Dr Mine Conkbayir

Making Sense of Our Eight Senses – What’s Self-regulation Got to Do With It?

In her introduction to this online event, Mine will briefly revisit the eight senses and emphasise their fundamental importance in developing self-regulation and learning ability. She will address the detrimental effect on children’s development and learning which stems from the failure of the education system to recognise the role of sensory integration in children’s holistic wellbeing and learning.

Mine Conkbayir, Doctor of Philosophy, specialises in neuroscience. An award-winning author, lecturer, trainer and researcher, she has worked in early childhood education and care, for over 20 years. Mine is passionate about bridging the knowledge gap between neuroscience and Early Years. She designed the new Cache Neuroscience in Early Years qualifications and accompanying textbooks as part of this endeavour and her latest award-winning book, Early Childhood and Neuroscience: Theory, Research and Implications for Practice, is now in its second edition.

She is the winner of the Nursery Management Today Top 5 Most Inspirational People in Childcare Award. She is the founder of the award-winning Cache Endorsed Learning Programme, Applying Neuroscience to Early Intervention and the two times award-winning online training programme, Self-regulation in Early Years. She is the designer of the two times award-winning free self-regulation app, the Keep Your Cool Toolbox and has contributed to the development of the Birth to Five Matters non-statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage, on the subject of self-regulation. Trained in trauma-informed approaches, Mine regularly delivers training on behalf of local authorities and fostering organisations, as well as various Early Years providers in achieving trauma-informed care. Mine is a frequent main stage speaker and has spoken at the Ofsted Big Conversation events, as well as hosting three sold-out Funzing lectures and Q&A on the subject of adverse childhood experiences and the long-term impact of trauma.

Charlotte Davies

Checking the Obvious – Enabling Motor-sensory Integration

In her session, Charlotte will examine how and when motor-sensory integration unfolds in a “typically” developing child and how to best support the process in school and at home. She will also outline the consequences of not supporting ‘’good’’ holistic development.

Charlotte is a Senior Educationist and has worked in Education for over 30 years. She is also a Tomatis sound therapist and Founder and Director of Fit-2-Learn CIC – a disruptive social enterprise that seeks to empower everyone with the skills to learn efficiently.

Charlotte trains other professionals in how sound therapy works with the whole body, firmly believing that sound processing and voice production in all forms should be central to our education system, precede reading and writing instruction – and go on throughout education. As Charlotte states: management of voice and sound is important for good cognitive skills and mental health.

Charlotte is the prize winner of the Tomatis Convention (2016) and featured as the keynote speaker at the Tomatis Convention in Poland (2018).

She has co-authored a book on motor skills development with her fellow directors and lobbies for a proper National Curriculum in PE that would properly support the kinetic chain of children’s development.

Charlotte works with children and adults from all backgrounds, including the arts and sport, in order to resolve issues that block access to calm behaviour and learning.

Watch Charlotte’s TED Talk on Saving our Children by Checking the Obvious

Watch Charlotte’s Youtube video on Motor Sensory Integration

Watch Charlotte’s Youtube video on Sound Processing

Sharon Skade

Opportunity for Change – the Ripple Effect of One Small Change

The focus of this session will be the importance of movement and re-visiting movement that children may have missed in their infancy, such as tummy time and the lack of use of cot mobiles. This will include the impact that this absence has on children’s access to activities and how they consequently create scenarios to avoid the experiences they struggle with. These issues will be connected to difficulties in executive functioning, with simple strategies to overcome these challenges.

With a background in sports coaching, devising and delivering physical activity programmes for families in Stockport, Sharon became aware of a gap in the provision within nurseries and Children’s Centres regarding the awareness of the important role and positive impact of Physical Development in all areas of a child’s learning and development.

In order to understand more fully the theories involved in child development, to complement her coaching qualifications, Sharon completed a BA Degree in Childhood Studies passing with First Class Honours.

This has enabled Sharon to design appropriate bespoke training and development opportunities for a multi-agency early years workforce, which has been featured in Nursery World as a model which can be replicated and has shown great impact.

Sharon is passionate about changing lives through physically active play and inspires colleagues across Greater Manchester with her interactive Early Years physical activity training sessions and CPD opportunities.

Sharon’s vision is to have Physical Development Champions in all Early Years environments, creating opportunities for children to choose to be physically active and empowering practitioners to promote physical development and understand how it is the bedrock of all learning.