Malarkey presents the National PLAY & PLAYwork Conference 2016

Presentation/Workshop/Field Visits Information Pack

March 4th & March 5th 2016 Melbourne Convention and

Exhibition Centre South Wharf

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia www.malarkeyon.com.au

The National PLAY & PLAYwork Conference will not be a conference specifically for the Early Childhood sector. It will not be a conference specifically for the School sector. It will not even be a conference specifically for the Youth sector. The National PLAY & PLAYwork Conference will be a conference designed specifically around PLAY & PLAYwork and those working in the children and young peoples workforce … The hint you see is in the tile!

We have something for ECE people, primary years people, OOSH people, community development & local government people, parks people, health people, designers and playworkers.

On top of the keynote speakers and some surprises we have breakout sessions on (among others) … :: play and playwork theory, practice & adventure playgrounds :: play and disadvantaged communities :: play and health, disability and wellbeing :: play and schools and alternative schooling :: play and learning, theory and practice :: play and boys, OOSH and older children :: play and culture, storytelling and traditional games :: play and nature, loose parts and risk :: play and children’s rights, policy, parks and playground :: plus lots more, and field visits, a pop up playground, films, networking, fun bits … and let’s not forget that party!

This session will take participants on a journey as we share ideas on how we introduced loose parts and op-shop finds into the environment. We will ask people to reflect upon their own environments and ask questions of their own practice.

We will reveal where this journey has taken us and how the questions we asked along the way, all point to play being most important to children and therefore play should be the most important thing to us.

Throughout this session participants will gain knowledge of where to source resources, how to offer resources and how to think about giving space back to children. We will touch on the setting up of “Frolic” which is the opportunity we set up for ourselves to run pop up playgrounds within the community.

Aimed at: Early childhood educators; Sessional kindergarten, Long day care, Family day care, OOSH

Justine Walsh & Nicole Bourke Early Childhood Consultants & Directors

at Journey into Play

Justine Walsh & Nicole Bourke Are presenting –

Loose Parts and Op-Shops; Providing a space for child directed

play with a limited budget www.malarkeyon.com.au

This session will explore the physical, social and intellectual development of young boys and discuss the links between how the nature and themes of boys play, fosters and enhances this development.

Play topics such as weapon, war and superhero play and the physical nature of these themes will be explored, linking the role these ‘boy typical’ styles play in nurturing the development of boys in early childhood.

Early Childhood carers, educators and advocates will be prompted to challenge their ideas and preconceptions on the value of this play in fostering growth and self-concept in young boys.

Aimed at: People working with boys at an Early childhood level level.

Natalie Smith Early Childhood Educator and Early Childhood Consultant

at Brilliant Boys

Natalie Smith is presenting –

Insight into boys play and development in Early Childhood

www.malarkeyon.com.au

Play is gaining momentum to be acknowledged as a critical part of a child’s / young persons development. Alongside this individual development, Play can uniquely develop communities to be socially vibrant, supportive, interconnected and dependable, so much so that community moves from an aim to a daily experience. Utilizing the benefits of Play within a Community Development setting could also help with the realities that are experienced in our society today such as Mental Illness, family members caring for other family or friends, Child Safety, obesity and encouraging inclusion within a multicultural society.

This session will explore how Play can be a significant vehicle to develop contemporary communities but also develop social capacities in our children and young people to respond to the health/welfare concerns of tomorrow. This workshop will include a practical example of how this modeling is going to be applied at a new housing development in Melbourne’s Western growth corridor called Mt Atkinson. This community development model aims to work in partnership with local residents but also community organizations such as schools, kindergartens and local community organizations. Therefore this presentation will show how partnerships with these organisations will also foster play across a community.

Aimed at: Community/Social workers, Teachers, Early childhood educators and Local governments

Mark Monahan Director of Edmund Rice Community Partnerships

– Mt Atkinson

Mark Monahan is presenting –

Play as a vehicle to support the development of a socially

connected community www.malarkeyon.com.au

Research tells us that homework offers no academic advantage to children. Yet from as early as 5 years of age, children are swamped in it. When do they have time for the learning that play has to offer? And why don’t we see this as being equally valid to their development?

