Dr Mere Ngāutauta Skerrett

Kaitiakitanga - The Relationships of Language to Life

Dr Mere Ngāutauta Skerrett's tribal affiliations span Aotearoa and as such she is a fervent supporter of the regeneration of te reo Māori whānui (the Māori indigenous language) as a thriving vibrant language for Aotearoa/New Zealand. In recent years Mere's research has been around the actual mechanics of successful regeneration of the Māori language in Kōhanga Reo (language nests) and young children's conceptual/identity development relating to their indigeneity. She is also interested in equity issues as they relate to Māori asTāngata Whenua (the people of the land), women's issues and children's rights. Dr Skerrett is currently a Senior Lecturer at Canterbury University.

Dr Margaret Brennan

Respecting Resilience

Dr Margaret Brennan is a Senior Lecturer at the Open Polytechnic in Education Studies, and has worked at a range of tertiary institutions including Victoria and Canterbury Universities. Her research interests include the sociology of early childhood and childcare.  She continues to research, present and publish in these areas and is currently also involved in a NZCER Teaching and Learning Research Initiative research project exploring field-based early childhood teacher education.

Nola Harvey

Focusing on Culture

Nola Harvey is a senior lecturer in the School of Arts Languages and Literacies, Faculty of Education, University of Auckland.  She co-ordinates papers on languages and literacies in the early years for the BEd. ECE  and Graduate Diploma of Teaching ECE. Her research explores the use of two languages by bilingual teachers working in early childhood settings in Aotearoa New Zealand

Nathan Mikaere Wallis

Brain Research and Learning: What We Need to Know.

The 1990's were called the ‘decade of the brain' because we learnt more about the brain in the 90's than all of our collective knowledge prior to this.  This was due to the advances in technology (MRI scans, PET scans etc).  The research findings contradict a lot of the practices parents and teachers have used for the last 100 years and continue to think are aiding the child.  The result is there is now a large gap between how people ‘think' the brain works and how research shows it to actually be!  This is especially true for the research regarding the rapidly developing teenage brain.  An understanding of this research can help to guide our practice and meet the developmental needs of children and adolescents. This presentation will explore how the brain works and how neuroscience can inform our day to day interactions with young people.  Practices for working with people who have experienced early trauma will also be introduced.

Nathan's current role is lecturer at Canterbury University's College of Education.  Nathan is a father to LeShana (17), Matakokiri (13) and Eva (11).  Nathan's background is in teaching, child counseling, and educational management. He is a trustee and Presenter for the Brainwave Board, and a trainer for Child Protection Studies. "X Factor Education' was established by Nathan to facilitate training and professional development.

Dr John Angus

Standards of Care for the Under Two's

John Angus began his career as an historian after obtaining a doctorate in history from Otago University in 1977.  After 10 years as a social worker in Dunedin, he moved to Wellington and into social policy. From 1987 until 2006 he worked for the Ministry of Social Development as a social policy manager and principal advisor.

John was appointed Children's Commissioner in April 2009.

1a)       Creating Environments that Matter in the Lives of Children.

Kay Henson

This workshop will invite participants to consider the learning environment through various lenses - physical, relational, social and spiritual.

As we consider how to create environments that matter, we must challenge ourselves to ask: What does matter in the lives of children? What does a child in a learning environment look like? What does a family in a learning environment look like?

We will review research, share ideas and talk about the sometimes tension between measurable and meaningful in the early childhood learning context.

Kay Henson has most recently been a teacher/ researcher with the Ministry of Education's Centres of Innovation Programme where the research team focused on the use of personal stories as a tool to support children's, family and teacher's learning. Kay is an experienced teacher and maintains her role as Head Teacher at Kidsfirst Kindergartens Bush Street in Rangiora, North Canterbury. Kay's passion for keeping families in the centre of children's lives has been reflected in her previous work: from involvement with establishing a rural Playcentre to Parent Support work for the ECDU. She is the mother of three adventurous, grown children and a keen horse rider and mountain biker in beautiful Leithfield.

1b)       Environmental sustainability in practice

Annie Gordon KidStart Team Leader Barnardos Waitakere

In this workshop we will be exploring ways of building a culture of sustainability within our work in the home environment. Come prepared to examine your attitudes towards rubbish and dirt, explore the myths of a consumer society, share your stories and find out what closing the loop means. 

Annie comes from a strong ECE teaching background. As a passionate activist she is committed to connecting people to their communities and our environment. Annie has many years experience in actively advocating for the rights of children and families. She has spent the past 11 years working in West Auckland for Barnardos. 

1c)       Building Resilience in Children                     

Wendy Nelson

Our brain gives us the ability to feel, learn, think and interact in the world.

New technology allows us to form a clearer view on how the brain develops and works.

