Programme
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Arrival, refreshments and exhibitor viewing
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Chair’s welcome
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MINISTERIAL KEYNOTE: How we can work together to give children the best start at school
Hear from Olivia Bailey MP (invited), as she outlines the Government’s ambitious goals for children’s early development—and your vital role in reaching them. Discover how to empower parents, unlock learning through the joy and fun of play, and better support disadvantaged children through dynamic workshops led by experienced educators.
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Work effectively with parents on a shared understanding of school readiness
Felicity Gillespie of Kindred
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outlines practical strategies for using the ‘Starting Reception’ website, which supports national expectations around school readiness. She provides insights into the expert thinking behind its definitions and advice, and outlines how it can be used by early years educators to empower best practice.
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Nurturing school readiness through play
Explore the critical role of play in supporting children’s readiness for school through the lens of child development, wellbeing and inclusive practice.
• Examine the best way to provide a tailored approach to each child to ensure readiness for all children
• Discover practical strategies for nurturing emotional, social and cognitive development through play
• Look at why school leaders – not just teachers – need to recognise the importance of play in Reception and beyond.
• Gain tools to advocate for child-centred readiness models with policy and school stakeholders
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Refreshments and exhibitor viewing
Your chance to network and view our exhibition of leading early years suppliers
Workshops (choose A or B)
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WORKSHOP A: How to work effectively with parents
Gain insights and practical take-aways from how Fennies Nurseries works with parents to support children to be ‘school ready’ by supporting communication skills, and personal, social, emotional and physical development
• Hear first-hand a parent’s experience of working with a Fennies educator and team
• Discover how a positive and supportive approach to the transition from nursery to school is implemented across a large nursery group
• Gain ideas and examples of working effectively with schools and local authorities
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WORKSHOP B: Implement new strategies to support children from disadvantaged and vulnerable families
This workshop shares practical steps for supporting school readiness among children from under-resourced backgrounds.
• Learn how to start from the child and build a curriculum around their interests and stage of development
• Find out how staff at The Grove Nursery School support children with complex needs, EAL, and delayed speech, language and communication development through hands-on explorations to bring rich experiences that increase their confidence and add to their cultural capital.
This session is for early years leaders, practitioners and local authority representatives who are ready to collaborate and focus on what truly prepares children to thrive.
Speakers
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Lunch and exhibitor viewing
Break
Good food and networking
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Why children need to be ‘confident, curious and capable’
Gain inspiration from Jan Dubiel’s nuanced and creative perspective on school readiness. He challenges how this term is often misunderstood and misapplied, leading to inappropriate expectations for young children. Instead of focusing on a checklist of academic skills, Dubiel emphasises the importance of fostering the Characteristics of Effective Learning (CoEL), such as playing and exploring, active learning and thinking critically.
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Harness the power of storytelling
Children’s author Camilla Reid provides a call to action on early literacy and its vital link to school readiness. She explores what happens in the brain when a baby and adult share a story together and how reading with a child helps them to flourish academically, socially and emotionally. Understand how shared reading brings a greater chance of wellbeing and educational success for all children.
Speaker
children’s author; co-founder of children’s publisher Nosy Crow;
Baby and toddler writer in residence at the Book Trust.
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Refreshments and exhibitor viewing
Break
Your chance to network and view our exhibition of leading early years suppliers
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THE BIG DEBATE: How can early policy makers, providers and schools come together to ensure that children flourish in primary school?
Areas for discussion include:
• How can we develop a shared national vision where schools adapt to children, not the other way around?
• What structural changes are needed in policy and funding to genuinely support collaboration between early years providers, schools and local authorities?
• With the backdrop of rising poverty and overstretched services, how can we ensure that children’s personal, social and emotional development is prioritised over academic progress from nursery to KS1?
• How do we remove blame and give families support and a voice in shaping the transition from early years to school?
Speakers
Labour MP for Ribble Valley and chair of the APPG on Babies
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Sum-up and close of conference