We’re excited to welcome back our Virtual Conference stream for 2026. Online, accessible and practical for early years professionals and practitioners everywhere.
Here are your Virtual Conference stream speakers for 2026.
Your sessions:
Clare Stead – teacher, researcher, and creator of Oliiki Baby Brain Building
The first 1,000 days of life the time from conception to age two, are the most powerful window for brain development. What babies experience in these earliest days shapes their learning, relationships, and well-being for years to come.
In this thought-provoking session, Clare Stead (teacher, researcher, and creator of Oliiki Baby Brain Building) will show why the tiniest routines like feeding, nappy changing, settling, and play are not “just care,” but the very building blocks of learning. You’ll discover how leadership, culture, and simple changes in daily practice can transform your baby room, boost staff confidence, and help babies thrive.
You’ll leave with fresh insights, practical strategies, and a renewed sense of the extraordinary difference you and your team can make in those first 1,000 days.
More about Clare
Clare Stead is an education researcher, e-learning specialist, and the founder of Oliiki, an early years platform focused on the first 1,000 days of life. With over 25 years’ experience across education systems on three continents, Clare works with nurseries to embed consistent, developmentally informed practice in baby rooms, linking everyday interactions to long-term outcomes.
Mr Mc (Dan McFarland)
If indoor provision is starting to feel like a never-ending cycle of “set it up, watch it get trashed, reset it again”… this session is for you. We’ll look at how to get your continuous provision working properly for 3–5-year-olds without the pressure to over-theme, over-enhance or stick a “challenge” in every area.
Rooted in the EYFS and guided by Development Matters (2021), I’ll share practical ways to set up open-ended, purposeful areas that children actually want to use, plus how to develop them across the year so you’re not reinventing the wheel every week. We’ll also zoom in on the adult role in different areas, so you can find that sweet spot between adult-led input and meaningful interaction in provision (without hijacking play).
You’ll leave with simple, doable ideas you can apply straight away to make provision calmer, richer and far more manageable.
More about Dan
Dan McFarland is an experienced, innovative educator with 14+ years in early years and primary teaching. From Ballycastle, Northern Ireland, he has led EYFS teams in Leicester, developed curriculum from Nursery to Year 1, and supported schools across the UK and internationally to strengthen practice and provision. A 2019 finalist for Leicester City Inspirational Teacher of the Year, Dan is known for inclusive environments where children thrive with confidence, curiosity and resilience. Creator of Flying with Phonics, he delivers keynotes and training worldwide on pedagogy, provision, outdoor learning, phonics, leadership and teacher well-being through On Track with Mr Mc online.
Maths on a shoestring for all ages
Is cost an influential factor in deciding what opportunities and experiences to offer children in your setting?
In this session, Gill and Paula will inspire you to look at everyday activities and experiences through a maths lens, sharing high quality, practical, and low-cost ideas you can use to support children’s mathematical development.
For this session you will need:
- 5 lollipop sticks or twigs
- Piece of paper and a pen
- A free, found or recycled item that can be repurposed for use in your setting
More about Gill and Paula
Gill and Paula are NDNA Early Years Advisers who lead on the delivery of our evidence-based Maths Champions programme. They have a passion for maths and empowering practitioners to be confident in supporting children’s maths learning.
Kate Bird – Literacy Trust
In this session, Kate will cover:
- How rhythm and rhyme support early language development through pattern prediction and memory
- The power of spoken word and performance poetry to engage reluctant readers and writers
- How playful language encourages experimentation which builds confidence in reading and writing
- The role of poetry in supporting emotional expression and well-being for children and adults.
More about Kate
Kate Bird is a Senior Project Manager in the Early Years team at the National Literacy Trust, managing delivery of the charity’s First Words Together, Early Words Together and Early Words with Childminders programmes in London and the South East of England. Formerly a secondary English teacher, Kate began working in the Early Years sector when her own children were very young and is passionate about the vital role that the early years play in shaping children’s long-term outcomes.
