A little more about our conference

Our annual conference takes place on 10th February 2016 from 9.30-4.30 at Bulkington Village Hall. We have extended the early bird offer so you can still book two places for £100. This offer closes on Monday 11th January when all places will be £60 each (including lunch). Places are filling up so please be sure to book as soon as possible. E-mail through the usual booking channels attaching the booking form.

Don’t forget to include the course code:  EY15-4011/01

We recommend that champions and managers attend together. New and experienced champions are all welcome. We are looking forward to a really interesting, challenging and practical day with lots to think about for the future.

We have been fortunate to secure two highly regarded guest speakers. Anne Wood is the creative director of Ragdoll Productions (creators of Rosie and Jim, Teletubbies and more recently Twirlywoos) and her talk is called ‘Television is not a teacher?’ and she will be talking about the role of television in children’s lives. Food for thought!

David Crystal is a professor of linguistics who is often to be heard as a broadcaster. He is known for his accessible manner and we are sure that his talk ‘The Fascinating First Year’ will offer further insight about how the significant changes that children experience in their first year take place. He has written many many books about language, including language development in children and these will be available to buy on the day (on special offer!), thanks to Warwick Books.

We are also hosting some workshops from colleagues within Warwickshire. There will be sessions on sensory play, working with parents to create practical resources for children and a way to develop a vision for the children and families that you support.

We will be showcasing some of the excellent practice that we see every day from our Speech and Language Champions through video clips, displays and short talks. We would welcome more offers for this. Have you developed something that has worked really well this year? We’d love to hear from you if you have something to share – videos and photographs are welcome, and you could also set up your own display on the day (there are plenty of exhibition boards available). Go on, blow your own trumpet! Just click‘reply’ to this email and we will be happy to talk to you about your suggestions.

We are looking forward to a great day – we really hope that you are able to join us.