Forbes Preschool brings ECEC community together to learn from Catharine Hydon

More than 100 early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals came together recently to learn from sector consultant Catharine Hydon in a one-day conference hosted by Forbes Preschool. 

Preschool Director Amy Shine said the professional learning experience was “a chance to get intentional about creating and delivering amazing programs for our young children”.

Ms Shine was moved to create the event in response to the challenges of working in the sector throughout the pandemic, recognising their efforts, and discussing how the landscape of early learning has changed for many of the children and families in their care. 

“The past couple of years have changed so much for so many people, and while educators deal with the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 they also need to focus on children, on teaching and on learning,” she said.

Educators, Ms Hydon added, are aware of how the lives of children were affected by the pandemic, noting that educators are well informed about how this generation may have different strengths and needs in the future.

“We want to reassure families that we have got really strong plans in place, we’re thinking about what children need now in order to be successful in future,” she added.

One of the discussion topics was “what does it mean to be a 21st century learner” along with “how do we equip children for a world we can’t predict.” 

Educators also had the chance to join workshops ranging from speech pathology to mental health and wellbeing, reconciliation and learning environments.

For local coverage of this story please see here.