Work Matters: EYP national event - Review - A day of debate and celebration

Over 1,200 delegates came through the doors at the CWDC's first national Early Years Professional event, held at Birmingham's International Conference Centre on 14 July. The mood was upbeat, with attendees praising the wide-ranging seminar programme and the opportunity to network on an unprecedented scale.

Kicking off the proceedings, Dawn Primarolo, Minister for Children, Young People and Families, urged EYPs to consider themselves 'the first among equals', and announced a new recruitment drive to attract more graduates into early years.

'We are launching a campaign that will target those outside the profession, as well as those within it, so we can continue to build on the success we've already achieved in training more than 3,000 Early Years Professionals,' she said.

She reiterated the goal to have an EYP in every daycare setting by 2015, backed by CWDC's renewed push for an additional 20,000 graduates to meet this target. 'Our first challenge in our new recruitment drive will be to demonstrate the importance of early years to those outside the sector.'

Jane Haywood, chief executive of CWDC, touched on an emotional chord in her speech, praising how far Early Years Professional Status had come. She acknowledged the passion of the sector and its collective ability to make a real difference to children's lives. Following on from CWDC's recent pilots, an announcement was made of the launch of a fifth pathway to EYPS, linked to the Early Childhood Studies degree.

Sharing knowledge

A whopping total of 32 seminars were offered throughout the day, giving delegates the chance to explore a range of issues and delve deep into practice. The most popular seminars included 'The forest school system in Denmark', presented by Sandra Gould and Helen Schofield from Leeds EYP Network; 'Surviving 100 difficult days as a leader in early years', presented by head teacher Julian Grenier; 'Leading learning outdoors and Learning Through Landscapes', presented by Oxfordshire EYPs Annie Davey and Lisa Fern; and 'Early Years Professionals as change agents', presented by Pen Green Centre's Margy Whalley and Felicity Norton.

Regular Nursery World contributors Laura Henry and Sarah Presswood both gave seminars, while editor Liz Roberts presented a session on 'Early years and the media', highlighting new developments behind the scenes on the magazine and providing tips for those in the sector who wish to share their stories or write articles.

Delegates were positive about the scope of the seminars and their organisation. Sarah Presswood, speaker and manager of the George Perkins Day Nursery in Birmingham, said 'I attended Edge Hill University's Beyond EYPS, which was very useful from a CPD perspective. Overall the spread was good, with a balance between practice and professional development.'

Going forward

Thom Crabbe, CWDC national programme manager for early years, was pleased that the day had opened up a lot of dialogue.

'People have clearly felt that nothing is off limits,' he said. 'Areas such as pay and conditions have been discussed and CWDC has listened to a wide range of views about what is good and what needs to change. It has been a fantastic opportunity to celebrate EYPS and delve deep into practice issues.

'At the end of the day, what is most important is what happens locally. EYPs are part of a very big deal, and today has underlined that. Hopefully, everyone who has attended has felt uplifted and motivated to carry on the momentum. Hopefully, what people have taken away with them from this event will translate into action.'

- See page 26 for coverage of ASPECT's seminar.