
Leeds City Council The Virtual School Leaders Conference and Exhibition 2025
Event Dates and Prices
Thursday 6th March 2025
8.00am – 4.30pm
Inspiring Lived Experience
Mondale Events and Leeds City Council are delighted to be organising this one day Conference and Exhibition and are thrilled to welcome Lavinya Stennet, a care experienced writer, activist, and Founder and CEO of social enterprise The Black Curriculum and Ashley Jean-Baptiste, renowned BBC presenter as our keynotes.
The theme this year is “Inspiring Lived Experience”. Despite their resilience, care experienced people face significant barriers that impact them throughout their lives. Care experienced people often face discrimination and stigma across housing, health, education, relationships, employment and in the criminal justice system. Narratives about young people with care experience can often be framed in negative, pathologising language; “troubled teens”; “high tariff”; “manipulative”; “makes bad choices”.
Delegates will also hear from Ian Jones, one of Leeds amazing kinship carers and in a first for the Virtual School, the opportunity to hear directly from their amazing children and young people.
Staff from all Leeds schools are entitled to two places, one of whom must be the Designated Teacher and the other a Designated Safeguarding Lead or SENCO. Refreshments will be provided throughout the day together with a buffet lunch.
Alongside the Conference, Mondale Events are delighted to have been asked to organise an exhibition where a range of companies and organisations supplying to both Primary and Secondary Education will be displaying their products and services.
This event is likely to be very popular and companies wishing to exhibit are urged to book their space as soon as possible. Contact us using the form below, should you be a Company wishing to take advantage of this excellent opportunity to promote your activity in this marketplace.
Leeds United Football Club, Elland Road, Leeds LS11 0ES
Event Speakers

Ashley John-Baptiste
Ashley is a BBC presenter as well as a Speaker, who has a remarkable story of how he overcame his troubled childhood in care to exceed expectations. Taken into care at a young and growing up being shuttled between foster families and children’s homes, Ashley is a strong champion for care experience people. Ashley tells an uplifting, inspirational and often humorous account of his childhood. His story of a disjointed upbringing in foster care where so many of his peers ended up in jail, on drugs or worse is shocking to hear, however it makes his rise to success even more amazing.