Breakout Room Speakers - Child Australia

2023 Line-up of Breakout Room Speakers

Riverview Room 2

Dr Leanne Gibbs
“Leading as a practice – a different way to ‘do’ leadership”. ‘Leadership-as-practice’ offers an opportunity to disrupt the narrative of the heroic, individual leader and offers the opportunity for educators to lead, regardless of their position. In this workshop we will unpack leadership-as-practice and consider how to enable practices of leading that contribute to process quality for children and equality and justice for ECEC communities.
Trina Bourke – Child Australia
“But I can’t dance!” Dance is innate in children; they are compelled by expression of emotions. They are intrinsically motivated to move to express thought, feelings, wonder, and to experience the pure joy of their bodies in motion. With an increasing body of research about the benefits of dance, not only for physical development, but also so for mental wellbeing, it is time to reframe dance as creative playful movement and understand how it can be available for everyone.
Sarah Rheinberger – Sarah Rheinberger Consultancy
“There’s something going on here” – How early childhood educators can have tricky conversations with caregivers with confidence and kindness. Early childhood education and care professionals are at the forefront of knowing children in their care. But the conversation raising concerns with caregivers can be tricky, scary and uncomfortable. This presentation will workshop effective ways to confidently communicate concerns about a child’s development to a caregiver in a supportive, kind and clear way.

Presentation Partner
HESTA

Riverview Room 3

Minderoo Foundation & Dept. of Communities
“Early Years Partnership: Government, Philanthropy and Research Working Together”. The Early Years Partnership (EYP) established a ten-year partnership to bring community leaders, all levels of government, researchers, business and philanthropic organisations together to improve child well-being and school readiness in 4 WA communities.
Chris Hutchinson – Australian Childhood Foundation
“Healing Relational Trauma through Play”. In this presentation we will explore the neuroception of safety, the types of play experiences and environments that support healing from relational trauma and what else educators can do.
Themia Litas & Leanne Crawford – Autism WA
“Integrating Goals for Children with Autism into the Early Years Framework”. Integrating goals for children with Autism into the Early Years Learning Framework. This presentation will allow the audience to explore Autism specific Strategies and break down the barriers to inclusion.

Black Swan Room

Nicole Talarico – Talarico Consulting
“Relationships with your Spaces”. We have a unique opportunity in our own contexts to immerse ourselves into a Pedagogy of the Third Space, rich in culture, belonging and possibilities. To do this effectively we need to determine what is relevant. Who makes these decisions? What provokes us to think? Do we design for or truly with other/s? Let’s ignite a paradigm that prioritises a commitment to our spaces so we can all thrive.
Angus Gorrie – The Outsiders Play Advocates
“How playwork practice supports loose parts as a resource”. Loose parts have become quite the buzz word and this has very mixed outcomes. On one hand it supports their exposure and likelihood they may be harnessed in play spaces dramatically improving the play value for children. On the other hand, it also increases the likelihood that they may be implemented superficially. This session will bust some myths about loose parts and discuss perspective how they are best provided to children.
Kayelene Kerr – eSafe Kids
“Teaching Body Boundaries, Consent and Respect in the Early Years”. Come explore child friendly, age-appropriate and practical ways to teach consent in the early years. Early childhood educators will be supported with books, resources and activity ideas to Teach children about personal space and body boundaries, both theirs and others. This is crucial to a child’s growing sense of self, their confidence and how they should expect to be treated by others.

Cygnet Room

Rhean Bates – GROW Therapy
“The Therapeutic Relationship Transforming Trauma Behaviour & Enabling Children to Thrive”. The presentation will explain Clyde Fenton Primary School’s deep dive into becoming a therapeutic school. How the translation of the Play Based Therapy method into an expanded therapeutic relationship approach has resulted in radical changes in all school processes from the canteen to the curriculum. It will share the repeatable keys to the program’s success, how its uptake has allowed a deeper understanding of trauma and how it presents itself in behavioural expressions.
Lucy Murrell – C & K Salisbury Community Kindergarten
“Active Global Citizens: Empowering children in an ever changing world”. This presentation will discuss Active Global Citizen approach in early childhood and share an example of a project carried out at C&K Salisbury Community Kindergarten. The children found their voice and believed in the importance of sharing their thinking to help the planet.
Simone Pedder & Amanda Docksey – NT Department of Education
“Together thriving with the Families as First Teachers program”. The Families as First Teachers (FaFT) program is a flagship program delivered by the Department of Education in the Northern Territory. The program aims to improve lifelong health, wellbeing and educational outcomes for children aged birth to five and their families. Core elements of the program include quality early learning, parent capacity building, and meaningful community engagement.

Victory Lounge

Anna Crooks & Amanda Flynn – Treehouse Theraplay
“Playful, creative and non-verbal approaches to working with children and teens with neurodiversity, trauma and/or mental health concerns”. Learn the evidence-based practices we use when working with children and adolescents who are neurodiverse, have experienced trauma and/or have mental health concerns. Whilst we have many trainings and qualifications in our tool kit, the key thing that underpins the successful outcome for the families that we work with is our relationship with them. Without positive relationship we don’t have safety.
Dr Somayeh Ba Akhlagh – University of New England
“How culture influences children’s development”. There is growing awareness and effort in Australian classrooms to understand, respect and support cultural differences, but are we starting early enough? During the hands on workshop I will be sharing different strategies of promoting cultural competence that practitioners can use when planning for children’s learning and development.
Gail Clark, Nadia Wilson-Ali, Gabrielle Crosse & Connie Borg
“Using the Australian Early Development Census to support Quality Improvement Planning with the National Quality and Early Years Learning Frameworks”. The Australian Early Development Census provides an evidence base to support early childhood services to plan for children’s optimal development within their local context. Listen to experienced educators share their journey in using the AEDC to make a difference for families and their children.