Other

Sign up for essential Masterclasses at Nursery World North 2018

The vital topics of communication and language and outdoor play will be the focus of the Masterclasses at Nursery World North 2018 in Liverpool on 11-12 May.

Communication and Language: Quality and Quantity - Friday 11 May 9.15-12.15

Good communication skills benefit every aspect of our lives - from academic success to personal repationships. Mastering these skills depends on both the quality and the quantity of the language spoken in adult:child interactions from the earliest stages of a child's life.

In this masterclass, experts from the Story Starters project at the University of Liverpool and from the ESRC LuCID Centre will:

  • outline their growing understanding of language development in both mono and bilingual children
  • provide practical guidance on how to support a child's early language development.

Speakers are Professor Padraic Monaghan, Dr Claire Noble, Dr Caroline Floccia and Jacky Chan.


Outdoor play and potential: widening the potential - Saturday 12 May 9.15-12.15

Our understanding of play outdoors - and its importance - is continuing to develop, as is its scope. Whatever the horizons of our outdoor pedagogy, 'best practice' rests with core features from resources and storage to practitioner attitudes and parental engagement.

In this Masterclass, we show how all early years settings - however urban their environment or small their outdoor space - can broaden their perspective on outdoor learning through a 12-point framework for Unlocking Learning Outdoors, developed by outdoor play specialist Jan White.

Speakers are leading thinker and writer on outdoor play Jan White, Suzanne Scott and Ann Thompson from Sandfield Natural Play Centre, and Menna Godfrey, early years teacher, trainer and consultant.