This session will explore the ways that play enhances children’s learning and wellbeing, above and beyond the traditional homework model. It will show examples of ‘non homework’ families in action through video footage and photographs. Practical guidance for navigating school homework policy will be shared, to ensure that participants leave with the inspiration and action steps to make way for play.

Aimed at: Primary school teachers, Leaders and parents.

Clare Crew Early Childhood & Special Education Teacher, Child Development Consultant

at Thrive Education & Wellness

Clare Crew is presenting –

Out with the homework and in with the play

www.malarkeyon.com.au

Play is endemic to the human species promoting a mental state of happiness (Wiki, 2015). Purely, we feel good when we choose what we want to do! Children and adults alike make sense of their world through various types of play and watching this is one of the most fascinating things in life. If you look closely, children tell us their understanding of the world and how they fit into it through their play activity.

What about when children's play seems repetitive or inappropriate? We have all seen the child who throws toys across the room with no warning or the one who lines all the cars up in a row allowing no one else to play. A closer look at these urges or 'schemata' (Piaget, 1926) can help us to understand the motivation behind children's play and behaviour. Sure!.... it is tempting to fight the urge as it may involve the entire contents of your playroom being transported to the centre of the room or coaxing a child from the highest branch on the tree! But it doesn't need to be a fight.

Stop the struggle!! Join us for a play in the workshop that delves into the world of schemas such as; enveloping, transporting, trajectory and many more using natural materials and loose parts. Additionally, explore your role as the educator/parent in supporting children's urges to play in certain ways.

Aimed at: Early Childhood Educators, Early Intervention Educators or Play-based Therapists and parents/carers of children aged 0-6 years.

Rebecca Thompson Owner/Director Stone & Sprocket (Education Consultant): Central Coast, NSW ,

Sessional Early Childhood Lecturer Charles Sturt University: Bathurst, NSW

Rebecca Thompson is presenting –

Don't fight the urge! – Responding to schema in play using

nature and loose parts. www.malarkeyon.com.au

‘Risky Play’ can benefit children in so many ways, including developing sensory motor skills, visual spatial abilities and confidence in shared play. Engaging in risky play generally comes naturally to neuro-typically developing children, who enjoy partaking in play ideas of self-determined risk. However, children with Sensory Processing Disorder can find keeping up with their peers during active play difficult, uncomfortable, awkward, and even scary. Sensory Processing Disorder is extremely common (affecting around 1 in 20 children), meaning there are many children struggling with, or not wanting to engage in, risky play opportunities.

Attendees will gain an overview of Sensory Processing Disorder and its impact on risky play engagement from an occupational therapy perspective. Key strategies will be outlined for calming the central nervous system and building on sensory motor development, which are vital to a child’s success in choosing to attempt and safely negotiate a wide variety of physical challenges within play. The presentation will conclude with a short video celebrating risky play practise and achievements among children with sensory regulation difficulties.

Aimed at: Parents, Carers, Play workers, and Educators who work with children of all ages.

Anna Meadows Paediatric Occupational Therapist (Kids Connect Therapy)

Author of the blog: Kids Play Space

Anna Meadows is presenting –

Supporting children with sensory processing disorder to engage in risky play

www.malarkeyon.com.au

When it comes to storytelling for young children some will need to perform their stories through drama and theatre. It is through drama and theatre that one of the original forms of playing can be explored. In a move away from the dramatic play area, the idea of incorporating drama and theatre into early childhood programs has often left educators at a loss of what to do. This presentation aims to give early childhood educators ideas on how to implement effective drama and theatre pedagogies into their program based on the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF).

