Early Years Conference - Great Success

Last week Canterbury College held its first ever Early Years Conference and the day was a huge success; enjoyed by over 120 Early Years students, College staff, stakeholders and employers from local nurseries.

The event was organized by staff at the college as part of the College curriculum and also as a response to employer feedback.

Dr Robinson, an Independent Adviser in Early Development was the guest speaker and was joined by representatives from Cache’s national office.

Sandra Langley, Section Manager of Early Years & Play Work at Canterbury College said: ‘This is the first time that we have held an event like this. It was clear from student and stakeholder feedback that it would be a great opportunity to bring students and employers together and for both groups to get updates from industry and the academic world’.
 
Dr. Maria Robinson, (PhD) said: ‘I thought that the event went so well. The welcome, the organisation and the general 'feel' of the day was wonderful and the students were attentive and receptive and clearly wanted to do well.’ Dr Robinson gave a very insightful talk about sensory and brain development in babies and how attachment influenced development in later life.

After an opening talk the Students went off to take part in workshops and employers learnt about Cache curriculum updates and also enjoyed canapés and beauty services from other college students.

The event was designed for students on a Cache Level 3 two year course, who gain their qualification through a combination of lessons at College and industry work placements. The insight and industry contacts would be vital for them as they work towards becoming nursery nurses or progressing onto university on Early Years or teaching degrees.
 
The 2011 Early Years Conference has already been booked out in the calendar. Please visit www.canterburycollege.ac.uk/health for more photos and more info on next year's conference.