Amjad's SEND review was just what we needed to keep our already strong SEND department moving forward. Amjad was insightful and incisive with his questions, observations and comments, all of which he delivered in a very collaborative way. The department didn't feel judged by him but rather supported to develop through his constructive challenge. Amjad's report has provided us with several fruitful areas to further explore. I would highly recommend Amjad to any school looking to do a SEND review.
Amjad presented at our annual Teachers' Conference this week at Bournemouth Football Club. (September 2022) and the buzz he created was exceptional. His knowledge and presentation skills hooked staff in within the first 30 seconds. Staff said his sessions were humorous, inspiring and engaging and contained quality input that made them really think about how they could check understanding of students, why they should do this, the importance of the language they use and they took away direct techniques they can use in lessons to improve teaching, learning and assessment. Most importantly staff left his sessions energised and with the motivation to go into lessons and make sure our students have the best opportunities to learn. -
One of the best, if not the best CPD was provided by Amjad at Parklands Primary this very year 2022. His knowledge, his enthusiasm, his care and his presentation simply wowed the staff and empowered them. Delivered with wit and humour, sensitive issues are covered with high impact. The staff in the afternoon was bespoke and not relevant for all, so they were told that they could do something different in their rooms if they so choose. They ALL came back. Simply sensational and highly recommended!
Amjad has worked with us at CoPA for the last 3 years. Over that time, we have been on a school improvement journey and Amjad's work and support have been a big part of that journey. Amjad takes the time to get to you and your schools' context, which is key to his bespoke and engaging professional development. Amjad has delivered whole school training on INSET Days, worked with Middle & Senior Leaders and supported our developing teachers. Amjad communicates throughout, ensuring that you have a package that works for you, which was hugely beneficial for us and our situation. I cannot recommend Amjad highly enough if you want someone to support your professional development.
Amjad delivered 2 pre-recorded virtual sessions for the Academic Mentoring Programme in late 2020. The first on 'SEND: Overcoming barriers to learning' and the second on 'Equality, diversity and inclusion in education'. Both sessions received a high level of positive feedback - particularly his engaging session on SEND, with mentors able to take away practical, easy to implement strategies to improve their practice.
Amjad is very knowledgeable and passionate in his area of expertise which shows in his sessions. He and was great to work with in the lead up to the event in his responsiveness and flexibility.
I have been lucky enough to take part in two of Amjad’s CPD webinars in April and May 2020, and they have been invaluable for my teaching practice. Grounded in research, both sessions (one on SEND barriers to learning and one on Low Effort High Impact T&L ideas) were very informative and provided high impact ideas and information to take back and immediately implement in my teaching, as well as embed throughout the school.
Amjad is an engaging speaker who is able to take complex ideas and make them easily understandable. Coming from a primary setting I was surprised at just how applicable the ideas are to my setting as there are lots of hands on ideas that suit the primary approach.
Really enjoyed the sessions and highly recommend to both experienced teachers and those new to the profession as there is something for everyone. Thanks Amjad!
Feedback on Amjad's online CPD webinar: (May 2020.)
The amount of content and links to studies was spot on. The information provided was not too overwhelming for newer teachers and enough there for more experienced teachers to remain engaged.
The delivery of the session was excellent: pace was brisk and purposeful, no dead time or unnecessary filler activities or waffle. I really liked your tone: knowledgable, humble and understanding.
I love the Try Refine Ditch activity after each stage of the session: such a simple but effective way of forcing active participation throughout AND giving opportunity for reflection and linking to our own subject areas.
I lead and deliver a lot of whole staff and more personalised CPD and the session was hugely beneficial for me in terms of how I can better break down information and involve as many staff as possible.
I absolutely loved your choice of examples alongside the theory e.g mangosteen for abstract to concrete. Such a clever way of explaining the concept. In fact, all the examples chosen were so carefully considered.
My favourite section of the webinar was the idea you shared about using codes/images on PowerPoints for instructions. I will definitely be trialling this. I already know it will prevent so much unnecessary dialogue i.e. “Do I write this down?” “Is this an independent task?” etc. A really effective strategy which I’ll be encouraging is used across my school.
Thank you Amjad.
