Step Up Network Lunch and Lead Meet,

About the event

The event is the first face-to-face event for our brand new grassroots, volunteer-led, not for profit education network. We are network which supports aspiring and new-to-role leaders in education. We do this through our five ways of working: networking, connecting, supporting, collaborating and sharing.

The event will be where current leaders share their stories as well as key tips and learning about an area of leadership of their choice/interest.

The event will include networking, lunch and presentations; as well as networking before and after the main event at different venues within Birmingham City Centre.

The event will be small with only 24 tickets being sold, 4 speakers and 2 volunteers. 

Why should you sponsor?

We want to change the attitude towards networking in education. In the private sector, many organisations will run weekly drinks, will release their employees to go to conferences and allow time for networking. In education, unless at a very senior level, it is often that people will network in their own time and they have to choose whether to do this or not. We want to contribute towards changing this, making networking in education the norm and supporting people to do this.

As mentioned, as this happens in educators own time, they have to pay the cost for both travel and tickets. We will be charging for the event, but we would like to reduce the cost for attendees, as well as provide fantastic content.

We would use the sponsorship donation to:

• Reduce the ticket cost for attendees - covering minimum spend / food / venue hire cost.
• Expenses for speakers and volunteers to travel. 
• Promotional materials for the event.

We would of course, as mentioned in the sponsor proposal allow for extensive promotion of the sponsor.

You will be able to provide many new educators (including those from underrepresented groups) the opportunity to attend an event which could change their career and their lives. You will also contribute towards the start of changing the face of networking in education. 

Ben Hobbis

The Step Up Network is a new network for new and aspiring leaders in education. We cover all phases and leadership ‘levels’ but we focus more so on those starting at middle and then senior levels. We are a grassroots network ran by volunteers.

Our Why:
Leadership can sometimes be a lonely place. It can be scary, when you’re trained as a teacher and not as a leader, particularly in the early part of your career. Leadership can sometimes not be diverse. Leadership can negatively impact on your wellbeing. But it doesn’t have to be and shouldn’t be this way.

Our Ways of Working:
We aid our community by our five ways of working:

• Networking – providing a safe space within our network;
• Connecting – through our events and regional networks;
• Supporting – through the leadership directory on our website;
• Sharing – through our blogs and e-newsletters; and
• Collaborating – through linking with and signposting to and from other networks and organisations.

Our Themes:

The content we produce for our network surrounds five key themes:

• Leadership Journeys,
• Leadership Barriers,
• Leadership Development,
• Leadership Diversity and
• Leadership Wellbeing.

When speakers for our events or writers for our blog volunteer for us, we ask that they speak to at least one of the five themes.

Contact the Organizer Contact the Organizer