PETERBOROUGH, ON (April 3, 2023) – They are the early learning professionals who care for young children, and now a 30+ year Peterborough tradition is returning to offer support and nurturing for these essential caregivers.
The Inspiring Early Learning Conference is set for April with a series of professional development and learning opportunities for Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) in the Peterborough region. While some of the events will be virtual, what’s inspiring for conference organizers is the return of some in-person activities for the first time since 2019.
“We had to cancel the entire conference three years ago due to the emergence of COVID-19, and have been limited to virtual events over the past two years,” says Ellen Mortlock, a conference organizer and Quality Coordinator with the Investing in Quality (IIQ) Program based at Five Counties Children’s Centre in Peterborough. “After so many pandemic disruptions, it’s nice to be making face-to-face connections again to support our early learning community.”
Approximately 150 RECEs from across Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes and environs will take part in the various events that make up this year’s Inspiring Early Learning Conference. The conference – held annually since its inception in the early 1990s – is being organized by a community committee of educators with support from the IIQ Peterborough Program at Five Counties, the City of Peterborough, and the Early Learning Quality Initiative serving the City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County.
The conference kicks off with a virtual event on Tuesday (April 4) featuring keynote speaker Dr. Michael Ungar, a researcher in the field of social and psychological resilience and the founder and Director of the Research Centre at Dalhousie University. His session will focus on ‘Helping Those Who Help: Nurturing and Maintaining Your Resilience,’ a fitting subject given the ongoing challenges facing the early childhood community, say conference organizers.
“We talk about children needing to be resilient, but it’s just as important for registered early childhood educators, providers and everyone working in early learning and care,” notes Mortlock. “Many educators are stressed, burned out and feel very underappreciated even though the work they do is incredibly important for caring and nurturing the next generation of leaders.”
Studies show that effective early childhood programs lead to future academic success well beyond the early years, yet there is a hesitancy to recognize this fact, adds Beckie Evans, a conference organizer who also works with Mortlock as a Quality Coordinator at Five Counties.
“Unfortunately, we don’t realize the valuable and important services provided every day by registered early childhood educators,” she notes. “Investing in quality childcare pays for itself, yet there is still reluctance to offer living wages, benefits, and pensions that early learning professionals deserve.”
The Inspiring Early Learning Conference will feature two more virtual professional development opportunities for early childhood educators in mid-April. Both sessions – one on sustainable development goals and the other on supporting outdoor play – will be recorded and available to early childhood educators who cannot attend the sessions.
The conference wraps up with an in-person event on April 29 at Fleming College in Peterborough. It will include breakfast, a vendors’ fair, networking time, and breakout learning sessions on trauma informed care, sensory games/activities for pre-schoolers, and art therapy. This event is something for which Mortlock, Evans and other event organizers are especially enthusiastic.
“The whole month is about celebrating and supporting everyone in the early learning profession, but being able to gather together to show that camaraderie in-person will be especially satisfying after such a long-time part,” Mortlock adds.