Halton Region’s system of support for children with special needs attending child care includes access to professional supports such as resource consultants, speech and language pathologists and occupational therapists as well as enhanced support funding.
Join our resource consultants from Halton Region, Community Living North Halton and Community Living Burlington to learn more about special needs resourcing in Halton, ask questions or share an inclusion experience.
Hope to see you there!

 

 

Employers today are facing a crisis of confidence amongst their employees resulting in higher resignations, staffing shortages, and «quiet quitting». 44% of employees today, for example, say they currently experience «a lot» of stress versus the previous day with 25% saying they felt worried, angry, or sad. People simply can`t work at their best if they don`t feel safe. Employers are thus increasingly seeking to leverage health and wellness initiatives to navigate change and uncertainty in their workplaces.

In this presentation, Drew Dudley offers audiences several simple yet transformative leadership strategies for embedding self-care strategies and cultivating resilience and psychological safety into their daily routines. Through powerful stories that recognize the difficult parts of life and work with humour and compassion, audiences will discover how to close the gap between the person they are and the person they want to be without compromising their happiness, fulfillment, or work-life balance.

This presentation is a great addition to your agenda if you believe your audience could benefit from a reminder that they are not alone in their frustrations and fears and that taking care of themselves is an essential part of feeling engaged and connected every day.

 

 

Halton Region’s system of support for children with special needs attending child care includes access to professional supports such as resource consultants, speech and language pathologists and occupational therapists as well as enhanced support funding.
Join our resource consultants from Halton Region, Community Living North Halton and Community Living Burlington to learn more about special needs resourcing in Halton, ask questions or share an inclusion experience.
Hope to see you there!

 

Embark on a journey to promote Psychological Safety for children, families, and colleagues within your workspace, rooted in principles of equity and inclusion. Explore the interplay between inclusion and psychological safety, shaping a comprehensive growth environment for children and colleagues

• Understand the foundations of psychologically safe

• Explore the significance of Inclusion in building Psychological Safety

• Recognize the signs of safe working cultures

• Uncover the impact that your actions and communication style have on the establishment of psychological safety

Supporting Educator's emotional and mental health is essential but it can only be done when educators know the signs of burnout and how to advocate for what they need. In this session, educators will learn:

How to spot the signs of burnout

How burnout impacts an educator’s work

The difference between self-care and self-nourishing strategies

How effective communication and boundaries can combat burnout

How to advocate for a positive work environment

Recent reports have shown «65% of North Americans have received no recognition or appreciation at their workplace in the past year». Typically, we believe this is solely in the hands of our managers and supervisors - what if we told you that building a culture and community of appreciation is everyone's responsibility? In addition, understanding how YOU would like to be appreciated is also an essential element we often need to remember.

Through Dr. Gary Chapman's famous «The 5 Love Languages» theory, Anisha will introduce you to a new way to approach team appreciation and what it means to build a culture and community around appreciation in your role as an ece professional. After this experience, you will leave with tangible tips and steps to being a part of a community and workplace that truly appreciates one another. Because when you and your ECE team are happy and feel appreciated, children thrive.

There is no doubt that we are living in complex times. Global warming, extreme poverty, social injustice, racism and a growing mental health crisis are just a few of the issues we face as human beings living in the 21st century. As early childhood professionals, how do we find a sense of hopefulness for ourselves and for children? How might we reimagine how we live and work in early learning classrooms in response to the world we live in? In this session, we will draw on real classroom stories and examine how early childhood educators all over are reshaping their practice in the name of creating more caring connected and just societies.

«Indigenous Perspectives of Early Childhood Education for Educators» is a workshop tailored for early childhood educators. It delves into the historical influence of colonization on education, urging educators to shift their perceptions and embrace cultural sensitivity. The workshop emphasizes the analysis of power dynamics in the classroom, promoting a shift from inclusion to active involvement. It highlights the importance of building a sense of community and connection, drawing inspiration from the land as the first teacher. Participants are also guided on creating their teaching bundles, making it an essential resource for early childhood educators striving to provide culturally respectful and enriching educational experiences.

«Today’s employees are known for their job-hopping tendencies, which are often the result of inadequate career development opportunities (TalentLMS).»
Employee training and career growth are closely intertwined and should be core to every quality Early Learning program. How do we ensure we are providing the highest quality to not only our children and families, but also to our internal customers; our educators? This training will walk you through the essentials of implementing an Equitable Early Learning Training Program (our Speciality) that will boost overall quality from intentional to impactful!

This interactive session will allow participants to embark on their journey of understanding Autism. Facilitators will challenge beliefs about Autism by introducing participants to common features and possible strengths of Autistic persons. Understanding and recognizing the varying needs and strengths of Autistic persons will empower participants to adapt their approach ensuring inclusivity. Understanding is just the start of the journey, and this training will plant the seed for further learning.

Les milieux de vie influencent notre perception et nos pensées, façonnent notre comportement, et affectent énormément la qualité de nos vies. L'environnement travaille soit pour nous ou contre nous et conditionne notre fonctionnement dans notre vie de tous les jours. La conférence Des lieux bien à eux proposent des méthodes pour utiliser l’environnement de façon créative, imaginative et chaleureuse, afin que les expériences de jeu des jeunes enfants soient enrichissantes et significatives.