Amjad is an approachable, relatable and engaging speaker, who offers so many low effort yet highly effective ideas that can transform your teaching. I particularly liked how his training synthesised research surrounding effective teaching down into really manageable chunks, whilst including examples of techniques that have worked well in his settings, as we could then take and immediately apply these appropriately in our classrooms. The training format itself modelled how useful his techniques could be - Amjad would always allow opportunities to recall and discuss what prior sessions had focussed upon before directing his ideas towards a new particular area (such as Assessment for Learning, Behaviour Management, SEND provision). His own reference to 'trying, refining and ditching' ideas was really empowering; since the training, I have continued to reflect upon how effective my routines for learning are and many of his suggestions are now second nature to me and my students. Thank you again, Amjad!
Amjad came to the Oporto British School at the end of August 2019. We arranged an additional CPD day to ensure we could receive training from Amjad. The CPD session delivered was absolutely fantastic! The day was well-structured, engaging, fun and full of excellent ideas. We have already started to implement some of them (i.e. use of THUD, use of recall checks, etc.) across all Key Stages and we are very keen to continue to try more.
Amjad showed us all his passion and commitment about teaching and, towards the end of the day, everyone who attended the training felt positive and highly inspired to try his ideas and to implement some changes.
The general comment amongst those who attended the training was “it was one of the best CPD sessions I have ever attended…”
I cannot recommend Amjad highly enough for staff CPD. We have already booked Amjad in again from 2020!
Thank you very much this inspiring CPD session, Amjad!
I have attended all 6 of the sessions on Effective Teaching. They have all been extremely engaging and thought provoking. These seminars have greatly influenced the way I now teach. The results are, that I enjoy teaching again and the children are learning far more effectively. The 6th session was a great way to pull together our learning across the year. Amjad is inspiring and speaks a lot of sense. Thank you for your insight and for making me focus on what is at the heart of learning.
“It was an excellent decision to book Amjad Ali to deliver a CPD session on ‘Effective Teaching’ in May 2019. The presentation was well-paced, interactive and incredibly well received by staff. If you are looking to enhance pedagogy in your school, I thoroughly recommend you book Amjad Ali, who made a morning’s CPD a positive, rewarding and valuable experience.”
After attending one of Amjad's workshops at ASCL's Annual Conference in 2019, I was keen to ask him to deliver CPD to the rest of staff at Stratford Primary School.
It is rare for me to be sat on the edge of my seat at workshops but Amjad was engaging, inspirational and full of enthusiasm for teaching. I wanted my staff to feel the same so I invited him to deliver training at our next staff training day. I also invited two other primary schools from our trust.
It was truly a well-planned day full of excellent ideas that people could try. The biggest thing was that there is no pressure to implement the ideas. Amjad is a confident, humorous presenter with a wealth of experience in teaching and his passion for teaching children so that they too feel no pressure is catching. Every person who attended were full of positivity after the day and have been inspired to want to change. One teacher said 'You were absolutely right about him! Excellent PD from a great speaker. So many interesting ideas and good to be challenged and asked to reconsider or reflect on things it is easy to take for granted.'
In school we have already implemented some ideas and seen impact in the school and are keen to try more. The training has certainly made us look at things differently and we can't wait to see our more long term ideas put into practice.
Staff under the umbrella of The Attic PRU in Suffolk enjoyed a day of CPD with Amjad in January 2019, leaving them enthused and inspired. With minimal effort, but high impact strategies and resources, the training was delivered with humour and more importantly from someone who walks the walk every day.
One month after the training we held a follow up session to discuss the impact that the CPD had on our teaching and learning. Staff were clear that Amjad had an overwhelming impact on the whole staff professional development and their commitment to delivering quality lessons with quality resources. Staff said “best training I have had so far” and “such practical ideas that are easy to incorporate into any lesson” “loved it, cannot wait to start using what I have learnt”. Staff also shared that they were using the incredible teaching and learning toolkit on Amjad’s website ‘Try this teaching’ and fed back to each other about implementing the strategies.Overall this training was outstanding! Thank you from everyone at the Attic PRU.
I cannot say thank you enough - I know from my site alone how much the training has had a impact on us and it is seen everyday in our teaching and learning, but more importantly in our core values. Massive smiles from us at Attic@Dragonfly and the whole Attic team.