Topics include: • Setting up a theatre learning area • Using loose parts as props, costumes • Designing and building indoor and outdoor stages • Reimagining incursions • Appropriate excursions to theatre spaces and productions • Children as theatre makers; playwright, actor, designer and audience

Aimed at: Early Childhood and OOSH Educators

Jason Triggs Tafe Lecturer

at Holmesglen TAFE

Jason Triggs is presenting –

Playing on the stage – drama and theatre in early childhood programs

www.malarkeyon.com.au

The right to play is recognised as a human right in UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Playing and having access to nature every day is essential for all children’s health, well-being and development. Inclusive play ensures that all children and young people have equal access to good quality play provisions. Although children with disabilities have an equal right to the time and space to play and time spent in nature can be particularly beneficial, they sometimes face multiple barriers that restrict their opportunities to play, and their access to natural environments.

This session will discuss how changing the attitudinal, social, organisational and physical environments that surround children with disabilities can improve both access and inclusion in play. Concepts to be covered include how the design of the physical environment can enable play providers to create great inclusive play environments for typically developing children as well as children living with a wide and complex range of disabilities. Some essential natural and play elements that should be considered for the play process will be illustrated, including consideration of how the level of flexibility in the space, and the provision of natural and fabricated materials, impacts the level of inclusivity of the play space.

Inclusive play space design benefits all children, regardless of ability, and by fostering the idea of inclusivity, where we appreciate the differences and recognise the similarities between people, are tolerant and accepting of diversity, we celebrate a community in which all children can participate equally and enjoy equal opportunities to flourish.

Aimed at: Play providers, such Early learning centres, Schools, Child care centres and Local governments, who are looking for ideas around how to change their playground into an inclusive nature play space.

Wendy Seymour Landscape Architect and Play Space Designer

at Nature Play Solutions, W.A.

Wendy Seymour is presenting –

Designing inclusive nature play spaces.

www.malarkeyon.com.au

Two teachers discuss how they transformed their school grounds and teachers' understanding to provide students with inspirational play opportunities. Using a playwork approach, grounded in research and practical experience, we discuss how we changed the culture of play at Noble Park PS.

Children have many play opportunities including a Play Pod, climbing trees and nature play – including water and fire. We accept that safe enough is good enough and that children are very capable of assessing their own risk. Teachers are trained to support and scaffold play and encouraged to join in and have fun. We discuss how we work within the system while challenging traditional practices and ideas. We have redesigned the play spaces to enable children to interact with nature and to decidehow they want to play.

We will present photos; children’s and staff ideas and opinions, share how we used our research and consultations with playworkers and landscapers to implement a variety of play spaces and opportunities, and share how we changed the community’s perception of what is safe enough.

Aimed at: All educators who have a strong focus on play; teachers who want to know how to set up play spaces and support children’s play appropriately; people who want to see how schools use research and evidence to inform their staff and school community on the importance of different forms of play and how to build a culture of play.

Caroline Burston and Susan Vissenjoux Playful teachers

at Noble Park Primary School, Melbourne, Victoria

Caroline Burston & Susan Vissenjoux are presenting –

Sticks and stones won’t break my bones and climbing trees won’t hurt me.

www.malarkeyon.com.au

How do children think with materials? How do materials invite actions?

This session discusses materiality as pedagogy and describes how children experiment with materials—those known and those less familiar. Drawing on the emerging framework of materialism (and in particular, ‘new materialism’) within the early childhood space, this session will discuss materials as ‘joint participants’ with children in experiences.

By investigating materials as ‘meeting places’ and focusing on materials as agentive objects that invite actions, we play with possibility and explore new potentials. Thinking with materials and developing playful strategies to use them in different ways, is a starting point for repositioning materials as participants in experiences. This session offers early childhood educators different ways of seeing, investigating, playing and experimenting with the more-than-human objects co-inhabiting their kindergarten spaces. We will look at: • Contemporary teaching practice • Innovative ways to engage children with new and existing materials. • Where materials come from and how they are used in early childhood settings to explore ideas of becoming, belonging and place.

Aimed at: Early childhood educators

Kelly Boucher Academic Teaching Scholar, College of Education,

Victoria University, Melbourne.

