Partnerships focus of Northland early childhood education conference

Debe Anderson and Bronwyn Coulton say early childhood education conference Celebrating Northland's Tamariki is all about learning. Photo/Michael Cunningham

A conference born out of a lack of opportunities for Northland early childhood teachers to upskill will focus on partnerships.

The biennial early childhood education conference, Celebrating Northland's Tamariki, is on for the seventh time at Kamo High School on Saturday with the theme Whakawhanaungatanga – Partnerships in Practice.

Bronwyn Coulton, chairwoman of the conference committee and professional practice manager and external contract manager at Northland Kindergarten Association, said the first conference was held in 2006 after she organised a hui with various groups in the region in 2005.

"One of the outcomes of that hui was that we'd identified there was a gap. There was no professional learning opportunity for early childhood teachers in Northland.

"There were usually outside organisations coming in and offering professional development so there was nothing that was uniquely Northland, and Northland has its own challenges within itself," she said.

Coulton said the hui, which 120 people have signed up for, was the only cross agency education conference in New Zealand.

The conference committee brings together Northland District Health Board, the Ministry of Education, Northland Kindergarten Association, Educare, Avenues EduCare (community based), Te Rito Maioha, Open Polytechnic of New Zealand and Ngātiwai Education Trust.

Coulton said having different agencies working together was important.

"The committee has such a broad lens from different aspects of early childhood, we know that we can target that professional growth where it's really needed."

Coulton said the theme whakawhanaungatanga (family and relationships) was chosen as early childhood educators worked with many "priority children".

"A lot of our families in Northland face many problems. Some of those children are facing pretty big challenges so by choosing the topic of whanaungatanga it allows for us as professionals to understand the different lenses and contexts that whanaungatanga fits in."

The conference will open with four panellists who will present their lens on whanaungatanga. It will also feature key note speakers - including Northlanders - and practical and academic workshops.

DebeAnderson, the committee secretary who also works with the NDHB health protection team, said the conference was about learning.

"It's about learning, it's about professional development, it's about upskilling and then they can take that knowledge back and pass it on to their centres and their tamariki."