Amjad delivered 2 fantastic CPD sessions for us here at Miltoncross in December 2018. The first sessions was aimed at all of our Teaching Assistants across our Trust. This covered a variety of strategies tailored towards improving the working practices of the TAs, from expectations of SEN students to language awareness. Delivered with humour and insightful comments, our TAs really appreciated Amjad’s advice. Our SEND manager said “We all found the session invaluable and the TAs are looking forward to putting into practice what they learned yesterday”. Amjad is very clearly passionate about the students being able to learn to the best of their ability and this shone through in his delivery.
After this, Amjad continued to deliver high level T&L strategies but this time to the whole teaching staff. Staff were thoroughly engaged in the session. Entertaining and insightful, Amjad posed carefully crafted questions to get staff to think and reflect on their own practices, offering lots of ideas and suggestions for how to stretch and challenge our students. After the end of the session, teachers were really enthusiastic after the end of the session, and the feedback received from staff was fantastic: “He was amazing, loads of ideas that are realistic to use”. What is better, is that staff were already trying out ideas he had given the very next day – a clear testament to how inspiring the sessions were.
Amjad facilitated a superb personalised CPD day for all of the staff here at Lealands in October 2018. This was delivered in an exceptional fashion with the right amount of information, in an easy to understand manner and with a great sense of humour! Amjad has a wealth of knowledge and anecdotes which he willingly shares with all participants, thereby making the whole experience fun and enjoyable.
This day long CPD really exceeded my expectations and they were incredibly high to start with given his fantastic reputation. I cannot thank Amjad enough, the ideas that he has given our staff really are low effort and high impact. A win win for any teacher!
Amjad Ali delivered two outstanding workshops at our 2018 and 2019 Annual Conference. He is a delight to work with both in the lead up to the event and throughout conference itself. Approachable, calm and professional; Amjad works with ASCL to ensure that delegates have the best possible experience during his sessions. Both his sessions attracted large numbers of delegates and received outstanding feedback with one ASCL Past President saying that it was the best workshop he had ever attended. Delegates were able to take away strategies to implement immediately in their school and college settings and Amjad’s approachable style ensured that they were able to make the very most out of their time with him.
Amjad is also delivering a one day course for ASCL in 2019 across the UK.
The feedback from colleagues following our recent T&L Inset in November 2018, was wholeheartedly unanimous. Colleagues were inspired and entertained by Amjad's tried and tested yet easily implementable classroom strategies.
Amjad's well delivered sessions struck a chord with staff looking to update and renew their ideas and resources in the classroom. Amjed selflessly shared numerous tips and ideas, and these practical examples were well received. The signposting of his teacher toolkit www.TryThisTeaching.com was an added bonus.
Staff found that the Faculty driven afternoon session allowed them to consolidate, collaborate and plan for the term ahead and feedback continues to be positive. Staff have been inspired to step out of their comfort zones and try 'something new'. I urge any colleagues looking to 'freshen' up their approaches to Teaching and Learning to start following Amjad on Twitter and speak to him about facilitating a session. His energy and dynamism are infectious. To quote one colleague-'Best Inset in years!'.
"We knew of Amjad via his brilliant resources on the website which numerous staff have referred to in our weekly teaching and learning CPD sessions. Meeting him in person, however, was just fantastic. He came along to do two professional workshops in September 2018 to get our whole pedagogical programme off to the best possible start.
His ideas were as good as we'd hoped and his warmth of personality meant that every single member of staff was engaged in the session and open to trying out the ideas. Everything was based on current research but interpreted by Amjad into practical ideas in the classroom which was just what we wanted. It was great to see these ideas translated into great classroom teaching just a couple of weeks later when we had our inspection.
Amjad managed to capture an audience of both primary and secondary staff and teaching and support staff. We all left the room buzzing! I cannot recommend him highly enough for staff CPD.
'Amjad Ali's expertise and knowledge on how to drive attainment for pupil premium children in our school was just what we needed. He was able to objectively look at our current documentation and strategies and help us to ask the right questions about what we wanted to achieve and how to put that into action. Amjad was able to both show how good use of pupil premium money impacted on the attainment and progress of pupil premium children through clear, simple strategies and action plans that focussed primarily on teaching and learning and whole school accountability. We came away with some great recommendations that have already begun to impact on our evaluation of this year's PP strategy plan and ideas for how we can use our PP spend far more effectively and report impact to our stakeholders.
I highly recommend Amjad to any school that could do with having an external expert support them in reviewing their Pupil Premium strategies and spend. We can't thank him enough.'
