After the coronavirus curve-ball that was thrown at us in 2020, Childcare & Education Expo has returned victoriously. Two years with no live events was tough and the lack of social interactions paired with ever-changing guidance and pressures has meant that it’s been equally as tough on the sector. Despite the nerves from being the first sector event to get out the door, we knew that there was a strong need for face-to-face interaction again – and boy didn’t it feel good to see it in person!

The 2-day event was kicked off by none other than the amazing founder of Childcare & Education Expo, Emma Barrett, with our longtime partner and Headline Sponsor for the past 11 years, Morton Michel. Gary Harrison, Contact Centre Manager at Morton Michel, cut the ribbon and opened the show after a lively introduction to the many visitors waiting to enter with anticipation. Inside, our exhibitors were eagerly waiting to showcase their products and services.

Alice Sharp, Managing Director of Adventures with Alice, kicked off the seminar programme with her talk ‘Changing Pedagogy, Changing Play’. Alice captured the audience’s attention with her creativity and passion – providing visitors with lots of fantastic ideas to take back to their settings. One visitor commented “she was wonderful and I’ve already started promoting lots of her ideas in our setting- well worth coming to see her!”.

It was great to see so many visitors enjoying themselves around the arena and making the most out of the free interactive workshops! Workshop speakers included

Anna Neville, Founder & CEO at Kidslingo Ltd, Rachel Davis, Founder at LaLa Tigers and Rubab Nasser, Primary School Teacher and Co-Founder at Young Mindfulness Ltd.

For the first time, the show welcomed three panel sessions including speakers such as Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive at NDNA, Professor Christine Pascal OBE, Director at the Centre for Research in Early Childhood, Sarah Mackenzie, Chief Strategy Officer at N Family Club, Michael Freeston, Director of Quality Improvement at Early Years Alliance and June O’Sullivan, CEO at The London Early Years Foundation – amongst many other passionate speakers.

Childcare & Education Expo also saw the return of our much-loved Mindfulness Rocks and Colouring Wall, where visitors released their creative side! A big hit for 2021 was the new Creative Steps Activity Zone where the crafts from Creative Steps Magazine were brought to life. Also new to the show was the Forest School feature area ran by Cambium Sustainable, which saw visitors getting their hands’ dirty with outdoor resources and activities – perfect for promoting the benefits of outdoor learning to childcare settings.

We were absolutely thrilled with the positive response we had from visitors and exhibitors this year. It was a joy to see so our exhibitors’ stands buzzing with people again.

Here are some wonderful testimonials our visitors have left:

“Love the Expo! Fun & friendly organisers. Always such a buzz on the day. Great place to network and keep up to date with companies, services & the sector in general. Exhibitors are always so passionate and welcoming. Has bought a lot of business and will be buying many products off the back of meeting these exhibitors in person. Overall, the Expo is just brilliant and I will attend every year. Thank you!!!”

“Each time I have attended I go away with new ideas to enhance on what we already provide which is great. Very inspired once again. Thankyou. 🌻💕”

And also from our lovely Exhibitors:

“If you are a first-time exhibitor like Noun Nation! I’d definitely recommend this Expo. Do make sure you speak to the organisers before your expo date(s) – they were very helpful and gave us lots of practical, step-by-step advice. They are all easy to talk to and professional. During the expo, reps came to see how we were doing and were always on hand for any questions we had on the day too. I was also impressed with the venue itself. Loading and off-loading our goods was very orderly. An all-round great first-time Expo experience for us. Highly recommended!”

“It’s a great place to meet other members of the early education industry. As a small business, it not only gave me access to my immediate target market but also offered a lot of learning opportunities through meeting other businesses and attending the workshops & seminars.”

Dates for your diary:

Childcare & Education Expo London: 4^th & 5^th March 2022

Childcare & Education Expo North: 17^th & 18^th June 2022

Childcare & Education Expo Midlands: 23^rd & 24^th September 2022

Also don’t forget we are holding a Virtual Summit on the 27^th November 2021 – keep your eyes pealed for more information on this, which can be found here.

Written by Aggie Pounds