In April we met for the Association of National Teaching Fellows annual symposium in Birmingham and two of the organisers Kirsten Hardie and Laura Ritchie gave us all a packet of wild flower seeds to sow and watch grow.  The photos attached show my efforts at horticulture…clearly still a lot to learn!

As always the symposium event was a time to renew previous friendships and make new ones.  It was a time for reflection and for planning.  Since April as a committee, we have had the opportunity to meet again at the HEA Annual Conference in Aston.  We held a planning day and tried to scope out and understand the implications of the changes at the HEA and what they might mean for the Association.  With unlimited support from Caroline and Rosa at the HEA, and the unparalleled commitment and sheer hard work from our committee chair Kirsten, we have started to plan our approach.

This includes gaining approval for the establishment of our own bank account – something we have been wanting for a long time and which will enable us to take greater control over the budget.  The visioning session provided some really exciting ideas and Julian Parks and I are planning to incorporate as many as possible into the revised strategy.  In July, the writing retreat in Lewes, so ably organised by Tim Bilham…(many thanks) resulted in excellent progress being made towards the next piece of work from the NTF community…..so all in all, we are, just like the flowers in the photo, blooming, looking pretty and growing from strength to strength.

Here’s to the next ‘gardening’ year ahead.

Blog article by Julia Pointon
NTF, De Montfort University