New to development? New to the IDPE annual conference?

We want your first experience of our annual conference to be positive and inspiring. The range of sessions available, along with the opportunity to network with your peers, will develop your knowledge and increase your confidence in schools’ development.

Don’t forget there will always be someone available on our registration desk to answer your questions, but here are a few tips to help you prepare for your first IDPE annual conference:

Recognising who is who

To help make your first conference less daunting, first-time delegates will have a blue sticker on their name badges making it easy to find other ‘first-timers’ and to help experienced delegates recognise someone who may need help.

Making new contacts

Networking is a key benefit of the IDPE annual conference, so we provide specific opportunities for those who are new to the conference to meet with other ‘first-timers’, IDPE staff and volunteers, to ask questions and find out more about the conference.
 sponsors of first-time delegate meet ups

Meet the exhibitors

Don’t forget to visit our exhibition hall where you can meet some of the leading suppliers from across the sector to tap into their expertise and make preliminary enquiries.

Tailored sessions

Whilst you can attend any of the sessions on offer, our new ‘how to’ sessions will be clearly identified in the programme and provide more step-by-step information and practical tips for those new to development.

After the conference

It can be easy to be overwhelmed by the volume of information to take in, but don’t worry as the majority of presentations will be available to download after the conference.

Hear from Roger Howard, Foundation Director for Woodhouse Grove School, about his experiences of being a first-time conference delegate at the IDPE 2018 Annual Conference. Read more...

‘The meet ups for those new to conference, were a nice chance to chat to other new delegates. It definitely put me at ease.’

‘An introduction to development ... Seeing what's possible and what other similar schools are doing ... Sharing good practice, industry standards and trends.’

‘As a school with no development office, the conference gave me a great insight into the possibilities available to the school. I was impressed with the range of break-out sessions which seemed to offer something for schools at all levels – from those with no experience through to those with strong development programmes in place.’

2018 conference delegates