Kelly Boucher is presenting –

Dialogues with Materials

www.malarkeyon.com.au

There is a growing world-wide movement that seeks to give children the kinds of play experiences enjoyed by previous generations, providing safe places for street play, reconnecting children with nature and advocating for unstructured play with 'loose parts' and natural materials which involves risk-taking and freedom of choice.

Alongside this fundamental area of free play sits another kind of play, which children all over the world have been engaged in continuously for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years. This is children's folklore - the games, rhymes, riddles, jokes and other enduring play traditions of childhood, which have been passed from child to child down through the generations, mostly through oral transmission and largely without any adult involvement.

This is the kind of play adults remember fondly from their school days. Traditional games can be a bridge between people of different ages and cultural backgrounds, and they can be played almost anywhere – at home, at school, even in hospital.

Aimed at: Anyone interested in folklore and play and how this can bridge people across age and cultural backgrounds.

Judy McKinty Independent Children's Play Specialist,

Melbourne

Judy McKinty is presenting –

Children's Folklore & Traditional Games: the 'other’ kind of play

www.malarkeyon.com.au

This project used the motivation of ‘making’ combined with an inter-generational storytelling approach to both highlight different abilities and strengths but also as a platform for educating the boys further about difference, and providing an environment where they can support each other through challenges. The research aimed to identify whether this action improves Kindergarten boys’ overall empathy.

The action included “Maker Days” when community members worked with the Kindergarten boys on maker projects using the time to support the boys’ in their making using storytelling as a form of their own making. The aim of intertwining the making and storytelling was to recreate the intergenerational and historically social and cultural scenarios of making and storytelling such as knitting circles or whittling around a campfire.

The data reflects the conclusion that the action of this project; namely using storytelling with community during maker projects to foster empathy in Kindergarten boys, did in fact benefit the development of the students’ empathy. At the very least the action conducted during this project provided a platform for growth in the area of empathetic intelligence.

Aimed at: Parents, Carers, and Educators who work with boys.

Kate Turner Senior Classroom Teacher

At The Hutchins School, Tasmania

Kate Turner is presenting –

How does storytelling with community during maker projects foster

empathy in Kindergarten boys? www.malarkeyon.com.au

The importance of children getting dirty and playing in the dirt can be overlooked in order to appease parents need for neat and tidy clothes at the end of a long hard playwork day! My research and investigations have shown the benefits of getting our hands dirty far outweigh those of staying clean. Dirt is good for our physical health, our gut culture, socialization, and connection with the earth and most importantly and organically just for having fun. I have worked with parents on their fear of mud and muddy clothes and developed staff culture and ability to talk with parents around this topic. Knowing the facts is a start. Knowing how to talk with families can lead to the greatest, muddiest, digging patch in the neighbourhood. I’ll use quotes to provoke thinking and challenge beliefs and practice. I’ll provide time for participants to share their thoughts and deeply listen to others. It will be a session where participants will see the delight and joy dirt can bring. The presentation will be both hands on and theory. A digital platform for content will give attendees a focus, with facts and information to note. The hands on will be in the form of dirt/mud – how could I do a presentation on dirt without having some for participants to play with?!

Aimed at: Educators/Parents to increase their awareness of the benefits of dirt play, both physically and emotionally.

Tess Harford Director, Nazareth Early Childhood Centre,

Findon SA

Tess Harford is presenting –

Play should be a dirty word! www.malarkeyon.com.au

My workplace is a primary school nestled in bushland in Southern Tasmania. For the past 4 years I have been taking my classes out to the bush on a weekly basis. Now, we have a whole school approach to learning outdoors and using the “Sky Is Our Roof” philosophy.

This session will investigate the various strategies I implement when playing/teaching outdoors with kinder/primary school students . We will explore many layers of playing in the bush including creativity, building student resilience, learning around the camp fire, transitions, snake safety, toileting, literacy & numeracy bush ideas and more.

By using photos and videos we will discuss evidence presented of student learning, risk versus benefits and how, as a whole school we embrace this. I will explore challenges practitioners may encounter when taking their classes outside. The audience will hear many practical ideas that have worked for me over the past years.

Aimed at: People working with children aged 4 and above who want to get their children outdoors to play and learn.

