There’s always a tendency when you get to this point of the year to close your eyes and think of the Christmas holidays, but with so much going on in the education sector, none of us can afford to take our eyes off the education ball!

And here at Learning Plus UK, preparations are well under way for our 2013 annual summit on 15^th February, which will take place at a venue in London.

The one-day event will look at the reforms to the 16-19 sector, which come into effect in September next year and include new funding arrangements and the raising of the participation age to 17.

It has been especially designed for heads of sixth form, colleges, local authority officers and senior education leads with a responsibility for post-16 provision.

We are delight to announce that Linda Rose, from the Department for Education, who spoke at our 2012 summit will be making a return visit and providing a policy update, outlining the Government’s new policies for 16 to 19 year olds. If you have any questions about the new post-16 landscape, then this will be a perfect opportunity to get them answered and engage with key policy makers, straight from Whitehall!

There will also be a variety of workshops during the day, including one from Berkshire Raising Participation Partnership, who will be looking at “The role of transition workers to support RPA”. Among the other workshops will one be from the Institute of Education’s Post-14 Centre on “Strategies to respond to the overlooked middle”.

We will also be unveiling our new online version of the Post-16 LPUK Datadashboard© for individual centres, local authorities and groups at the event – so don’t miss out on a chance to see the new, improved format!

There will also be plenty of time to network with other education professionals and share best practice with others in the sector. With so much happening over the next 12 months, there will definitely be plenty to talk about!

To find out more or to book your place at our 2013 annual summit, email membershipservices@learningplusuk.org - we look forward to seeing you there.