Department of Education and have reassurance that this was now on their radars.”
Attendees enjoyed an address from Education Minister for Northern Ireland John O’Dowd, followed by a questions and answers session with the Minister.
“It was fantastic to hear that Belfast will be hosting the 2017 NAHT National Conference,” Julia says. “The event will have attendees of 800 Head Teachers and Principals from the whole of the UK and SG World will be present so that they can continue to offer support, advice and solutions to help as many schools as possible to build best practise and regulatory compliance into their daily processes.”
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