Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald TD and CEO of Barnardo’s, Fergus Finlay, will be among the keynote speakers at the ‘Our Children – Our Future’ conference to be held at IT Sligo on October 20th and 21st.
Approximately 100 practitioners, policy makers, academics and students from across Ireland who are involved in the Early Childhood Care and Education sector are expected to attend. The conference will generate a significant economic boost for Sligo, as well as helping to set the future agenda for early years care and education.
The conference, the first to provide a forum for reflecting on the past and shaping the future for the children of Ireland, is being organised by PLE (Pedagogy Learning Education) a network of 17 third level colleges that provide degree courses in early childhood care and education.
Also involved in hosting this forum are the Irish Social Science Platform, the Border Midlands region of County Childcare Committees, the HSE and IT Sligo.
Among the issues to be discussed are the impact of media violence on children; early sexualisation of children; the mental health impacts of childhood adversity; and a range of policy and practice issues relevant to the professional identity and development of the sector. The low representation by men in the sector will also be discussed.
Roisin McGlone, chairperson of PLE and lecturer on IT Sligo’s Early Childhood Care and Education honours degree course, explained that the conference will be an opportunity for those involved across the sector to exchange ideas, discuss best practice and plan for a future which values and cherishes all children. She pointed out that €500 million has been invested in early childhood care since the year 2000 which underlines the both importance of this growing sector but also its potential for further development.
“This a relatively young sector which must forge its own professional identity. We have to confidently articulate our collective vision for the future of our children. We are delighted that Minister Fitzgerald will attend the conference and take back the message to Government that the sector she actively represents is cohesive and committed to the positive challenges ahead,” she said.
The former chair of County Sligo Childcare Committee noted a number of important achievements, such as a very significant investment in training and education, the development of quality childcare services and the provision of financial supports for access to childcare services. But, for many outside the sector, childcare can still be seen as ‘babysitting’, she said. “This is about recognising the value of what the practitioners do and about shaping a future which places the child very much at the centre of everything we do.”
Among the speakers will be a range of internationally recognised experts in the field: including Professor Diane Levin (Wheelock College, Boston); Professor Ronny Bruffaerts (University Leuven, Belgium); Professor Sheila Greene, AIB Professor of Childhood Research at Trinity College Dublin; and Professor Noirín Hayes of Dublin Institute of Technology.
During the two day conference Minister Fitzgerald will officially open a new Play Skills Lab at IT Sligo. This centre provides a practical learning environment for students in learning how to design an age appropriate play area, change a nappy and hold a baby, to how to stimulate small children with colours and games.
Registration for the Conference is open at http://bit.ly/oZNiU2
To download the conference programme, click here.
First Image Caption: CEO of Barnardo’s, Fergus Finlay
Second Image Caption: Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald TD