"As a new school about to open up in Bangkok, Thailand and with a new team about to arrive, new to the country. We wanted our Induction Weeks to go beyond the ordinary; we wanted the time to matter but also to be engaging and useful. We were going to need a great deal of planning time and a number of sessions to confirm procedures and of course prepare the new building. But we also wanted to build our team and most of all we wanted them to be inspired and excited by their new jobs, in a new country and of course in our brand new school. So we looked beyond ourselves and for something a bit different, we had several ideas but when a former Head Teacher friend and colleague suggested Amjad- @astsupportaali, we really felt we had found what we were looking for. Amjad was quick to take on the challenge of travelling half way around the world and before we knew it he was here. He was generous with his time prior to arriving and personalised the CPD package to our exact specifications.
To be honest there were those who could not understand why we had decided to use 'valuable' time on this kind of CPD when we were not sure we would be ready for our new pupils. However, it soon became evident that no one needed to worry. Not only was the day with Amjad useful and informative but it inspired us all, it generated discussion and fired us all up for the beginning of term and the chance to do what we all love to do the most - teach. Amjad, was not only entertaining, but his enthusiasm is infectious, he kept us all on our toes and involved, but it was his generosity with ideas, his willingness to share his own challenges and his own highs and lows that really made his CPD come alive. He had something for everyone and teachers from all the different age groups took away from the day, with several of them calling it, 'the best CPD I have ever had' and other members of staff calling it simply, 'excellent'. Certainly by the end of the day not a single member of staff questioned why we had included Amjad in what was a hectic few weeks. His more focussed workshops with our new leadership teams the following day were super, enabling new teams to gain an understanding of the skills and talents within the group at a stage when they were just getting to know each other and he worked on developing a vision from the outset. All things that our fabulous team were doing but Amjad added an edge to it and gave them a flying start. We asked Amjad to bring a bit of 'wow' to our Induction and we got that and more, we hit the ground running, excited to be starting a new term and to be getting back into the classroom."
‘I left the training feeling so inspired and motivated, came in to school today on a Monday, after half term, feeling excited to try out some of the new ideas instead of the usual “back to work” feeling.’
Caroline Ashley - Lead Teacher for Drama
The idea to ask Amjad to lead our training day actually came from our HeadTeacher, and was, at first, really just a throw away comment – ‘You should get this amazing guy I follow on Twitter – I’ve followed him for years.'
I decided to strike whilst the iron was hot, it being June 2017 and our training day was October 2017, but after braving Twitter for the first time in order to contact him, Amjad’s response was swiftly a ‘Yes’, and our planning began.
We were launching a newly branded approach to Teaching and Learning and as our communications increased, I realised with excitement that Amjad’s message would deliver us a timely reminder of the need to include dynamic and varied teaching methods into our everyday practice.
On the morning of our training day, Amjad arrived, greeting all our staff personally, and proceeded to launch into the funniest, most engaging and inspiring training day I have ever been part of (I began my teaching career in 1989, so that’s a lot of training days!).
I personally wrote 3 A3 pages of notes, and as I looked around I could see my colleagues also scribbling away furiously and talking excitedly within their teams. As they went away to plan the next 5 weeks, there was a palpable feeling of energy and a feeling of ‘Ah, this is why we do this every day!’
The ensuing TeachMeet that Amjad organised, where departments presented their ideas back to the rest of the staff, was representative not of the usual last day of a long half term, but rather colleagues eager to share their plans and genuinely looking forward to implementing them.
I cannot praise Amjad and his wonderful collection of ideas enough. His website has free access to all of them, along with examples from numerous other teachers explaining how they have been put into practice.
If Teaching and Learning is at the top of your agenda (and let’s be frank, if it isn’t, why not?), this man is worth every penny!
The Chartered College invited Amjad Ali to keynote at our conference for Early Career Teachers in late 2017 and then again in 2018! The brief was for an inspirational keynote to those new to teaching. From the very beginning, Amjad was highly entertaining, providing a perfect mix of humour and practical tips on being an effective teacher. He had the audience laughing out loud whilst reminding them of why they chose to join this empowering and inspiring profession. Amjad spoke both times during the sometimes tricky post-lunch session and he managed to wake up everyone in the room with his infectious positive spirit. He is a brilliant communicator and excellent speaker. I would have no hesitation in booking him to speak at future events.