• The way you speak, handle and respond to a baby shapes the baby's brain
• Prolonged early stress disrupts brain architecture and increases the risk of emotional and behavioural disorders
• Nurturing and responsiveness in the early years builds a strong foundation for resilience, learning, behaviour and relationships

Wendy is a New Zealand Registered Nurse who has had 30 years experience in Paediatrics

This includes general Paediatrics, Plunket Nursing, becoming a nanny in the USA and in London, a Charge Nurse covering Paediatric oncology, haematology and bone marrow transplantation.

Being the mother of 2 sports-mad teenage boys she invariably ends up managing or coaching some sort of children's sport.

She has been a Brainwave Presenter for 4 years

1d)       What is Nine?

Amanda McIntosh

Exploring the link between increased mathematical competency and bi - lingualism.

This workshop will explore how research into brain development has shown that children who speak another language increase the area of brain dealing with mathematical thinking and why this should be so. How monoglots can develop resources that will help this growth, and the implications for bi- cultural development in Aotearoa.

Amanda has been involved in Early Childhood Education for over thirty three years, starting with Play Centre and moving to Home-based ECE almost 27 years ago. Always keen to push awareness of vital importance of mathematical thinking in the very young, and how awareness of the scientific method is critical to all our futures, Amanda uses her position as a service provider to ensure children are made aware of the world around them in concrete terms.  She would also like to awaken them to the wonders of the universe.

1e)       Implementing the New Criteria

Christine Dew

This workshop will explore aspects of implementing the New Criteria in the Home based context. Christine Dew has worked in a variety of services during her twenty five year plus involvement with Early Childhood Education and is currently working with the Ministry of Education. She was involved in the original writing of the Criteria alongside a number of sector representatives.

1f)        Working with Babies

Elizabeth Cameron

Focusing primarily on the first three years and drawing ideas from Emmi Pikler, Pennie Brownlie, the concepts of Heart Math© and positive attention, this workshop will address how we can in actual practice consistently meet a baby or young child's need to feel safe, respected and loved each day. 

In her role as a Barnardos Parent Educator, Elizabeth Cameron has over the last 14 years developed and taught a range of positive methods of discipline to professionals as well as to parents in their home and in parenting courses. Feedback has consistently shown the value of these practical strategies. 

2a)       The Story Sack - Storytelling and story making with young children

Tanya Batt

Long ago before time was caught and put in clocks and magic was easier to find there was story. "You mean like a 'book story?" No I mean like a story-story. Like one you might catch on a long line of truth, or like a cold from your great, great grandmother. Don't you remember some one telling you a story? Explore the ancient art of storytelling made new again. Tanya Batt will share her experiences of storytelling, story making and story sharing. Lots of love and laughter and happy ever afters.

Tanya Batt, is a self confessed story-o-phile and frock-o-holic. Travelling the world as a storyteller, arts educator and writer she visits places both on and off maps. Her work is characterized lively interaction and her use of music, movement and sumptuous frocks.....She says, "stories are her habit."

Tanya is based on the enchanted island of Waiheke Island, Aotearoa New Zealand, where she is the director of the ‘Once Upon an Island' Storytelling Festival and Centre.

2b)       Inspired By Nature - A Biomimetic Approach to Learning

Dee Pignéguy

Dee will share imaginative, fun and practical hands on ideas for creating an environment to foster curiosity and engage children in observing the patterns and cycles of nature.   What could be more important than preparing children for a sustainable future than building knowledge and understanding of the natural world?

Dee Pignéguy is an experienced and passionate organic gardener. Her garden produces much of the food the family needs while providing the setting for professional development workshops as well as gardening classes.  She is the author of Gardening For Planet Earth, Nature's Techno Tricks and Feed Me Right  http://www.feedmeright.co.nz/

2c)       Resilience (the forgotten disposition)

David Spraggs

This workshop will consider what resilience is in ece and how we can consider differing strategies to incorporate it for the sake of our children.

David is an EC trained teacher and works across the country running professional development for services and organisations associated with early childhood education. He perceives his job description to be "provoking disturbance in the minds of teachers.

2d)       Te Reo  - details to be confirmed

2e)       It's not just a space - Hutt Family Day Care Centre of Innovation

Jane Couch and Jane Firth

This interactive workshop is based on the findings of a study undertaken as part of a Ministry of Education funded Centre of Innovation initiative. It explores the practices and systems that foster a sense of wellbeing for young children and their families as they transition from home to more ‘formal' home-based care and education settings with specific focus on the process that is undertaken to ‘match' families and educators. 

Jane and Jane have worked together in Home based early childhood education for nearly 20 years. With backgrounds in Playcentre, nursing and primary teaching they first worked together in the Barnardos Petone office. They established Hutt Family Day Care in 1999 and started the Centre of Innovation project in 2006.

