Over 50 stakeholders from the education sector, private and government day nurseries as well as nursery and primary schools across the island are expected to gather for the Child Care Board’s (CCB) Early Childhood Development Symposium, next week.
The symposium will be held at the Sir Hugh Springer Auditorium, Barbados Workers’ Union Headquarters, Solidarity House, St. Michael, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 30, and Friday, May 31.
It is being hosted by the CCB, in collaboration with UNICEF, the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training (METVT), and Erdiston Teachers’ Training College (ETTC), under the theme Ready, Set, Go: The Future is at Our Fingertips.
Stakeholders within the field of social care, child protection, education, exceptionalities, health and parenting will get to discuss how to make early childhood environments safe, inclusive, and ready to deliver quality learning and foundational skills; how to support families and communities; and how to strengthen childcare and educational settings to meet the challenges of relevance in the changing context.
The symposium hopes to garner the full engagement and participation of attendees who will benefit from discussion on a wide array of topics. There will be presentations from the CCB, METVT, and ETTC, as well as a Think Tank with stakeholders, leading to a Think Tank presentation.
The topics will include Nutrition in the Early Years; Social and Emotional Learning; Speech and Language Development; Trauma and Special Education; Technology in the Early Years; Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Early Childhood; Working Hand in Hand; and Managing Family Mental Health.
Among the presenters will be CCB’s Director, RoseAnn Richards; Director of Paredos, Cecily Clarke-Richmond; Principal of the Maria Holder Nursery School, Sharon, Shelly Boyce; Principal Consultant, The Potter Centre, Toney Olton; the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ Dr. Juana Brathwate-Drummond; Senior Education Officer, Nursery and Primary Schools, Dr. Christina Morris; and Principal of ETTC, Dr. Colin Cumberbatch.
Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, and Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Kay McConney, will deliver remarks.
The symposium forms part of the activities to mark Child Month, being held under the theme Our Children: Building Hope and Resilience for Tomorrow.