Anna Demarco Kinder Teacher,

Geeveston Tasmania

Anna Demarco is presenting –

The Sky Is Our Roof www.malarkeyon.com.au

Increasingly in early childhood, we see children whose emotional regulation and resilience are significantly challenged. Development of these fundamental internal skills are often delayed or distorted compared to same age peers. Difficulties coping with disappointment, accepting unexpected change and showing social reciprocity then produce a cascading effect of limited social skills and an unwillingness to engage with other children. A number of current school-based programs promote increasing resilience and it is has become the latest “buzz” in therapeutic services.

But what are the actual foundation building blocks in teaching a child to “get over it”? What helps a child truly understand the joy of joining in? How do we teach the steps of coping? This presentation provides delegates with “hands-on” strategies to teach resilience and emotional regulation using three simple games that can be taught universally to all children. There is growing evidence that strategies, usually only taught in clinic sessions, are far more effective when taught to an entire class or peer group. This presentation also highlights the incredible value that any game or activity can have in teaching and facilitating social skills.

Aimed at: Anyone who works with children and young people of any age and capability.

Sonia Street Psychologist,

Okey Dokey Childhood Psychology

Sonia Street is presenting –

Broken pencils, flow charts and light sabres: Practical strategies to increase

resilience and emotional regulation www.malarkeyon.com.au

The ability to play is a superpower. Children who play with each other are superheroes. Why? Play enables children to develop their mental schemes – “the internal models of the world that a child uses to understand and master his or her environment.” (Christakis et al, 2007).

These are developed by touching, smelling, tasting, hearing, interacting and experimenting with their external environment. The building of this knowledge provides foundations for thoughts, feelings, language, memory, and executive function. All of these experiences and skills are enhanced and enabled through imaginative play – which exemplifies why it is a superpower. It is essential that children engage in imaginative play and interact with the others around them.

This session will explain the concept of mental schemes, the development of play skills, and the ways that parents can build play and language into everyday activities, without buying expensive toys and gadgets. It will be an interactive presentation that responds to the needs of the audience, in gaining practical strategies, and reinforcing existing successful play strategies that they are implementing

Aimed at: Parents, Early childhood educators, Therapists

Alex Trichilo Speech Pathologist,

Speech Pathology Blogger

Alex Trichilo presents –

The power of play: How to develop young children’s

language skills through play www.malarkeyon.com.au

Get off the shade cloth…. NOW!!… The only time you will hear Educators in this environment remove children from risk… Bagot Community is an aboriginal community in the middle of urban Darwin in the Northern territory. Child Australia runs a host of programs on Bagot including our Award winning OSHC service. This community is filled with children who at all ages have the trust and faith in their ability and agility to take on physical “risks” or what we simply call Play.

This presentation will explore the reasons behind our extremely relaxed view on risk taking and how trusting children’s ability has impacted the well being of children. It will also explore the complexity of what risk looks like in this particular Environment and aims to expand thinking about risk and play and why they cannot be separated!

This presentation will provide you with some background, context and an honest exploration of all the mistakes we made in this community to bring us to where we are now.

Aimed at: Early childhood educator staff of all levels, Out of school hours care

Kellie Johnson Child Australia, Indigenous programs,

Northern Territory

Kellie Johnson is presenting –

Climbing the walls, a Community rich with risk

www.malarkeyon.com.au

We, as OSHC educators, are extremely lucky, we have the ability to 'shape' childhood and sometimes this is taken rather too literally. We often get caught up in doing what we think is best for children, in meeting outcomes, in following our own agendas and settling because of the red tape wrapped around us by our laws and regulations. We forget how lucky we actually are to be part of this magical time in a child's life and what this should actually look like. In today's busy and chaotic world it is not often that children are afforded the time to simply be or to play.

Our culture is not one that readily supports or advocates for play, this is our responsibility. We are privileged to have in our hands pockets of time that can be dedicated to offering the children in our care the joy to actually be children. The opportunity to engage in and experience the adventures we remember so fondly from our own childhoods. A time to unwind from their 6hr regimented, structured and over stimulated school day, a time in which they are truly free to explore, to investigate, to push their own boundaries and limitations and to PLAY!

