Our NDNA Conference Leadership Stream is packed with guidance and support for leaders and managers in early years.
Join us at the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool on Friday 6th June for:
- An opportunity to meet face to face, share experiences and ideas, support and reassure each other.
- A varied line up of speakers offering delegates opportunities to be informed, inspired and improve practice in their setting.
- Exhibitors, special offers and more!
Our conference is open to all managers and leaders. Practitioners can also join our face to face event for a reduced price!
Your speakers and hosts:
Matilda Martin
Matilda Martin is a Political Reporter at PoliticsHome with a specialism in education. Before joining PoliticsHome, Matilda was a Senior Reporter at Tes (Times Educational Supplement) magazine.
She has written many early years features, covering NDNA’s research and is familiar with the sector’s challenges.
Stephen Morgan MP, Minister for Early Education
Hear an update from Stephen Morgan MP, Minister for Early Education, on the UK Government’s priorities for early education and care.
More about Stephen:
Stephen Morgan, first Labour MP for Portsmouth South, studied at local schools and was the first in his family to go to university. He has worked in local government and was CEO of a charity supporting rough sleepers, carers and young people. He became Minister for Early Education in July having previously served as Shadow Minster for Schools.
Courteney Donaldson, Managing Director of Childcare & Education Sectors, Christie & Co and NDNA Co-opted Trustee
As Managing Director of Childcare & Education Sectors at Christie & Co, Courteney has a vast range of expertise in the childcare and education sectors. Courteney has specialised in the nursery sector since 1999, providing valuation, transactional and consultative advice to operators, banks and investors. Working with owners of single settings, regional and national nursery groups across the UK and internationally, Courteney has a unique insight into current trends across the global childcare markets, including levels of demand and sustainability. While Courteney is regarded as the ‘go-to’ authority for business property-related matters in the nursery sector, Courteney also advises on other child-centric businesses including independent schools, SEN residential and day schools, children’s homes and foster care businesses.
As part of the Business Panel, Courteney has worked with thousands of nursery businesses and understands how the most successful nursery businesses operate.
Tim Taylor, Head of Growth and Revenue, eyworks Limited
After joining eyworks as a member of the Sales Team in February 2016, I have progressed within the business to the position of Head of Growth where I am responsible for overseeing our marketing, sales and customer success operations. Having attended numerous Early Years events over the years, including the NDNA Conference on several occasions, I have been lucky to meet and build strong relationships with a range of providers and suppliers, giving me a great insight into how the sector operates and evolves, which helps me identify where our software can support the sector with continued growth. With 2 fantastic children under the age of 5 I also have a very small sample size of what you go through day in day out!
On the Business Panel, Tim will contribute his expertise around nursery management systems to enhance communication with parents and ensure invoices are compliant with updated guidance.
Andrew Manners, Solicitor and Head of Regulatory Investigations, Morgan LaRoche
Andrew Manners is a solicitor and Director with Morgan LaRoche, with over 25 years’ experience specialising in representing clients in the early years and health & social care sectors. His practice includes challenging local authorities in disputes concerning funding agreements as well as inspection challenges and defending enforcement action by Ofsted and CIW and other agencies.
Morgan LaRoche solicitors has an established track record in the early years sector supporting providers with a full-service offering including compliance & enforcement, dispute resolution, corporate re-structuring and property acquisition & sales.
On the Business Panel, Andrew will share his expertise around legal matters impacting early years providers.
Nicola Fleury, Founding Director of Kidzrus Nursery Group
Kidzrus Nursery group consists of five award winning settings across Salford. Nicola is passionate to teach and nurture children and provide quality childcare whilst supporting parents and empowering our growing team.
The founding director of a nursery group and joining out business panel, Nicola will speak about nursery sustainability, quality provision, supporting parents and empowering her team.
Jonathan Broadbery, Director of Policy and Communications, NDNA
Jonathan is responsible for NDNA’s UK-wide policy and engagement work, bringing the voice and experience of early years providers to key decision makers. He works with members, strategic Government contacts, policy advisers and the media to promote policies which support high quality early years education and care. His background is in national and local government, delivering real change through lobbying, engagement and media work.
Professor Dr. Ger Graus OBE
Building on his experience as an advisor to the Fondazione Reggio Children, Prof Dr. Graus will cover:
- “Children can only aspire to what they know exists” – aspiration from an early age
- “We don’t know our children well enough” – personalisation, insights and data
- More than a school – how community and family provision is essential, not just desirable
- “The environment is the third teacher” – not every classroom has four walls
- Measuring what we value. A new accountability for a new age.
More about Ger:
Professor Dr Ger Graus OBE is a renowned figure in the field of education – once described as “Jean-Jacques Rousseau meets Willy Wonka”. He was the first Global Director of Education at KidZania and the founding CEO of the Children’s University. In 2019, Ger became a Visiting Professor at the National Research University in Moscow, Russia. He is also a Professor of Practice at the University of Cumbria, United Kingdom, and a Member of the PhD Advisory Council at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. Ger is a frequent keynote speaker at some of the world’s leading education conferences. Driven by his famous mantra that “Children can only aspire to what they know exists”, Ger champions the cause of equity, progress, purpose, creativity, and innovation in children’s learning.
