Category: Midlothian
Play Conference – Saturday 28 November 2015
Un-popping the bubble wrap: a conference about risk and challenge in play.
This year we are welcoming Tim Gill to our conference for the first time. Tim is an authority on risk and play and author of many books including No Fear: Growing up in a risk-averse society and Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation Guide (as co-author). This is an excellent opportunity to hear Tim speak and take part in his workshop on risk-benefit assessment at a very accessible price.
As you’ll see on the attached programme, the workshops are not only about risk and there is a wide range of practical workshops for you to choose from.
Note the early bird discount deadline of 30th October which entitles you to a whopping 20% off!
| As places are limited please return booking forms by Friday 13 November 2015 to help guarantee your place.
|
Please note payment must be received in advance of the conference. Your place is not confirmed until payment is received
Un-popping the bubble wrap: a conference about risk and challenge in play.
This year we are welcoming Tim Gill to our conference for the first time. Tim is an authority on risk and play and author of many books including No Fear: Growing up in a risk-averse society and Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation Guide (as co-author). This is an excellent opportunity to hear Tim speak and take part in his workshop on risk-benefit assessment at a very accessible price.
As you’ll see on the attached programme, the workshops are not only about risk and there is a wide range of practical workshops for you to choose from.
Note the early bird discount deadline of 30th October which entitles you to a whopping 20% off!
| As places are limited please return booking forms by Friday 13 November 2015 to help guarantee your place.
|
Please note payment must be received in advance of the conference. Your place is not confirmed until payment is received
If not you, then who? If not now, then when? Conference Report 2015
Nurturing Attachment and Resilience Skills in our workforce is a key factor in being able to deliver services that meet current legislation requirements and the vision of the Scottish Government. The joint training project group identified this as development opportunity for the workforce and the event on the 21st March 2015 was scheduled to enable good practice to be shared and key messages identified to help us moving forward to deliver high quality services. The event was aimed at the extended workforce across both Local Authorities who work with children, young people and families.
The main aim of the conference was to reaffirm the importance of the workforce in offering services that have a positive impact on the experiences of children, young people and families and how we can all nurture attachment and resilience skills in Conference Report 21 March 2015
Nature Play and Nurture CPD for Early Years
Last few spaces available
Nature Nurture Booking Form May 2015
This course is available to all Early Years Practitioners in East and Midlothian
Aimed at Nursery and Early Years Staff, Nature Play and Nurture is a short course in using the outdoors as an environment for nurture, play and exploration. Three days (9am–3pm) of hands on training by two experienced forest school / kindergarten leaders and a ½ days observation of a Nature Play and Nurture programme.
Midlothian Champions report
The Midlothian Equally Well Readiness to Learn test site was established late in 2009, as a development of the initial test site in East Lothian with a focus on early years. The rationale behind the Midlothian test site was to focus activities and learning around improving readiness to learn, to contribute to breaking the cycle of poorer than average health outcomes (in Midlothian) in the target communities: Gorebridge, Mayfield and Woodburn.
Its aims were:
> to develop sustainable improvements in early years’ services by involving local people in shaping services that improve health and wellbeing
> to build understanding and support joint working between agencies and community organisations on health inequality
> to support innovative approaches to improving readiness for learning.
The report linked here details the work developed by the Midlothian Service champions to imprve and develop services and engage parents in improving readiness to learn in the communities of Mayfield, Woodburn and Gorebridge, The report details some exciting work either developing exisitng good practise or services innovating and redesigning what they do to improve readiness to learn
PEEP
The Parent Early Education Partnership was started in 1995 and has developed a five-year programme offering developmentally appropriate support for parents and carers. It covers the period from their child’s birth to starting school. Already well established in Midlothian this programme is relatively new to East Lothian, and Support from the Start has sponsored training for around 30 practitioners to bring this programme to more parents and children in East Lothian. The cluster champions groups that have got going so far have all identified PEEP as one of the resources they would like to bring into there communities.
PEEP Programme Aims
- To promote parents’ and carers’ awareness of children’s very early learning and development through making the most of everyday activities and interactions.
- To support parents/carers in their relationships with their children, so that the children’s self-esteem will be enhanced.
- To affirm the crucial role of parents/carers as children’s first educators.
- To support parents/carers in the development of their children’s literacy and numeracy.
- To support parents/carers so that they can encourage the development of positive learning dispositions.
- To promote and support parents’ and carers’ lifelong learning.
Maureen Black family, engagement worker, has been runnig a PEEP group for babies and their parents in partnership with the Musselburgh Burgh Primary school using the schools community room. The sessions are very popular with parents as this recent feedback suggests
We’re really enjoying these Wednesday afternoons with you. The sessions are really relaxed and fun for the wee ones (and us big uns) and you are so welcoming.
For more information on PEEP and the evidence base for the programme visit www.peep.org.uk
‘Loose materials & Play’
A small group of staff from East & Midlothian went to visit the schools featured in this short video at the invite of Grounds for Learning. The group included a teacher from Whitecraig Primary, and the team leader for a pre-school centre managed by Midlothian Surestart.. Whitecraig and two Suretart centres are now working with GfL to introduce natural loose materials into the playground. A P1 teacher at Wallyford primary is also working with a local artist to find ways of using different materials in their playground area – this time with an emphasis on recycled materials. Excited to see how these projects develop and hope they prove to be exemplars for other schools and pre-school centres in the use of loose materials for more imaginative play opportunities.