Shropshire Council hosts conference marking the importance of early years education
On Thursday 5 November, approximately 200 practitioners from local authority education providers attended an Early Years conference hosted by Shropshire Council.
The conference was an opportunity for early years educators in the local authority area working with children aged 0 to 5 to build their knowledge and skills and share good practice.
The event was attended by a variety of our early years education providers including childminders, nursery staff and school staff.
Guest speakers including Dr Aaron Bradbury from Nottingham Trent University, and Sharron Philpot, a Department for Education RISE Adviser, talked about subjects including the importance of play in early years, literacy and trauma-informed practice.
Representations of Shropshire Council’s Learn and Grow Together Early Years Stronger Practice Hub, which makes evidence-informed practice and research from trusted experts and partners accessible to all early years providers, also attended, giving settings and schools the chance to find out more about the support on offer and make links across Shropshire, Telford, Staffordshire and Stoke-On-Trent.
Councillor Andy Hall, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children and education, said:
“It’s exciting to see Shropshire Council hosting a conference of this scale and advocating the importance of early years education. We know that the first five years of a child’s life are crucial. It is clear from the high level of attendance at this conference that Shropshire education providers want to play their part in giving children in Shropshire the best start in life.”
Early years support and education are the focus of Best Start in Life, a new government initiative being delivered by local authorities nationwide, including Shropshire Council.
Best Start in Life services are targeted at children aged 0 to 5 and aim to improve the number of children starting school having met their development milestones.
Three Best Start Family Hubs and Three Best Start Network Sites will be located across the local authority area. Services are already being delivered at the first Best Start Family Hub, The Lantern in Shrewsbury.
Best Start in Life is one strand of a broader transformation of Children’s Services currently being delivered by Shropshire Council. The transformation programme, which reflects changes to government statutory requirements affecting children’s services nationwide, will see a new focus on prevention, and on greater collaboration between agencies and services to ensure a smoother experience for families needing support. The changes will help make a more child-friendly Shropshire.
The transformation programme will also help Shropshire Council meet the objectives of its corporate and improvement plans by improving the health of Shropshire communities and making the council more sustainable financially.