2f)        Engaging Whānau Voices in Children's Care and Learning

Diane Daly

This workshop will present educators and visiting teachers with a forum to discuss how we can genuinely engage families in our work.  Come prepared to share your ideas and explore new ways of working with families in a partnership that is really meaningful for them and their child.

Diane Daly is the Early Childhood Specialist Advisor for Barnardos - Northern Region.  She has worked in the field of community based early childhood for 30 years, working alongside educators and parents, and facilitating the development of meaningful relationships between them to ensure the very best outcomes for children's care and learning. 

3a)       Fun in learning Māori stories

Connie Boaza

Do you want to have fun while implementing Māori stories? Do you want to learn new skills while learning how to implement Māori stories? Are Māori stories just for Māori children? Do you want to know how to choose Māori stories to implement? Then come have fun, learning how to do these things and more.

Connie's knowledge and skills exploded in Te Kohanga Reo and continued to be refined within the Early Childhood Development Unit. These skills were implemented within the Ministry of Education through the provision of professional support and advice to all ece services. Connie loved the growth that services made, ensuring good changes for children. Connie is currently working as an Education Team Leader for Quality Kidz Home-based ECE Services.

3b)       Can ICT support a move for the industry from paper based processes toward a more sustainable future?

David Spraggs

This workshop will consider what the industry does at present in a paper based way that could be managed by ICT perhaps and what this might mean for people in the industry and possible up skilling issues for their future.

David is an EC trained teacher and works across the country running professional development for services and organisations associated with early childhood education. He perceives his job description to be "provoking disturbance in the minds of teachers."

3c)       Dealing with Loss

Delia Ruane

THIS SEASONS FOR GROWTH workshop will give you some strategies to help you support the children in your care to cope with major changes in their lives e.g. separation or death. This workshop uses the imagery of the four seasons to deliver its message. You will have the opportunity to think about life changing experiences not only for children but also for adults. 

The full Seasons for Growth programme uses peer support and is a safe and proven way which assists people of all ages to understand and manage the changes experienced when a significant loss occurs. It is based on the belief that change, loss and grief are a normal and valuable part of life.

Delia has considerable experience working in grief ministry, facilitating workshops for educators, health professionals, ministers etc exploring the effects of significant change and loss. Delia is presently working as the Coordinator of Seasons for Growth for the Catholic Diocese of Auckland.

3d)       Music to Develop All Essential Learning Areas.

Janet Channon (Higher Dip Tchg, Grad Dip Orff Schulwerk (Melb),  ANCOS Orff Level 4 Teachers Cert. (Australia), AIRMT)

Helping young children develop essential skills can be so much fun when you use fully interactive music activities.  Repertoire in this workshop will help develop visual, aural, linguistic, motor, creative, social, and memory skills - and you don't need to be a rock star to teach it!

Before children can successfully integrate their left and right brain hemispheres, which is necessary for abstract thinking, they must progress through a series of movement milestones.  Songs in this collection help children to jump, hop, and skip; while developing hand-eye and foot-eye co-ordination, cross lateral co-ordination, upper body strength, pincer grip and much more.    

Kids Music Company produces educational music resources and runs workshops in NZ, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

Visit http://www.kidsmusic.co.nz/ to hear our music!

Janet Channon and Wendy Jensen began Kids Music Company in 1989. It is a privately funded music studio on Auckland's North Shore. About 250 children aged 1-10 attend weekly sessions of music. Both Wendy and Janet are past primary school music specialists who now write, record and workshop their own music for teaching purposes. Their music is keenly sought by children, teachers and parents alike. Janet has run countless workshops for parents, teachers and teacher training institutions in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Kids Music Company CDs have won international acclaim in the United Kingdom's Practical Preschool Awards for the last 7 years running.

3e)       Looking for a paddle when up the creek

Christine Dew, Amanda McIntosh

Taking a critical look at how the Ministry of Education funds Home-based services and how the rules in the Funding Handbook impact on services control of their finances.  Topics covered will include:-

• How the Ministry funds us: Over and under two enrolments: 20 hours ECE: Public holidays
• What they fund us: - Cost drivers: Rate two versus rate 1
• Setting up a new service and compliance costs. exploring the link between advance funding, enrolments and pay unit numbers.

The emphasis will be on 'getting it right' and using enrolment data to plan and budget.

The workshop will be presented by Amanda McIntosh, director of Amanda's Home based Care and Christine Dew from the Ministry of Education

3f)        " O LE TAMA MA LANA A'OGA

                O LE TAMA MA LONA FA'ASINOMAGA" (Nurturing positive identity in children).

Jan Taouma

These are some of the work from our centre we will share with the Conference - looking at how children brought up in a traditional manner by involving the whole aiga in a Pasifika context to that of a New Zealand / Pasifika child is brought up in a New Zealand context. How "aoga amata" supports families and children in New Zealand