Key organiser: Deirdre Grogan

Price:  £20.00 per session or £70.00 for all 4 sessions

Registration: Either via the Application Form - Examining play or online shop

Dates and times:

Session	Title	Date	Time
1	Being Me	29 January	16:30-18:00
2	Me as An Individual	6 February	16:30-18:00
3	Me and My Environment	20 February	16:30-18:00
4	Me and My Surrounding Culture	26 February	16:30-18:00

Venue: Online (via Teams)

This training examines the power of play for young children.

Session 1: focuses on the design of effective learning spaces for young children with reference to the continuum of play and Tina Bruce’s 12 features of play.

Session 2: explores context, capital and childhood.

• Context – understanding the image of the child.
• Capital – understanding the influence of the child.
• Childhood- understanding the importance of the child.

Session 3: examines high -quality learning and high-quality teaching. This session also revisits high quality learning spaces. Key links are made to theory and international examples.

Session 4: In this final session, the key points are related to defining childhood through careful observations and evaluations.

This course is suitable for the following participants: All staff responsible for early years or who have an interest in early years.

Key organiser: Clare Mouat

Price:  £20.00

Registration: Either via the  Application Form - Parental engagement or online shop

Date:  Wednesday 19 February 2025

Time: 1830 – 2000

Venue: Online 

This CLPL will support practitioners to reflect on the role of parents and families in their setting and to explore effective strategies to connect with and engage parents and families from diverse contexts. We will also consider how to mitigate against potential obstacles to engagement.

The session(s) will encourage participants to consider how to:

• incorporate self-reflective tools into professional practice
• cultivate respectful, collaborative relationships with parents and families
• strengthen relationships with parents and families which are firmly rooted in the unique context of the school and community.

This course is suitable for the following participants: Early years practitioners; primary teachers; secondary teachers; headteachers; FE lecturers; third sector/NGOs; academics and policy makers

 

Key organisers: Deirdre Grogan & Charlotte Bowes

Date:  Saturday 22 February 2025

Time: 9.15am-12.15pm

Venue: Strathclyde University 

Our first conference of 2025 will take place on 22 February and the learning will focus on The Culture of Childhood, with, for the first time every in Scotland, a groundbreaking keynote presentation from Dr Dan Wuori.

Dr. Dan Wuori is a best-selling author, educator, and early years policy consultant based in the United States. His innovative use of social media to educate on child development has made him one of the field's best known and trusted authorities, with The New York Times calling his X (Twitter) account "a font of delight and edification... educational, but also, simply put - awwwww." His new book, The Daycare Myth: What We Get Wrong About Early Care and Education (and What We Should Do About It) explores the costly disconnect between what we know about the importance of the early years and our public policy. Join Dr. Wuori for his first appearance in Scotland for a conversation about why the early years matter (even more than we think) and what they mean for children, families, and the future of Scotland.

The morning has been planned to offer participants the opportunity to:

• discover the theory & research that underpins child-centered, play-based practice,
• discuss all things play with practitioners of varying experience & expertise,
• design creative pedagogical approaches to implement within their own setting.

Following Dan's inspiring presentation, conference attendees will choose from 6+ workshops, planned & delivered by practitioners who champion play-based practice within their own settings, on a daily-basis: with & for babies to children aged 7.

The conference will then conclude with closing remarks from Deirdre Grogan & Charlotte Bowes, offering a practical summary of next steps.

Student Fee:  £20.00

Standard Fee:  £70.00

Registration: Either via the  Application Form - EY Conference or online shop

Further information:

• Early years conference - programme
• Early years conference - workshop descriptors
• Early years conference - choice sheet

Key organiser: Natasha McMillan

Price:  £20.00

Registration: Either via the Application Form - Art or online shop

Date:  Thursday 20 March 2025

Time: 1830 – 2000

Venue: Online 

During this session we will discuss how to nurture creativity skills through various pedagogical approaches. Using artworks from a variety of time periods and cultural contexts I will demonstrate how the visual arts can be used as a provocation to challenge and enhance cross curricular thinking. This session will be interactive, and questions are encouraged.

This course is suitable for the following participants: primary teachers; secondary teachers; headteachers; students; FE lecturers; third sector/NGOs; academics and policy makers.