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The States' Early Years Team have come together with a group of leading professionals from across the international early years sector to put on the 'A Joyous Childhood' conference.
The event, which took place over the weekend at the Princess Royal Performing Arts Centre, showcased what Guernsey and much of the world had to offer in educating the youngest children at school.
Talks were headed up by keynote speaker Professor Dr. Ferre Laevers, a world-renowned early years education expert, author and presenter.
He is currently director of the Research Centre for Experiential Education at the University of Leuven, and is a long-time expert in Experiential Education, a concept and project which he founded more than 35 years ago.
Pictured: The concept of Experiential Education.
One of the key principals of the conference, Experiential education is a teaching philosophy that focuses around teachers directly engaging with early learners to create experiences that 'increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people's capacity to contribute to their communities'.
"The States Early Years Team and the College of Further Education (Early Years) are delighted to be welcoming such an inspirational range of speakers and professionals to our island. We are very excited and looking forward to welcoming all our delegates and partners to share this wonderful opportunity." Ruth Sharp, Lead Education Officer for the Early Years team, said.
The event itself also saw workshop sessions on offer from people such as Helen Moylett, an independent early years consultant, and Pete Moorhouse, a creative consultant and artist educator. Alongside them were Jude Twani, an Associate Curriculum Consultant for Early Excellence, Phil Armstrong, the Head of Regional Development South & London for Early Excellence and Menna Godfrey, an Early years teacher, trainer and consultant.
Delegates from the other Crown Dependencies also attended the conference.
Finally, the States and the College of FE were able to showcase the collaborative approach it has to delivering services for young children in the Bailiwick.
The event was able to be open to the public thanks to the support of Bright Futures and Every Child Our Future, the two sponsors. This, a spokesperson for Education said, allowed them to offer tickets at an affordable price and keep the event 'cost neutral'.
An interview with Professor Laevers and Nick Hynes, Head of Inclusion for ESC, will follow.
Pictured top: Professor Ferre Laevers (image from Youtube).
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