2026 School Leaders and Parish Partners Conference

More than 150 school and church leaders attended the 2026 School Leaders and Parish Partners Conference, Flourishing Together: Seeking Justice, Sharing Hope, to explore together how to transform unjust structures in society, and consider poverty, disadvantage and the role of churches and schools. 

Held on two days, the conference brought together people from across the diocese, with keynote speaker,  Sean Harris – Director of PLACE (People, Learning and Community Engagement) – Tees Valley Education and Co-author of Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools.

Speaking after the conference, Cheryl Govier, Assistant Director (Education and Leadership) said, “It was wonderful to welcome School Leaders and Parish Partners from the breadth of the diocese to Flourish House over two days. It was a joy to gather together and spend time worshipping, learning and networking together.”

Sean thanked the diocesan Education team for inviting him to speak at the conference, he said, “What a privilege it is to be with the Diocese of Bath and Wells. We’ve been thinking about the persistent problem of inequality, so it has been great to be in a room with church leaders, and school leaders, because we know it takes an entire village to tackle the issues that affect too many children and families.”

Bishop Fiona led the opening worship on the first of the two days.  On the second day Bishop Michael reflected on the theme of the conference, he said, ‘Flourishing together, seeking justice, sharing hop are aspirations that touch on what it means to be truly human, have the right values and live well with others.”

After the conference, some of those who came along shared their thoughts in the video below.