BELMAS Annual Conference 2026

Location

Set within a stunning Victorian building in the heart of Cardiff, the Leonardo Hotel offers an ideal setting for both leisure and business travellers. The hotel is just a short walk from key attractions including the Principality Stadium, Cardiff Castle, St David’s Dewi Sant shopping centre, and the Motorpoint Arena.

Getting There

• By Car: On-site parking is available with 55 spaces.
• By Train: Cardiff Queen Street station is nearby, with Cardiff Central also within easy reach.
• By Air: Cardiff Airport is 35 minutes away. Bristol Airport (approx. 1 hour) and Birmingham International (approx. 2 hours) are also accessible.

Accommodation Information

Please note: In line with VAT regulations and the practices of other Learned Societies, accommodation costs are not included in the conference fee. Delegates are responsible for booking their own accommodation prior to arrival in Cardiff.

Exclusive Delegate Rates

Please note that no payment is required at the time of booking accommodation.

Venue for Conference

Leonardo Hotel Cardiff
1 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3DN

Location

Set within a stunning Victorian building in the heart of Cardiff, the Leonardo Hotel offers an ideal setting for both leisure and business travellers. The hotel is just a short walk from key attractions including the Principality Stadium, Cardiff Castle, St David’s Dewi Sant shopping centre, and the Motorpoint Arena.

Getting There

• By Car: On-site parking available (55 spaces). Additional parking is available in the NCP car park beneath the hotel (350 spaces, first come, first served).
• By Train: Cardiff Queen Street station is nearby, with Cardiff Central also easily accessible.
• By Air: Cardiff Airport is 35 minutes away. Bristol Airport (approx. 1 hour) and Birmingham International (approx. 2 hours) are also accessible.

If you aren’t familiar with travel in the UK, the Trainline app/website is reliable for finding your best and most affordable train route to and from Cardiff. For coach travel, try National Express.

If you’re interested in bicycle hire around Cardiff while attending the BELMAS Annual Conference 2026, there are several convenient options available throughout the city. Both standard bikes and e‑bikes can be hired, making it easy to choose a sustainable and enjoyable way to travel.

VISA Support and ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation)

Please take a moment to review this critical information and approaching deadline regarding travel requirements to the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), introduced in 2023 for travellers from certain Middle Eastern countries, is expanding.  Starting 8th January 2025, non-European travellers will need an ETA to enter and/or transit through the United Kingdom. (European travellers will require an ETA from 2nd April 2025). This mandate applies to all visitors to the UK, except British and Irish citizens.

All travellers planning to visit the United Kingdom must secure an ETA before their trip.

Here is what travellers need to know to apply!

• To obtain an ETA, travellers must complete an online application and be approved prior to their trip.
• Once an application is submitted, it usually takes three working days to process.
• The ETA will be digitally linked to the traveller’s passport upon approval.
• The ETA is valid for two years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first.
• ETA Application Link

For more information about the UK’s ETA mandate, click here.

Watch this video that explains what an ETA is.

Keynote Speakers

David Gurr – Keynote

David is a Professor of Educational Leadership in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. In a 45-year educational career, he has been a teacher, school counsellor, middle leader and academic. David is a prolific writer and presenter focussed on all aspects of educational leadership, including successful school leadership and middle leadership. He is involved in the leadership of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP), International School Leadership Development Network (ISLDN) and Association for Teacher Leadership and Scholarship (ATLS). A former Vice-President of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL), he was awarded its most prestigious award, the Gold Medal, in 2014.

Abstract Brief:

‘Making Sense of Educational Leadership’

“Educators are faced with many pressures – turbulent local, national and world contexts; changing political landscapes; changing social practices; new waves of potentially transformative technology and so forth. In many contexts there is pressure for organisational success often accompanied with strong accountabilities and diminishing professional autonomy. In many ways the future has never looked so uncertain and in these times, leadership never needed more – or so the common wisdom goes.

In this presentation I want to consider the educational leadership ideas that have dominated the research and then highlight the many other ideas, views and narratives that exist. With all these perspectives, all with convincing champions, the challenge is to create a personal view of leadership – for yourself, for your organisation, what it is, what it does, and so forth. I will illustrate the challenge by describing my evidence-based and evolving view of educational leadership which has practice, futures, systems and context perspectives.”