I have worked with Amjad for a number of years now across a number of Schools covering both primary and secondary phase. This year (2017-2018), I have asked Amjad to plan a significant level of CPD for a range of our staff. I am constantly inspired by his approach to his training events. As a teacher, first and foremost, he is an incredibly inspirational practitioner. His passion does not stop at the classroom door but is now evident in his work with professional colleague's across the country and even internationally. All of his ideas and materials are tried and tested and backed up by relevant research. Each time he has worked with me our staff have been overwhelmed with the practical ideas they have come away with and the energy and enthusiasm for thisprofession and our children that is at the very core of Amjad's approach.
Starter for ten - Generous, innovative and entertaining; Amjad’s Try This Teaching Toolkit website has a million plus image views from teachers all over the World. Sought after as a speaker he has inspired teachers, from across the country; enabling them to improve their teaching and pupils’ learning. Engaging and knowledgeable he has been a highlight at many TeachMeets and INSET days. His humane insightful approach to working with pupils who have additional needs is focused on giving all pupils the chance to shine and flourish. Alongside his work in schools, he co-founded #BAMEed to support teachers from different and diverse backgrounds into school leadership. Tireless, motivated and committed he’s a pleasure to work alongside.
Our CPD session with Amjad after the Christmas Holidays in January 2018 was excellent; it was pitched perfectly to enable teachers (all from EYFS to Year 6, from 5 different local Primary Schools), to take away practical ideas they could implement immediately within their classroom. He began the day with ideas for reflection and got all teachers thinking about their 'why.' Being an active classroom teacher also put the audience at ease and his delivery was extremely effective. The process of booking this CPD with Amjad was simple and he was extremely flexible in helping us (5 local HeadTeachers) arrange what we wanted delivered. I’d highly recommend him for any schools looking for up to date practical ideas for aiding teachers.
Amjad has worked with John Madejski Academy to support our rapid improvement for 6 months now. (From April 2017 to present.) His wealth of experience and expertise have facilitated developments in SEND and across the school more widely. Working closely with Senior and Middle Leaders, Amjad has advised and guided our work around improving outcomes for disadvantaged students and his knowledge and understanding of this area has proved to be invaluable to the academy. Amjad has led some excellent professional development sessions and across the academy staff have used techniques and ideas that are engaging learners and igniting discussions about pedagogy and how we can best impart knowledge. Staff have enjoyed working with Amjad and it has been a pleasure to see him working so closely and positively with our staff.
Workshop participants wrote:
“Lots of really practical stuff for the classroom – great”; “Great ideas presented at a good pace and referenced to see later”; “Terrific workshop with very practical and relevant tips and techniques useful to improving teaching and learning in schools”; “Absolutely excellent workshop, excellent speaker and content”; “Amjad's tips were spot on and he was a very charismatic presenter. I was hooked and impressed for the hour!”, “An excellent, engaging speaker with lots of ideas”; “Engaging, interactive, full of excellent ideas and resources. Refreshing!”, “Well presented – clear, practical applications”; “Made me wish I was back in the classroom!”; “Thanks Amjad for sharing teaching tips and useful resources. Felt very inspired after this session. I returned to school and used some of these resources straight away”; “Really good content, nice pace and loads to explore later. Very generous teacher to share all his materials”; “Absolutely first class - so practical and useful”; “Excellent pace and delivery, good context and great resources shared”; “Simply one of the best workshop with so many ideas to use”; “Really enjoyed this and plan to share this information with my schools” “Superb delivery of useful tips and tricks”.
Amjad Ali has delivered both keynotes and workshop sessions across a wide portfolio of teaching and learning events for Optimus.
Receiving consistently excellent feedback from delegates, Amjad is able to provide a huge amount of practical strategies and take home advice in an engaging, thought provoking and interactive manner. Delegates have commented regularly on Amjad’s enthusiasm and passion for education and he is always an asset to any conference he speaks at.
We invited Amjad to Alperton Community School in 2015 with one objective, to “Inspire teachers and to share some useful T&L strategies to support differentiation.” We had just received an OFSTED RI grading and we were in need of some inspiration and innovative ideas to get us back on track. The mission was accomplished! Not only did Amjad bombard us with an abundance of useful resources and strategies, his fantastic and engaging personality meant that we all had so much fun learning too. Feedback from colleagues was unanimous. It was quite simply the best, and most useful CPD delivered at Alperton. It Is also amazing to point out that even after 3 years of delivering such a fantastic PD session, Amjad’s legacy is still strong where his suggested strategies are still seen in classrooms. If that isn’t “impact” and “evidence” of a great PD session, I don’t know what is.