Darren Edwards – Adaptive Expeditions
Darren Edwards is one of the world’s leading Adaptive Adventurers and has broken barriers across the globe. In his keynote, Darren will share his story of overcoming a near-fatal and life-changing accident and how practitioners within the early-years sector can harness the mindset which has allowed him to redefine ‘impossible’ and achieve several World Records despite his disability. Whether you’re a leader within a business, and/or part of a team, Darren will provide the audience with key takeaways about leadership, teamwork, and resilience.
More about Darren:
After a time in the armed forces, and pursuing his mountaineering passion, Darren trained as a teacher. Shortly after qualifying, he was climbing in North Wales when the ledge he stood on fell away, and he plunged over 100 feet. Lucky to survive, he broke his back in two places, severing his spinal cord. Darren was paralysed from the chest down. As well as dealing with the trauma of his new circumstances, he faced a gruelling rehabilitation regime and an uncertain future.
Within days of leaving hospital, Darren found purpose. Determined to return to his outdoor adventures, he bought a kayak and took to the water for the first time. It was the start of a series of adventures that saw him kayak the length of Britain with fellow ex-servicemen and become the first wheelchair user to complete the 777 challenge – seven marathons on seven continents over seven days. Later this year, he will sit-ski across Antarctica to the South Pole.
Laura Earnshaw, CEO and Founder of myHappymind
This session explores practical strategies for nurturing staff well-being in nursery environments, with a focus on creating a supportive and mentally healthy workplace culture. In this session, you’ll gain insights into emotional regulation and science-backed tools that promote resilience and well-being among your team. Additionally, you’ll discover how engaging parents and understanding children’s needs contribute to a thriving, balanced nursery environment. You’ll learn how your team can use myHappymind’s research-backed approach to build a culture where staff feel valued, supported, and equipped to lead with confidence.
More about Laura:
Laura Earnshaw is the founder and CEO of myHappymind, an organisation committed to delivering preventative mental health education to children, parents, and teachers across nurseries, schools, and homes. Her programmes, myHappymind and myMindcoach, have significantly impacted hundreds of thousands of children in the UK and beyond across 2000+ settings. Before establishing myHappymind, Laura spent 15 years in senior strategic HR roles within FTSE 100 companies, including Accenture, AstraZeneca, and PwC, where she served as the Global Head of Talent and Development.
In 2020, Laura released her first book, My Happy Mind, which soon became a best seller. The Book explores the science and methodologies behind her programs, empowering families to cultivate positive and sustainable habits. Laura is also a trustee on the board of the Mental Health Foundation, reflecting her commitment to integrating preventative mental health into mainstream conversations. Laura is a Mum to 2 and lives in Cheshire.
Professor Liane Azevedo and Dr Amy Hughes, Sheffield Hallam University
There is limited information regarding the effects of mobile devices on young children’s health and development. Current health guidelines do not give clear advice for educators and parents on how young children should use these devices.
In this presentation, we will share insights from the existing evidence on this topic. We will also present our own research, including our recent project, the iKids study, which is a comprehensive study aimed at investigating the impact of mobile devices on young children’s development.
More about Liane:
Professor Azevedo has conducted many studies on the movement behaviour of children and young people. She is especially interested in how using interactive electronic devices at a young age can affect children’s development and long-term health and well-being.
More about Amy:
Dr Amy Hughes is the trial manager of the iKids study, which aims to understand how tablets and smartphones affect the development of young children.
Explore the iKids study Facebook page and X/Twitter page.
Your chance to get your questions answered by Ofsted
Hear a short update from Wendy Ratcliff and Caroline Hearn from Ofsted, then you will have your chance to ask the Early Years team your questions.
More about Wendy:
Wendy Ratcliff is one of His Majesty’s Inspectors and Principal Officer for Early Education Policy at Ofsted. Originally qualified as an early years practitioner, Wendy has extensive experience of inspection and regulation across a full range of early years provisions, including schools. Her role as Principal Officer for early education is focused on Ofsted’s ‘Best start in life’ strategic priority and the inspection of early education curriculum, including through the education inspection framework (EIF) and any changes for the future.
More about Caroline:
Caroline Hearn is a Specialist Adviser for Ofsted’s early years regulatory policy. She works closely with the department for education on early years policy development and has 25 years’ experience of inspecting early years provision.
Looking for our virtual practice stream?
We are excited to share that we have reviewed our agenda and have decided to launch our virtual practice stream workshops. Our practice stream will be available virtually to better suit the needs and access of practitioners throughout the week. Join all workshops for only £25 (incl.VAT) per setting, enabling all your practitioners to improve their practice throughout NDNA Conference week. If you purchase a leadership ticket to our in-person conference, your setting will automatically receive access to our virtual practice stream workshops. Information and joining instructions will be sent beforehand.
Visit our virtual practice stream
