Education Conferences & Events | Schools North East

Curriculum Conference 2027

Grand Hotel Gosforth

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Thu 20 May 2027

09:00 - 16:00

An ambitious curriculum for every child: understand what’s changing, share what works and build what comes next

At a time of significant change across education, questions about what our children learn, the experiences they have at school and how we prepare them for life and work have never been more important. As the national curriculum and wider education landscape continue to evolve, school and trust leaders need opportunities to understand what is changing, consider what it means for their settings and learn from one another.

The Schools North East Curriculum Conference 2027 brings together school leaders, educators and curriculum specialists from across the region to explore how we can create a broad, ambitious and enriching curriculum. Sessions will focus on ensuring high standards for all pupils, creating space for innovation and equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and experiences they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

A broad and ambitious curriculum is about more than what happens in the classroom. It is about opening up opportunity. Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and too many children and young people in the North East do not have access to the same opportunities as their peers elsewhere in the country. This is at the heart of what we’ve identified as the ‘structural divide’, and curriculum has an important role to play in closing that divide.

The Curriculum Conference sells out every year. Secure your place and join colleagues from across the North East to explore what’s changing, share what works and help ensure every young person in our region has access to an ambitious education that prepares them to thrive.

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Event Organiser

Event Costs

SNE Partner School£100 +VAT

Non-Partner School£160 +VAT

Commercial/Educational Supporters£250 +VAT

Non School£300 +VAT

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Chris Zarraga

Director, Schools North East

Chris is the Director of School North East. He has been part of the Schools North East team since its operational inception in 2008 and in 2019 he was appointed Director. Chris works with senior leaders across the North East and nationally in the education and charity sectors, to represent the voice of North East schools. A central part of his work is to lobby politicians, policy makers, and the media to put a strong ‘regional accent’ on the education debate, so that North East schools are not left behind when it comes to education policy.

Under Chris, Schools North East launched the ‘Manifesto for North East Education’. The manifesto sets out the perennial challenges that impact educational opportunities in the North East and the principles needed to inform any educational policy wanting to address them.

Chris works with hundreds of schools across the North East and various organisations including Ofsted, the DfE, the North East’s universities, Local Authorities and various regional/ national businesses. Prior to joining Schools North East, he led a £1.4 million culture change project in education across the North East for the Treasury and DfE and was responsible for setting up a multi-million pound Enterprise Education Network.

Chris sits on various advisory boards including the NHS Integrated Care Boards, various Combined Authority advisory boards, and was a member of the DfE’s Opportunity North East strategic board. He has also sat on various boards for North East Universities. As well as being a Director of two North East multi academy trusts, Chris has been Chair of a 3 school Trust, Vice Chair of a large maintained secondary school and Vice Chair of a primary foundation school.

In a variety of roles from Regional Manager to Chief Executive to Board member, Chris has led large scale change management projects in education and has over 20 years’ experience of strategic management, consultancy, and client development experience at a ‘Big Four’ firm and various financial institutions.

Chris holds an MBA with distinction from Durham University Business School.