AEGIS CONFERENCE 2025
This day-long event will be a powerful, eye-opening experience for all those committed to the welfare of international students studying in the UK.
Thursday 8th May 2025
Congress Centre, 28 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS
Book & pay by 28 February AEGIS Member: £250 plus VAT / Non-Member: £300 plus VAT
Book from 1 March AEGIS Member : £300 plus VAT / Non-Member: £350 plus VAT
Exhibitor stand including one delegate: £450 plus VAT (£100 plus VAT per extra delegate)
What's in store for our attendees?
Guardians, schools, and sector experts will come together to tackle the critical question: how can we ensure the best possible support for international students?
Our keynote speaker, Josie Collier – Independent Reviewer and Safeguarding Consultant with extensive experience leading Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews – will share her hard-hitting findings on what can go wrong, especially when a student is in crisis, and how we can avoid these failures.
Michelle Nightingale – Assistant Chief Nurse for Safeguarding and Learning Disability at Great Ormond Street Hospital – will also join us, bringing her expert perspective on safeguarding and the complexities of student well-being.
Jo Lloyd – Service Manager & Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) at Oxfordshire County Council – will explain the LADO’s role in safeguarding students, explain when to raise welfare concerns, and offer guidance on working effectively with safeguarding authorities.
To personalise the international student experience, Chino Otsuka – renowned artist – will present Imagine Finding Yourself, a reflective exploration of identity, belonging and memory. Influenced by her own journey of moving from Japan to a UK boarding school, she offers a deeply personal lens on self-discovery.
Together, we’ll explore real-life cases, challenge existing practices, and make sure everyone involved is aligned with best practice. Expect to leave with clear, actionable strategies.
09.30
Registration, tea/coffee & light breakfast
09.50
Welcome – Edward May, AEGIS Chair of Trustees
10.00 – 11.30
Keynote Speaker – Josie Collier, Independent Reviewer and Safeguarding Consultant – Yue
Child Safeguarding Practice Review Summary of Learning
11.30 – 12.00
Break with tea & coffee
12.00 – 12.30
Chino Otsuka, Artist – Imagine Finding Yourself
12.30 – 13.15
Michelle Nightingale, Assistant Chief Nurse for Safeguarding and Learning Disability at Great Ormond Street Hospital – The Challenges of Safeguarding within the Independent School Sector
13.15 – 14.30
Lunch
14.30 – 15.15
Jo Lloyd, Service Manager & Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) at Oxfordshire County Council – The Role of LADO
15.15 – 15.30
Break with tea & coffee
15.30 – 16.00
Panel Discussion with speakers and AEGIS staff
Speakers
Drawing on their unique experiences and expertise, our speakers will offer insights and ideas which will help you to support your international students.
Michelle has worked at Great Ormond Street Hospital since November 2020 and is the Assistant Chief Nurse for Safeguarding and Learning Disability. Previous senior posts include the Designated Nurse Safeguarding Children for Hammersmith & Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group and Named Nurse Safeguarding at the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust.
Michelle brings a wealth of experience in all aspects of safeguarding, including acute, tertiary and community health settings. She has worked closely both operationally and strategically with several agencies including police, children’s social care, education, and primary care, as well as being the health representative within MASH, MARAC and other multi-agency settings. She designed and implemented the Lewisham Multi-agency MARAC Observers Pack, which has been benchmarked by other MARACs.
Originally a paediatric intensive care nurse, she is a qualified Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) School Nursing and has worked in primary and secondary schools, pupil referral units and sixth form colleges since 2001.
Jo Lloyd is a qualified social worker. She currently works in Oxfordshire and manages both the LADO service and the Education safeguarding team. Within the LADO service, Jo and her team have oversight for allegations about those in a position of trust who may pose a risk of harm towards children. Jo delivers training on safer recruitment and allegation management to help minimise risk of harm towards children from those in a position of trust. Through the LADO service Jo has worked alongside AEGIS and has promoted the role of AEGIS amongst the Southeast regional LADO network.
As manager for the Education safeguarding team, Jo and her team support schools in Oxfordshire with their safeguarding practice and procedures. This includes boarding, independent and international schools and colleges. This work has helped Jo appreciate the particular vulnerabilities and challenges related to safeguarding international students, and the necessity for agencies to work together to support and safeguard.
