CONFERENCE CALLS FOR REAL EXPERIENCES FOR CHILDREN

News release

Almost 100 early years practitioners, nursery managers, teachers and childcare experts contributed to a conference at The Totem Pole in Lincolnshire on giving children real learning experiences.

Life Beyond Plastic took as its focus The Totem Pole’s campaign to persuade Early Years settings to swap plastic imitation fruit and vegetables for a basket of real produce.

Many delegates did indeed take advantage of the ‘plastic amnesty’, bringing their own plastic fruit and vegetables with them and taking away a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables instead.

The conference on Saturday 14th May also looked at other ways to give children real rather than passive experiences.

“From the moment people walked in they entered an environment that reflected our ethos,” said Mary Barlow of The Totem Pole, who organised the conference.

“We wanted to give the delegates real experiences too and that’s what we did: we encouraged them to use their senses by filling the environment with stimulating things to feel and look at, scented candles alongside sweet-smelling herbs and pots of fresh flowers, and we played soft music during the coffee breaks.”

The event attracted Early Years professionals from all over the country and featured  workshops in The Totem Pole, in the Belton Woods Hotel and in the woodlands in the hotel grounds.

“There’s something wonderful about bringing like-minded people together and moving everyone on another stage in their thought process, stimulating their own awe and wonder of childhood memories,” said Mary.

During the workshops the delegates had the opportunity to rediscover the art of storytelling and how to ‘grow’ children’s talk. They went off into the woods to explore the importance of outdoor learning and developed den-building skills to create inspiring mini-environments for young learners.

They also took an active role in creating a joyful day for babies exploring collections of sensory materials.  

“The audience participation didn’t take any encouragement at all,” said Mary. “During the keynote speech delegates came up on stage and built a dinosaur cave out of material lengths and natural resources. Two people even asked if they could get up on stage to sing a song they’d written on the day about dinosaurs!”

Fresh fruit and vegetables given to delegates were sponsored by local branches of Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury and a raffle raised £84 for the Rainbows Children’s Hospice in Loughborough.

“The conference was a tremendous success and there’s already lots of anecdotal evidence to suggest that people are going to go back to their setting with ideas to start today,” said Mary.

What they said about Life Beyond Plastic

Gina Welsh
Nursery Manager, Willowtree Nursery, Lincoln

“We thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic event. We have all been working in early years for many years and have attended a vast amount of training and conference events, but Mary’s expertise, enthusiasm and commitment to all children in the early years continues to inspire us to ensure we provide the best possible outcomes for all children.

“We thoroughly enjoyed the workshops. Workshop leaders Barbara Thomas and Katie Smith would be proud: We are already den building (we called in at B&Q on the way home to pick up the canes!) and we are enhancing our storytelling by ensuring that all staff are aware of the five ingredients of active learning.

“Well done to all of you for organising this amazing event. We look forward to the next one – long may we all continue to provide real experiences for children.”

Wanda Allen
Early years trainer and quality improvement scheme manager, London

“It was a hugely successful day. I helped to gather the evaluations at the end of the day and they were all 100% positive – people clearly felt reinvigorated and energised by the experience.

“There’s a constant tension between planning to learning goals and active learning, and what Mary reminded us was that we need to start with children’s senses and real experiences and work from there rather than starting with the early learning goals and working backwards.

“I found it to be a very useful day. It took me back to those principles that I believe in and that I know to be right.”

Notes to editors

• The Totem Pole was established in the grounds of the Belton Woods Hotel in Lincolnshire in October 2009.

• It is a unique training and resource centre for everybody caring for children which offers individuals a different way of learning.

• Early Years Consultant Mary Barlow has more than 20 years’ experience in child development and develops training programmes underpinned by best practice.

• The Marketplace offers a range of open-ended, sensory and imaginative resources for homes and early years settings.

• To find out more visit www.thetotempole.co.uk

Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
jez@shootingstar-pr.co.uk
www.shootingstar-pr.co.uk
t: @jezashberry

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