"Amjad visited Bradford Grammar School for a day in June 2017 to get us thinking about ways in which we could freshen up our lessons without adding to our workload. Nothing Amjad told us was rocket science but there was something in his sessions for everyone from the youngest NQT, fresh out of college and full of bright ideas, to those of us who have been teaching for...... rather longer. The secret of Amjad's success is his presentation style. He is engaging, entertaining and unthreatening; he offers ideas but he doesn't prescribe ("try it, refine it, and if it doesn't work for you - bin it") and he doesn't claim to have all the answers. After Amjad's visit I canvased opinions among staff. Those who I expected to respond positively to Amjad's presentation did just that. Those who I expected to hate it actually got more out of the presentation and if anything they responded even more positively. This was really effective CPD. We have now booked Amjad in for another two whole days here at BGS."
In April 2017, Amjad spent a whole day with our teaching staff exploring 'Quality First Teaching' then sharing the many ideas from Try This Teaching Toolkit. Staff were then able to work in groups / Faculties to plan and begin to embed these in their planning. This format worked extremely well as the application of the learning was visible straight away; staff were enthused by the low effort but high impact ideas.
Amjad is clearly passionate about what he does and this resonated throughout the day. He is engaging with his presenting and the ideas, coupled with his experiences and expertise, works well.
He also led a professional learning session on ' Raising Boys' Achievement' two days later and, again, shared ideas that were thought-provoking and applicable.
We look forward to a longer commitment with Amjad, already booking him back in for next academic year.
I first encountered Amjad at the BETT conference, where he delivered a TeachMeet presentation which packed half a dozen fantastic, practical ideas into the space of just a few minutes. On the basis of this I invited him to deliver a whole day of staff training to our combined primary and secondary staff out in the International School of Toulousse. This turned out to be one of the best events we have ever hosted: Amjad is a warm and personable presenter whose credibility as a classroom practitioner meant that his advice, ideas and resources struck an immediate chord with teachers eager above all else for practical tips on how to engage and educate their students in fresh, engaging and effective ways. Rather than try to persuade us that every idea would work in every circumstance, Amjad appreciates that different teachers and different classes have different requirements, so his philosophy of "try it out, adapt it, keep it or ditch it" was refreshing and inspiring. By the end of the day every teacher was able to leave feeling that there were several ideas that they could immediately try out with their students. On this basis I have no hesitation in recommending him as an excellent investment for any school looking for effective, high-impact staff training.
Amjad is a highly effective teacher, trainer and writer. His resources are a model of clarity and are enormously helpful to colleagues. He is a brilliant collaborator of ideas which he shares generously with others. He is a highly energetic trainer, ensuring delegates leave with great ideas to develop their practice.
I first met Amjad at a Teachmeet and thought he was really inspiring. His delivery of practical tips in the classroom was engaging and refreshing. I came away with so many ideas that I could trial straight away. I was so impressed with his energy and enthusiasm that I arranged for him to deliver INSET at my school which he duly delivered. His preparation and presentation was outstanding. On a dark, dreary Thursday afternoon Amjad was able to captivate an audience of 80 members of staff for an hour and a half! His presentation was packed with so many practical ideas and his delivery was so authentic- this is someone who knows the daily challenges facing every classroom teacher. Staff came away feeling revitalised and keen to try something new in their classroom. They have found the plethora of ideas and resources in his online toolkit really useful. I can't recommend him enough and look forward to hearing him again.
I have known Amjad for a few years now through the amazing sharing of resources and ideas he was doing online. Having now had the pleasure of meeting and working with Amjad I can only offer a glowing report on his passion, knowledge and approach. I am looking forward to working with Amjad by booking him in to Passmores to help improve even further on the range of techniques used.
We booked Amjad for a full day of inset in April '15 and he certainly didn't disappoint ! Combining humour, warmth and professionalism he provided an excellent session packed full of activities that could be used the next day in the classroom. Amjad also allowed staff to reflect on their own practice and provided opportunities for discussion around current education issues. Fully recommend - we will be booking him again soon!