It is our duty to facilitate this, to know our laws and regulations inside out, to know that they do not prohibit children from climbing tress, building fires, exploring local bush land, creeks or the ocean. It is up to us to fight against those who attempt to wrap our children up in cotton wool and sit them down in sterile rooms still and quiet. It is up to us to provide a program that is open ended and flexible, stimulating and relaxing and values the child's right to play! Whilst this all sounds good in theory, how does one actually put this into practice? Come along to this session to discover exactly that, for it is possible and well worth the reward!

Aimed at: Out of school hours care

Kylie Keane Malarkey Playwork

Kylie Keane is presenting –

Valuing the child’s right to play in practice www.malarkeyon.com.au

Our journey exploring literacy, risk, educator mindset and accountability during visits to our Bush Block. 

As leaders at The Gums Childcare Centre, we will share the development of our Bush Block pedagogy and how this influences planning for play (to enable learning). Nature play in its true unstructured and unorganised form leads to the most exciting life learning skills.

This session will cover:  1.  challenging educators thinking, and the role they play when exploring the ever changing Bush Block

environment. 2.  Benefits to children's development through bush block.  3.  Amazing aspects of oral language being used by 3-5 year olds during nature play.  4.  Justifying risky behaviour within the current regulations and guidelines..

Aimed at: Early childhood educators at all levels

Alex Nicholls, Jackie Scott, Abby Walker-Schwartz, Kirsty Gwynn-Jones

At The Gums Child Care Centre

The Gums Child Care is presenting –

Nature Play at The Gums www.malarkeyon.com.au

In this presentation we will explore the positive impact that motor play has on creating strong neural pathways in the brain.

In the first year of life, a baby’s movement milestones integrate their primitive reflexes. While essential for birth, survival and early brain development, primitive reflexes restrict optimal growth and development when kept after twelvemonths of age.

An increasing number of school age children are struggling with learning, attention, behaviour and emotional regulation as a result of this. And yet in contrast, with an abundance of movement and physical play as babies and toddlers, children are equipped neurologically to reach their full potential in all areas of life. Let's ditch the baby equipment and give our little ones the opportunity to move!

Aimed at: Parents, Early childhood educators at all levels, Primary school

Clare Crew Early Childhood & Special Education Teacher,

Child Development Consultant at Thrive Education & Wellness

Clare Crew is presenting –

Helping children thrive with motor play

www.malarkeyon.com.au

In a city once known as the ‘Murder capital of Europe’ – Glasgow’s streets and outdoor spaces where once used for gang violence and anti-social behaviour. Through a response to local parents cries for help, PEEK – Possibilities for Each and Every Kid - a grassroots project was born in Glasgow’s notorious East End. 15 years on, PEEK is now a well-established children’s charity delivering an award-winning outdoor play programme in 24 of Glasgow’s most deprived communities which has diverted many disadvantaged children and young people away from a life of violence and crime.

This session will explore the importance of play in disadvantaged urban communities. TI will showcase through photos and videos real case studies of children, young-people and their communities that PEEK works with.

Aimed at: Anyone interested in using a PlayRanger model. It is open to anyone who works with children and young people of any age and capability.

Michaela Collins Play development manager

At PEEK - Possibilities for Each & Every Kid

Michaela Collins is presenting –

Play and disadvantaged communities www.malarkeyon.com.au

This paper investigates archival material and historical accounts related to the beginnings of the playground movement in Australia. The importance of playwork to this early initiative is explored through research of adult perceptions of children in early 1900’s Melbourne. At a time when life was very difficult for many colonial children, occasional glimpses of their playfullness echoe through the years. The author surveys the terrain of early Melbourne, mapping territories of children as they carve out places to play, shining a light on the vigorous campaign to promote play(work) in an emerging colonial society by the Guild of Play, formed in 1913. Working with children’s geographies, comparisons are made between social and moral geographies, as they relate to governmentality and play(work) provision, in Melbourne 100 years ago and today. .