Organizations are realizing that one of the most important qualities of a leader is integrity. What does this mean? Staff are more likely to stay if they are led by someone who exhibits integrity. This quality must be an integral part of your leadership team and prospective talent. Participants will:

• Gain an understanding of integrity and how it looks in the workplace

• Explore strategies for leaders that will exude integrity to your team

• Methods on how to ensure integrity is sustainable in toxic environments

As our communities and workplaces become more and more diverse, learning how to respond to difference and conflict in a way that is rooted in accountability, respect for all, and rooted in an awareness of power dynamics is a critical practice to hone, for leaders, teams, and communities.
In this engaging session, participants will be introduced to the concept of conflict transformation, an approach to conflict that builds the capacity of groups to respond to conflict in a way that centres equitable relationships, promotes harmony, facilitates healing, and often addresses systemic causes that contributed to the conflict at its core.
Together we`ll make the connection between the fact that a team that has the capacity to transform conflict internally can also effectively transform conflict with community partners, parents and caregivers, as well as children.

The Halton Early Years Mental Health Committee (EYMHC) is a cross-sector collaboration of service providers who work with infants/young children and their families. It's a pleasure to be back again this year to present this workshop titled: «A Discussion of Mental Health in Early Childhood Settings». We are hoping to draw new participants this year to hear our content. As a result of Covid-19, research is showing that there has been a significant rise in the reporting of mental health symptoms in many caregivers and a rising concern about children’s mental health. The role you play, as early childhood professionals, for children is pivotal in promoting the mental health and well-being of all young children and their families. A child′s well-being and healthy brain development is contingent upon infants and young children having healthy relationships with their caregivers. The workshop will also reference where to find the Halton Early Years Mental Health Toolkit itself; and highlight the many resources which can help promote ongoing professional development.

RECEs play an important role in promoting and monitoring child development and can help identify concerns early through developmental monitoring. Early identification of developmental concerns supports early referral to intervention services. This can significantly improve outcomes for children.

This workshop will:

- Introduce simple tools to monitor children’s development

- Outline how to incorporate developmental temperature taking in your setting

- Discuss strategies to share concerns with parents.

Cet atelier débutera avec un bref survole du jeu amorcé par l’enfant pour ensuite explorer les aires de jeu à l’extérieur, tout en faisant des liens avec le document Comment apprend-on? L’animateur partagera quelques projets de jeu à l’extérieur dans lesquels il est impliqué qui touche au jeu d’aventure et les aires de jeu naturelles. Nous discuterons le rôle de l’enfant dans la co-création de l’aire de jeu et comment ceci nourri leur sentiment d’appartenance. Les participant.e.s seront encouragé.e.s à partager les détails de leurs aires de jeu et comment elles pourraient être aménagées différemment.

In this interactive, energizing workshop, participants will be introduced to the concept of “The Line,” a simple concept that separates our behaviour when we’re at our best and when we’re struggling. They will learn:

● How the brain reacts to threats like change and conflict

● The impact on those we work with and educate when we are below the line

● Actionable strategies for shifting ourselves and others to above the line.

● Strategies will be tailored to your needs, but may include 2-3 of:

○ Shifting from fixed to growth mindset

○ Shifting from empathy to compassionate coaching

○ Shifting your story and assumptions in conflict ○ Reframing “negative” emotions or emotionally charged situations

○ Shifting from resisting to supporting change

○ Shifting from fear-based leadership to psychologically safe and inclusive leadership At the end of the session, participants will:

● Feel inspired to recognize when they are feeling like a victim of circumstances.

● Realize how being “below the line” impacts their wellbeing and the culture of belonging.

● Be empowered to cultivate awesomeness for themselves and those they work with.

● Commit to a new habit related to The Line, that they can activate immediately

Nikki Sanchez is an award winning author of Spirits of the Coast- an anthology of the coastal resident orca whale. Through the lens and lesson of the Orca whale she shares her insights on the multitude of ways the process of colonization irrevocably changed the lives of both the Coastal Resident Orcas and Indigenous peoples of the coast. Over a hundred years later, we are still experiencing those impacts and developing emergent strategies to survive and thrive. Nikki shares the lessons learned from looking at the story of colonization from the Orcas perspective.

Members of the LGBTQ + community fear being categorised or pathologized whenever they seek clinical care. Therapists and mental health professionals sometimes report become fearful of working therapeutically with LGBTQ+ clients in case they’re accused of practising conversion therapy. The result is LGBTQ+ people don’t then get the care they need and deserve. We will explore practising affirming care while being open to working with clients mental- health challenges.

Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) integrates neuroscience, developmental psychology, and trauma-informed care to support children and youth who have experienced trauma. Participants will become familiar with core NMT principles, «The Sequence of Engagement» and the «6 R′s», which emphasizes the importance of understanding brain development and the impact of trauma on children's neurodevelopment. NMT′s approach will build a strong foundation of regulation, relationships, and routines, which promotes resiliency in children.

Learning objectives: Participants will enhance their understanding of professionalism in the context of a regulated profession and discuss aspects of leadership in early childhood education.
This presentation takes a closer look at the concepts of professionalism and leadership in early childhood education in Ontario. Topics include ethical and professional standards, using professional judgement, continuous professional learning, and accountability for professional practice.

This transformative session explores the powerful role of collaboration as anti-racist practice. Participants will engage in discussions and activities that underscore the importance of self-awareness, specifically in recognizing personal biases and preconceptions. We will also delve into the art of initiating collaboration effectively, while demonstrating how to preserve trust and facilitate healthy communication throughout conflict resolution processes. The aim is to empower attendees with practical tools for creating and fostering equitable social dynamics in their respective fields. This session seeks to unlock participants' potential to drive change and build a more inclusive space in the areas of child welfare, family support and community development, through collaboration.

In this session, we will reflect on the meaning of belonging and disability. Natalie Royer will give an overview of the importance of belonging in the classroom and Dr. Kathryn Underwood will give educators an overview of inclusion and disability and will be on-hand to answer any questions on how to create inclusion within your classroom and in your practice. Come with your questions for this informative session!