I first came across Amjad Ali when I joined twitter. He was a 'recommended follow' so I took the hint, followed him and was soon impressed by his blog posts and the wonderful resources he collated and shared. As time progressed I saw him speak at Teachmeets and events such as Northern Rocks. His witty delivery and wealth of knowledge led me to promptly book him to lead whole staff sessions on a staff development day in my school. The sessions that he ran on teaching and learning tips, and also on the use of social medias to grow our teaching networks, both went down with my staff extremely well. His humour, ability to articulate ideas and the wealth of material which he shared left me in no doubt that I had made a great decision in booking him.
Now, 2 years on, he is an educator for whom I still have the utmost respect, and as such when I started organising #TMHerts he was the first keynote speaker that I approached. He said yes, which thrilled me. I can't wait to see him present again.
Some comments based on a Keynote speech and workshop delivered by Amjad Ali at the Annual North Lincolnshire SEND Conference in June 2017. Delegates found him inspirational with his useable and practical ideas for inclusion and the classroom. They commented on his Low Effort High Impact nature and found his delivery extremely powerful.
The question in the feedback form for the event was:
"What was the best takeaway from the conference:"
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Keynote speaker and workshops – practical, useful advice/support
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Amjad Ali very motivational and interesting
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Amjad Ali – fantastic and inspirational teacher. I will be using the website, we need an Amjad for every school
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Amjad Ali was very thought provoking
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Really enjoyed Amjad Ali speaking, real inspirational, every school should have him
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Amjad Ali was inspiring
- Amjad Ali – fantastic (even for me in early years)
- Keynote speaker was very motivational/gave great strategies
- Keynote speaker was fantastic – really inspiring
- Amjad Ali – great deliverance – would want him to be my or my children’s teacher
- Amjad Ali – key ideas that apply early years and beyond
- Keynote speaker brilliant – informative, inspiring and entertaining
- PM keynote- Amjad Ali- speaker was excellent
- Amjad Ali – Improving outcomes for children with SEND in mainstream schools
- Amjad Ali was very inspiring and capturing – everyone needs one of him in the school
- Amjad Ali was really knowledgeable and a great speaker very interesting to listen to.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Amjad for a number of years and can genuinely say that he is one of the most generous teachers you will ever meet. Amjad is generous with his time, his knowledge and his innovative ideas and resources. Part of Amjad's AHT role is to co ordinate SEND provision in his school. He is knowledgeable about all things relating to SEND and often blogs on this aspect of his role. He shares his power points and resources he makes for SEND on his free teaching and learning Toolkit and invites others to contribute to the knowledge base. Amjad is an authoritative addition to the collective voice relating to SEND and often joins in debates regarding inclusion with passion. After attending one of Amjad's training workshops I came away with new knowledge. He is a pleasure to work with, to share ideas and to converse with.
Myself and my fellow T&L colleague, first saw Amjad deliver CPD at the 2016 Northern Rocks teaching event, where we were blown away by his array of engaging ideas and passionate delivery. Almost a year later, in May 2017, we invited Amjad to our school to work with our staff and pupils.
Amjad delivered a number of bespoke sessions for the pupils which were inspiring and motivated them to consider their use of time at school and reflect on what qualities they could further develop to better prepare themselves for life after school. The pupil sessions were targeted at Level 5 learners and disengaged Pupil Premium students. Amjad was a big hit with the pupils, connecting with them quickly and hooking them into the session from the outset.
Later Amjad visited lessons, met with key members of staff and consulted on next steps in specific areas of our school development.
That evening Amjad delivered a Twilight session to staff, who left the session raving about Amjad’s T&L ideas and singing his praises. Amjad was very personable and generous with his time chatting and getting to know the pupils and staff throughout the day.
We are looking forward to catching Amjad’s CPD session at the 2017 Northern Rocks event later this month!
- Great choice of speaker, lively and energetic atmosphere.
- Great CPD day that started off well with Amjad.
- Very inspirational and comical guest speaker.
- The guest speaker was excellent.
- Amjad Ali - an inspiring teacher.
We invited Amjad into our school to speak with our Year 10 Middle ability students (boys and girls) who have real apathy, lack of "thirst for learning" and low grades.
Why? For Amjad to harness an increase in focus in all subjects. For Amjad to invoke a desire to learn and suggest ways to gather and an increase in confidence.
