By Paula Mangold

Anticipation was in the air as award-winning, special guest Alistair Bryce-Clegg launched the show with his opening speech. He welcomed visitors and professionals to the long-awaited Childcare and Education Expo alongside managing director, Emma Barrett. The ribbon was cut, and visitors flooded in beaming from ear to ear as they were greeted by Morton, the life-sized friendly teddy from Morton Michel.

It was all fun and games at our free interactive workshop area! Together we sang, danced and immersed ourselves into the vast knowledge of our expert speakers. On Friday, we learnt creative ways to embrace children’s calming strategies followed by children’s food expert, Annabel Karmel, who taught us how best to maximize delicious food nutrition for little bodies. To end off our fun-filled day, we gained knowledge into active learning strategies that will get you off your feet!

On Saturday, we learnt that music can be used to increase emotional wellbeing, everyday can be a song and dance with phase 1 phonics and science education for early years has an explosion of advantages to development.

We dove headfirst into Friday with our panel discussion on, ‘Challenging our Perspective on Education’ engaging on topics including the role of educators, how children learn, development of unique curriculums, the impact of childcare costs on disadvantaged children, promotion of British Values within education and preparing children for adulthood.

The day was inundated with expert knowledge whereby Alistair Bryce-Clegg kicked off our Friday seminar programme talking about the power of play for children and play as an essential of everyday life as a little one. Thereafter, we explored how to take leadership and authentic early years settings to the next level, how to implement your own curriculum, the intention of inspection and the key aspects of the EYFS reforms with Ofsted.

After a brilliant first day, Saturday didn’t fail to meet our expectations! The first panel discussion shared ideas on the impact of the new EYFS framework and navigation tips during this process. Our seminar speakers covered fascinating topics including play as a vital building block for development, the impact of the environment on the wellbeing and attainment of children, the value of nature pedagogy as well as developing literacy in early years.

The vibrant shopping village was a maze of over a 100 of the best suppliers in the industry. The vast array of exhibitors showcased their products to a tee with something new and exciting for everyone across early years and primary education. The floor showcased overwhelming opportunity for shopping, sourcing new suppliers, networking with associations, grabbing exclusive offers and even partaking in competitions.

‘A Magical Place to Play’ was a wonderland for children to fully utilize their imaginations. This magnificent feature area was designed and created by Wellingtons for Langley Hall Day Nursery and Langley Hall Primary using fairy-tale themes to encourage children’s learning during play. Colour was spread across our mindfulness zones as children and adults brought the jungle themed colouring wall to life as well as unique artistic designs in the rock painting area. These areas were constantly full of life and learning!

The sense of community throughout the expo was undeniable. It was a truly wonderful experience to unite with visitors, exhibitors and experts after two years due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It just goes to show that not even a world crisis can hinder the true sense of fellowship!

Childcare and Education Expo London 2022 has set the tone and raised the bar high for our upcoming future events. If you enjoyed your time with us in London then get ready for Childcare and Education Expo in North and the Midlands as we are ready for you! You can find the dates and register for these events on our website here.

We hope you had as much fun as we did!

Registration for Childcare & Education Expo North is officially open, click here to register for your FREE ticket.