Aimed at: Barbara is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at RMIT University and a researcher in the Centre for Education, Training and Work in the Asian Century. Her research centres around children’s play in the outdoors, particularly school playgrounds and public open spaces with a focus on factors that impact on children’s play opportunities such as playspace design and adult supervision.

Barbara Chancellor Senior Lecturer at School of Education at RMIT University and researcher in the

Centre for Education, Training and Work in the Asian Century.

Barbara Chancellor is presenting –

A Century Defending the Child’s Right to Play: Beginnings of the playground movement in

Melbourne, Australia. www.malarkeyon.com.au

Is professionalism destroying the joy in this sector?

It’s just a question that I ask a lot these days. Lets talk about the pressure to be a professional in early childhood, what that even means, looks like and the risks of over doing it. How can we advocate for play, autonomy and risk if our educators cant model this behavior? How do we keep the Joy and remain Professional?

Aimed at: ECEC staff of all levels.

Kellie Johnson Child Australia, Indigenous programs,

Northern Territory

Kellie Johnson is presenting –

Professional (-ish) www.malarkeyon.com.au

This session is about recognising, understanding and managing children's difficult behaviours in the play-based learning environment with a  focus  on respecting the child's context while actively leading social learning from a position of mentorship, building a child-led community through puppetry, music, story-telling and non-oppositional tools which can be used with all age groups.

Participants will learn about the context and feelings behind challenging behaviours. When we change the way we frame children's behaviour, we can both manage it better and use these difficult behaviours as a tool to improve and broaden our own practice. Management strategies taught reflect the EYLF themes of 'Belonging' and play-based learning, both key precepts of ECE, and work to nurture children's social skills and sense of community.

Aimed at: Early childhood educators; Sessional kindergarten, Long day care, Family day care

Candy Lawrence AKA Aunt Annie

Author at ECE blog “Aunt Annie’s Childcare”

Candy Lawrence is presenting –

The smartarse is your best friend: challenging behaviour 101

www.malarkeyon.com.au

This presentation will explore why we need spaces beyond the traditional play spaces.  To ensure children and young people have access to the range of experiences they need in their neighbourhoods, we need to extend our approaches to planning and provision for play. 

Children and young people have different types of constraints affecting their play.  Greater restrictions on their ability to roam, lack of independent mobility, increased competition for parkland and open spaces are all factors changing the ways that unstructured outdoor play can be experienced.  Children living in homes where there is no outdoor space are often dependent on adults to take them to a park, restricting their outdoor time.  Focus on traditional play spaces often misses the importance of general unstructured play with balls and bikes, which equally require space.

Aimed at: Anyone and Everyone!

Cathy Kiss Senior Open Space Planner At Melbourne City Council

Cathy Kiss is presenting –

What makes a play space?  Different approaches to play provision

www.malarkeyon.com.au

The program will also include …

.: Marc Armitage UK trained Playworker and Renowned Children’s Play Consultant at Marc Armitage at Play / Malarkey

.: Ric McConaghy Award winning Australian playspace designer and former Board member of the International Play Association

.: Dr. June Factor Director at the Australian Children’s Folklore Collection at Museum Victoria and a Senior Fellow with the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne

.: Robyn Munro-Miller Chief Executive Officer at Network of Community Activities

.: Vicky Edwards UK trained Playworker and skills expert

.: Off-site visits including Parks and Adventure Playgrounds

.: Malarkey’s 2nd Birthday Bash

.: Giant Family/Public Pop-Up Playground

.: Resource Rescue Mobile Scrap Store

.: Screening of a Special Film

.: Plus some Surprises

www.malarkeyon.com.au/conference www.malarkeyon.com.au

For further information please visit

www.malarkeyon.com.au www.facebook.com/malarkeyplaywork

www.facebook/NaytionalPLAYandPLAYworkConference

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Email: conference@malarkeyon.com.au

Malarkey Pty. Ltd ABN: 45 167 067 781