Did it work? Amjad delivered a humorous (while still appropriate) session which engaged all our students with relevant topics and subject matter. There was a real focus on strategies students could use in everyday situations. The students were extremely positive and have commented on how useful they found the session. A vast majority of students have asked if Amjad could come back when they are in year 11, as they feel this secure their good grades. Thank you Amjad!
I knew Amjad to be a Secondary teacher, but after seeing him presenting at a Teachmeet, I knew he would be able to offer something to our school, a rapidly-improving primary. He has led more than one fantastic INSET session for us, inspiring us with new ideas and fresh approaches for teaching outstanding lessons. Amjad has been able to add to every class teacher's toolbox and helped to improve pupil engagement across the school. Understanding the mindset of harder-to-reach pupils is a great strength of his and impact of his training is still evident in our school 2 years on.
Amjad has a vibe about him that makes what he says and what you he is talking about very interesting indeed. The information he provides is valid and Amjad delivers with conviction. He is very knowledgeable, assured and relevant with the information he gives. A very positive and focused individual - Amjad is a star!
The staff valued the cross department ideas and all left feeling enthused and engaged. We were also able to track and monitor the impact of Amjad's sessions for many learning walks after the INSET day. After our first whole day session with Amjad, we have had him back in again and are booking him in further too for 2017!
Amjad was booked in a for a whole day to support the Head of Law and Citizenship after we reviewed our Citizenship provision, delivery and approach. He brought lots of ideas to the table and was not shy to roll up his sleeves and get stuck into the planning. He followed up on this with practical strategies on how to embed the new long term approach. A year later when reviewed through student voice, students rated Citizenship highly and staff delivering the content were secure in what to do and where to go for more support. A real success.
I knew of Amjad through his social media presence and was very interested to see him in action. Amjad's style of delivery is fantastic. He delivered truly inspirational ideas in a way that was meaningful to our staff. The event was perfectly pitched and executed with enthusiasm and humour. The most important thing was that he is still a classroom practitioner and that went a long way. 6 weeks down the line we are still seeing the ideas he gave being used in lessons. This was the first guest speaker that we had had at the academy for many years and I would easily recommend him.
Amjad is one of the most generous educators I know. He is selfless with his time, knowledge, advice, expertise and resources, not only with the pupils that he devotes his teaching time to, nor just for the teachers within his own school, but with the wider educational community. His website is a treasure trove of ideas and resources ready for teachers to use and adapt for their own lessons and his Social Media challenges are essential viewing for teachers of all levels and experience. I have listened to Amjad present on many occasions, including at Northern Rocks in Leeds, on main stage at the BETT Arena in London, and at Teachmeets around the country. He is an exceptional speaker and popular at educational conferences and events. His seminars are a whirlwind of ideas and practical strategies for his audience to use in their own classrooms. Amjad has hosted and organised numerous events which are always popular fixtures in the educational events calendar. Teachmeet Oxford is an established and popular yearly event hosted and organised by Amjad. He also hosted Teachmeet BETT, which is the largest event of its type in the world and compèred the popular TeachMeet London. He is a respected and innovative member of the online teaching community who is active with the UKEdChat community, one of the largest hubs of UK Educators on social media, a key player is the BAME Education network which campaigns of diversity issues and constantly striving to improve the professional development opportunities for everyone.
I first came across Amjad through his postings on Twitter, encouraging practitioners to share and experiment with ideas but always with collaboration at the heart of his message. Having been impressed with his efforts to organise the excellent #TMOxford it was an obvious next step to book him to deliver the keynote at our own Teachmeet the following summer. His passion, enthusiasm and engaging presentation style generated a real buzz amongst our staff, with insightful and energising suggestions that staff were only too keen to implement in their lessons. Amjad reignited the willingness amongst our staff to be open to new ideas and consider how they can feed off the experiences and practices of colleagues on a regular basis. I cannot recommend Amjad himself, his enthusiasm nor his approach to developing teaching & learning enough.
Amjad has led really effective and engaging staff training. His knowledge of teaching and learning particularly in engagement of vulnerable learners is valued by teachers and support staff and moves forward practice because the examples he provides are practical and tested. I recommend him as someone who has credibility as a classroom practitioner who will provide really useful top tips to make a difference to students learning in all classrooms.