A full-day conference with a Keynote Speaker in the morning, followed by a choice of interactive workshops covering some key areas of pedagogy in early years.
Welcome refreshments to be provided from 9am
Lunch will be provided
Teas and Coffees to be provided throughout the day
Our Keynote Speaker is Jan Dubiel, who is nationally and internationally recognised as a specialist in early childhood education. He was identified by the TES as one of the ten most influential people in British education in 2018. Having trained as an Early Years specialist, Jan worked as a nursery, reception and Year 1 teacher in schools across the country, leading teams as an Early Years co-ordinator. He has developed a national and international reputation as a conference speaker, consultant and trainer and has written widely on different aspects of early years policy and practice, especially in terms of pedagogy, curriculum and assessment.
Jan's keynote is entitled: The 'how' that makes the 'what' possible - developing a pedagogical repertoire in the EYFS
In this session Jan will explore the ways in which we:
- Support learning and development
- Make professional decisions
- Fine tune our interactions and approaches to provision
Followed by 2 sessions of workshops (you will be able to attend 2):
Teaching Number Sense Through Subitising - led by Fiona Greenwood
Fiona will look at the importance of number sense in early mathematical development and will share why teaching maths through subitising before counting is essential. She'll give examples of how subitising skills can be developed in settings and how focusing on these skills can produce amazing mathematicians!
All Things Visual Strategies! - led by Leighann Littlechild and Claire Bambrick
Leighann and Claire will share how to support children with social communication differences using visual strategies, explaining why visuals are useful, which ones work best and how to use them effectively.
Children's Learning Behaviours - led by Jan Dubiel
Jan will explore how learning behaviours not only enable children to access knowledge, but also endow it with a sense of context and purpose.
Supporting Wellbeing for All - led by Lisa Bedlow
Lisa will discuss what it takes to develop a secure and supportive environment and will share how to recognise and idenitify when wellbeing support is required. She will explore strategies and techniques to support the development of self-regulation and executive function as well as considering the benefits of being outdoors.
The conference will be held at Shaw House in Newbury which is easily accessible from the M4 and A34. There is plenty of parking on site. Shaw House is a 30 minute walk from Newbury Station.
Book with Gen using this form: https://forms.office.com/e/9EzMbiVVPC
About our workshop leaders:
Lisa Bedlow: was Executive Headteacher of two outstanding maintained nursery schools, which included a Children's Centre, Daycare and Autism resource base. She has more recently focused on wellbeing, having founded Gabriels Wellbeing and Education which provides outdoor learning for children in a natural environment. She is also co-founder of Parenting with Passion which enables her to use her skills to support parents through online workshops and discussion groups.
Fiona Greenwood: has taught early years and key stage one in London, Singapore and the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. She is now Deputy Headteacher at Cookham Nursery School, which is one of three federated maintained Nursery Schools in the borough. Recognising the need for a fresh approach to maths, Fiona researched how young children learn mathematical concepts and it has transformed her understanding of early number sense.
Leighann Littlechild: is a specialist learning mentor in the Reading Early Years Schools (REYS) Federation. She leads a resource base for children with social communication differences.
Claire Bambrick: is a Family Support Worker in the REYS Federation, working closely with families and in particular providing support where families have children with SEND.