IDPE 2025 Annual Conference venue: Celtic Manor Resort, Newport
At a time when schools are navigating the pressures of fee-dependency and stretched resources, the IDPE annual conference offers a vital opportunity to connect with peers, share experiences, and explore creative solutions together.
Through informative and interactive sessions led by experienced development professionals and distinguished guest speakers, you'll learn how to make the most of your team's expertise, resources, and strategies to build lasting relationships and grow support for your school. Whether your focus is fundraising or engagement, the conference will equip you with practical insights and fresh ideas to drive meaningful impact.
"A powerful couple of days not only getting the time to chat with peers from across the sector but being inspired with lots of incredible ideas from the vast range of sessions. Our notebooks came away brimming and I have already discussed some ideas with Senior Leadership."
IDPE 2024 Annual Conference delegate
What's new for 2025?
The IDPE 2025 Annual Conference will be held at the Celtic Manor Resort. This larger venue will provide greater diversity of and capacity for sessions. New for 2025, enhance your experience in our Skills lab, where you can gain technical skills and practical support from IDPE partners in the Exhibition Hall. Engage in interactive workshops that prioritise hands-on learning, role play, and minimal screen time. Dive into masterclass sessions led by top industry experts, offering actionable strategies and advanced insights. Take advantage of embedded networking opportunities throughout the main programme, including speed networking and specialist peer group forums. Additionally, on Tuesday afternoon, access dedicated sessions tailored for specific school types, including a state school symposium.
2025 session types
This year's session types provide more opportunities for networking with and learning from other development professionals:
Horizon
Step outside your comfort zone and explore the emerging trends in the wider school and fundraising sectors
Listen, learn and share workshop
Deep-dive into a specific area of development and workshop ideas with peers
Masterclass
Gain actionable strategies and advanced insights from top industry experts
Personal effectiveness
Develop the personal skills you need to be an effective schools' development professional
Peer group forum
Share experiences and learnings with colleagues in similar schools / roles
Plenary panel
Join fellow delegates to hear our expert panel discuss prominent issues facing the sector
Roundtable discussions
An opportunity to discuss specific topics with our partners
Skills lab
Gain technical skills and practical support from IDPE partners
State school symposium
Discuss insights and opportunities for fundraising and engagement in state schools
Steps for success
Explore successful approaches and step-by-step guidance for realising your development goals
Joining us for the first-time?
We know that coming to conference for the first time and not knowing anyone can be a daunting experience. To support you in making the most of your conference experience and building your networks, you'll be invited to attend our networking sessions for those new to conference (or with less development experience), where you will be introduced to our conference volunteers (committee members, regional vice presidents and trustees), who will be a friendly face to help set you on your own networking path.
"You have created such a nurturing environment which I felt in spades as a complete newcomer to the sector last year."