Chino Otsuka is a renowned artist working across photography and writings. She studied photography at University of Westminster and received MA in Fine Art Photography at Royal College of Art. She has exhibited widely across the US, Asia and Europe, and her works are included in permanent collections of major international museums. Her internationally acclaimed series Imagine Finding Me has been exhibited in over 17 countries and featured in numerous publications and academic texts. With more than 20 years of experience in photography education, she has taught across various educational levels, worked as a museum educator, and continues her role as a lecturer. She has also authored and published several books in Japanese.
Presentation Title: Imagine Finding Yourself
Chino Otsuka moved from Japan to the UK to attend school, and the experience of adapting to a new place, language, and customs during formative years as an international student has profoundly influenced her artistic practice. Imagine Finding Yourself is a reflective presentation exploring the journey of self-discovery through art and looks at the theme of identity, belonging and memory.
(Pre-recorded especially for the AEGIS Conference audience)
Sponsors
Meet our Sponsors and visit their stands during breaks and lunch
StudyTravel has over 30 years’ experience in connecting agents and educators in print, online and in- person.
StudyTravel Magazine reaches an expansive audience of 22,000 agent readers across 129 countries, providing news, statistics and market insights on all of the industry sectors.
ST Alphe Conferences provide an opportunity for international educators to meet with reference-checked study travel agents from around the world. Through 1-1 meetings and networking events, you can develop and grow your agent network.
StudyTravel also organises the annual peer-voted ST Star Awards and ST Secondary School Awards, providing a platform for schools, agents, and service providers to recognise and thank each other for their support and outstanding services.
Our online platform, StudyTravel Network (STN), connects you to over 8,500 active users in the study travel industry. Users can seamlessly share content, send messages, and arrange meetings using the integrated Meeting Manager system. Use the StudyTravel mobile app, available on android and Apple app stores, to access key features of STN on the go!
Since 2017, Leading Education’s online and in-person programmes have supported over 5000 students through the application process to UK universities and boarding schools. We support students from the age of 10-18 from the very start of their English learning process to completing an interview at a top school or university. We see great success with our support with 43% of our students who apply getting an offer from Oxbridge and 85% from the G5.
Our online programmes are tailored to each individual student’s needs with a full study plan created that has been customised to the needs of the student. They will be taught by someone who will have studied the subject area at Oxbridge and are in the top 20% of tutors that apply to work with us. We work across all time zones with students based across the globe being able to take lessons with our high quality tutors.
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ICEF facilitates access to the right relationships, insight, and training, driving growth for educational institutions, student recruitment agents and relevant service providers. We are committed to driving excellence in international education, constantly improving student outcomes.
At Fragomen, we are a firm of more than 6,000 immigration-focused professionals and staff spanning more than 60 offices worldwide. Immigration has been our sole focus for 70 years, and today we offer support in more than 170 countries. We are problem-solvers, innovators and established thought leaders in immigration—and our firm is recognized year after year by Chambers, Best Lawyers and Who’s Who.
SKOLA is a junior English language summer school in Regent’s Park for 5-to-17-year-olds. They welcome over 1200 students from 70 countries making it one of the most popular schools in central London. Their residence for 12-to-17-year-olds is in historic Marylebone. It is a short walk from the school and has single-room accommodation. Students learn English in the morning, have lunch, and then follow an afternoon programme of sports, arts, excursions, and leadership. With over 50 years of experience make skola.co.uk your next visit. Contact info@skola.co.uk or WA +44 7340 516781 for more information.
Book & pay by 28 February AEGIS Member: £250 plus VAT / Non-Member: £300 plus VAT
Book from 1 March AEGIS Member : £300 plus VAT / Non-Member: £350 plus VAT
Exhibitor stand including one delegate: £400 plus VAT (£100 plus VAT per extra delegate)
Cancellations made less than 7 days prior to the event will not receive a refund. Cancellations made between 15 and 7 days prior to the event will incur a 50% cancellation fee. Cancellations made more than 15 days prior to the event will receive a full refund.
Please note: In the event of train or travel disruptions, refunds will not be provided. We recommend planning your journey accordingly to avoid any inconvenience.
AEGIS – Where the welfare of international students comes first
Congress Centre, London
Conference Venue
The Congress Conference Centre is in a fantastic location in the heart of London’s West End, just three minutes’ walk from Tottenham Court Road Underground Station and a short walk from Oxford Street, Covent Garden and theatre land.
The conference will take place in Council Chamber, located on the fifth floor. For details about how to reach the venue please follow the link below.