Prep boarding conference

Name: Prep boarding conference
Start: 2025-10-07T09:00:00+01:00
End: 2025-10-07T17:00:00+01:00
Location: Millfield School

Tuesday 7 October, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

🏷️ From £110
🎧 Prep boarding staff, senior leaders, marketing and admissions
📍 Millfield Prep School

BSA Prep Boarding Conference 2025 is a one-day professional development event for educators and leaders in prep school boarding. The conference covers best practices in providing outstanding academic and pastoral care, managing pupil transitions, and key operational areas such as admissions, compliance, and staff retention. Expert-led sessions and a collaborative round table discussion will provide practical strategies and insights, with a special focus on the crucial topic of pupil wellbeing and sleep optimisation.

Training topics will include:

Developing outstanding academic and pastoral provision, with a focus on supporting a smooth transition to senior boarding.
Creating a strategic roadmap for marketing, admissions, compliance, and staff retention in prep boarding schools.
Applying strategies to improve pupil wellbeing through optimised sleep environments and routines.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will be able to:

Identify and apply best practices for delivering outstanding academic, pastoral, and boarding provision in a prep school setting.
Implement strategies that effectively support pupils in their transition from prep to senior boarding.
Develop a strategic roadmap for marketing, admissions, and compliance that drives enrolment growth and meets inspection standards.
Recruit and retain high-quality staff and pupils by addressing key challenges in the boarding sector.
Apply practical techniques to promote healthier sleep and improve the overall wellbeing of boarding pupils.

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Programme:

09:30 – 10:00 Registration and refreshments

10:00 – 10:15 Welcome

10:15 – 11:00 The best prep school provision

This session explores what defines outstanding prep school provision, sharing best practice in academic, pastoral, and boarding excellence to support pupils’ success.

Speaker: David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding & Education and Director, BSA/TIOB

11:00 – 12:00 Prep boarding to senior boarding transition

This session examines how schools can best support pupils moving from prep boarding to senior boarding, ensuring a smooth transition academically, pastorally, and socially.

Speaker: Millfield Prep Team

12:00 – 13:00 Networking lunch

13:00 – 13:45 Creating a marketing and admissions roadmap for prep boarding

This session guides schools in developing an effective marketing and admissions roadmap for prep boarding, focusing on strategies to attract families, build engagement, and secure enrolment growth.

Speaker: Aileen Kane, Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer, The BSA Group

13:45 – 14:30 Prep boarding compliance and inspections

This session explores key compliance requirements and inspection frameworks for prep boarding, offering practical guidance to ensure schools meet standards with confidence.

Speaker: MA (Ed), FTIOB, Executive Director, BSA Group Scotland/Wales and Accredited/Compliance

14:30 – 15:00 Refreshment and networking

15:00 – 15:45 Recruitment and retention

This session addresses the challenges of recruitment and retention in prep boarding, sharing strategies to attract staff and pupils while sustaining long-term success.

Round table discussion

15:45 – 16:30 Maximising your boarding house for better sleep

This session explores how to optimise boarding house environments and routines to promote healthier sleep and improve pupil wellbeing.

Speaker: Dr Lindsay Browning, chartered psychologist, neuroscientist and sleep expert

16:30 Conference close

Speakers:

David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding & Education and Director, BSA/TIOB

David Walker has over 20 years’ experience in boarding education, having worked in a variety of schools across the UK and Africa. His career includes leadership roles in both senior and prep school settings, complemented by service as a prep school governor and trustee of a multi-academy trust. Before joining the BSA, David was Deputy Head Pastoral at a large co-educational independent school in the South-East, where he oversaw student welfare and pastoral care. His extensive background in safeguarding, boarding leadership, and governance gives him a broad perspective on the sector, enabling him to support schools in delivering outstanding pastoral provision.

Dale Wilkins, MA (Ed), FTIOB, Executive Director, BSA Group Scotland/Wales and Accredited/Compliance

Dale Wilkins joined the BSA in 2017 to lead safeguarding, inspection, and compliance across the UK, building on his experience as a course tutor since 1998. He works closely with ISI, Ofsted, and the DfE, while also overseeing the Group’s work in Scotland and Wales. A trainer and consultant for BSA and SACPA, he is Vice Chair of SAFCAB. Dale previously spent 31 years as a boarding practitioner, including roles as Housemaster and Deputy Head at Old Swinford Hospital. Beyond education, he trains for the Methodist Church, is a charity trustee, chairs a performing arts organisation, and volunteers widely.

Aileen Kane, Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer, BSA Group

Aileen Kane is a marketing and communications strategist with extensive experience in education, specialising in brand positioning, admissions, and audience engagement. As Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer at BSA Group, she leads strategic marketing, admissions support, and business development to help schools attract and retain boarding students. Her expertise spans marcomms, operations, and organisational growth across education, legal services, and the charity sector. Aileen has a proven track record of building influential partnerships, shaping effective admissions strategies, and driving sustainable growth. She is passionate about equipping schools with the tools to strengthen their marketing and admissions impact.

Dr Lindsay Browning, CEO, Trouble Sleeping

Dr Lindsay Browning is a chartered psychologist, neuroscientist, and renowned sleep expert. She earned a master’s in neuroscience and a doctorate (DPhil) in insomnia from the University of Oxford, with her thesis exploring the connection between worry, rumination, and sleeplessness. Founder of Trouble Sleeping in 2006, she provides Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) to individuals and organisations, including the NHS, police, airlines, and charities. Dr Browning is also a bestselling author of Navigating Sleeplessness and a frequent media commentator on sleep issues.