Chantelle Haughton – Keynote

Chantelle Haughton is the Founder and Director of DARPL (Diversity and Anti-Racist Professional Learning), and a Principal Lecturer in Early Years Education at Cardiff Metropolitan University and a National Teaching Fellow.

Chantelle is the recipient for the BERA award in Equality in Education (2024) and DARPL were awarded The Times Higher Ed award for Equality and Inclusion (2023), along with being the BERA Representative in Wales. She Chairs the Welsh Government’s Childcare, Early Years, Playwork Governance Group for the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan. In addition, Chantelle is an innovative leader, policy influencer and researcher focused on race equity, community, playful approaches and emotional wellbeing. Over a decade ago, Chantelle founded the Cardiff Met Outdoor Learning Centre. She was Chair’s Brief and member of the instrumental Ministerial Working Group for Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Histories and Cynefin in the Curriculum for Wales, which resulted in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic perspectives being core to the Curriculum for Wales.

Chantelle is co-Chair of the Black Leadership Group Wales, was Chair of Black History Wales Management Committee (2020–22) and is former Vice Chair of BAMEed Wales.

Abstract Brief:

‘Professional Learning Alone is Not Enough: Building a pan-Wales Anti Racist Leadership Community Culture through Collaboration focused on Belonging, Citizenship and Global-Cynefin’

“Diversity and Anti Racist Professional Learning (DARPL) are a pan-Wales Community of Practice focused on the implementation of the Curriculum for Wales and Welsh Government’s Anti Racist Wales Action Plan (ARWAP). Vignettes from the DARPL layers of learning and leadership will spotlight the gwaith-calon (heart-work) in progress.”

Guest Panel Speakers

Alma Harris – Guest Panel Speaker

Alma Harris (FAcSS, FLSW, FRSA) is Professor of Leadership in Education at the Cardiff School of Education and Social Policy. She is Co-Director of the Centre for International Research into Leadership in Education (CIRLE), which aims to advance leadership knowledge through international research collaboration.

Professor Harris is globally recognised for her research in leadership, with her work receiving over 67,000 citations to date. She is regarded as an authority on distributed leadership and delivered a keynote at BELMAS 2002 on this theme. She is a co-author of ‘Seven Strong Claims about Successful School Leadership’ and ‘Seven Strong Claims about Successful School Leadership Revisited’. These articles have been widely cited and acclaimed by researchers worldwide. Professor Harris is the co-editor of a leading journal in the field, ‘School Leadership and Management’. SLAM has an impact factor of 3.3 (2024) and a five-year impact factor of 5.3. Most recently, Professor Harris has completed a Spencer Foundation Project with researchers from Poland, the Czech Republic and the USA, plus a Tri-Nations Research project focusing on system leadership.

At the BELMAS Conference 2026, Alma will be a Guest Panel speaker for ‘Exploring Educational Leadership in Wales and Internationally’ along with Chan Haughton, Kevin Palmer and David Gurr.

Kevin Palmer – Guest Panel Speaker

Kevin Palmer is currently working as an adviser to the Welsh Government, specifically in relation to the development of the Strategic Education Workforce Plan.  Until recently he was Deputy Director for Pedagogy, Leadership and Professional Learning in Wales, a role that encompassed all aspects of Professional Learning and Enquiry for the school workforce, but also support for school leaders, pay and conditions of service for all staff in schools and the Education Directorate’s international work.

Kevin’s background includes teaching and leadership in Further and Higher Education, innovation in pedagogy and technology in Local Authorities in England, and working across a range of industries to support remodelling and delivery of support for Training and Development.  He has worked with Universities, broadcasters and the voluntary sector to design and transform professional learning, and continues to be interested in how organisations can optimise their investment in people development.

In addition to his work in the education workforce, PL and T&D spaces, Kevin’s research interests include Strategic Forecasting (SF) and the application of SF tools to a range of areas of education, including curriculum transformation and pedagogy, workforce configuration and development and innovation in infrastructure.

At the BELMAS Conference 2026, Kevin will be a Guest Panel speaker for ‘Exploring Educational Leadership in Wales and Internationally’ along with Alma Harris, Chan Haughton, and David Gurr.

Exhibitor & Sponsorship Opportunities