CALLING ON CHILDMINDERS IN COUNTY DOWN TO REGISTER FOR ‘BIG COOK, LITTLE COOK’ CONFERENCE!
Open Invite to NICMA Annual Conference for Northern Ireland Childminders.
Childminders from County Down are being invited to attend the free Northern Ireland Childminding Association (NICMA) Annual Conference onxa0Saturday 29th Septemberxa0in the Armagh City Hotel. This year’s theme is ‘Big Cook, Little Cook: Healthy Active Lifestyles’ and celebrity chef Jenny Bristow has been unveiled as one of the star attractions.
The conference will provide an opportunity for childminders to find out more about speech and language development, nutrition for childhood development, cyber safety and outdoor play.
PHA are delighted to be working in partnership with NICMA to encourage and support childminders in providing healthy and nutritious food to the children in their care. NICMA CEO, Patricia Lewsley-Mooney CBE, says:
“The theme of this year’s conference concentrates on healthy eating and tackling obesity. These are real issues for society and one of the most effective ways that we can address them is to increase understanding and awareness of diet.
“Earlier this year, we saw the introduction of the ‘sugar tax’ and yes, that is one measure that will influence consumer behaviour, but there are still a lot of misconceptions around the types of foods that are good for us to eat.
“As childminders interact with children and young people on a daily basis it is really important to equip them with the right information about healthy eating so they can prepare nutritional food for children in their care. Understanding how to create a balanced diet is critical to a child’s development and will support the goal of tackling obesity.”
The Big Cook, Little Cook Conference, which is financially supported by NICMA, The Public Health Agency and the Health & Social Care Board opens with a talk from the Public Health Agency. This will enable the sharing of best practice.
Fromxa010.30am to 11.30am, and fromxa012 noon to 1.00pm, delegates will be treated to cookery demonstrations by celebrity chef and author Jenny Bristow. Jenny will show how simple ingredients can be combined to create tasty nutritional meals and snacks.
Jenny added: “Very often meal times can become a pressurised environment. When you are rushing to make something quickly so that you can make the next school pick-up or trying to feed a child before they go to an activity, time is of the essence.
“During the demonstration I’ll be showing delegates how they can integrate healthy eating into their daily routine. Using simple ingredients, you can make quick, nutritional meals or snacks that are filling, tasty and cost effective.”
In the afternoon, a series of workshops will be held exploring various child development related issues. Workshop places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
To register your attendance at the Big Cook, Little Cook Conference, please visitxa0www.nicma.orgxa0and complete an on-line booking form and return to NICMA as soon as possible.
The conference programme presents an action-packed day of speaker presentations and workshops.
Morning Session
9.15am – 10.00amxa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 Registration
10.00am – 10.15amxa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 Welcome and Official Opening
10.15am – 10.30amxa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 Keynote Address – Public Health Agency
10.30am – 11.30amxa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 Cookery Demonstration – Jenny Bristow
11.30am – 12.00pmxa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 View Information Stands
12.00pm – 1.00pmxa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 Cookery Demonstration – Jenny Bristow
1.00pm – 2.15pmxa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 Lunch
2.15pm – 3.45pmxa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 Workshops
Afternoon Session
Workshop: Let’s Get Talking
At this workshop delegates will have a better understanding of:
*xa0 speech and language difficulties
*xa0 the prevalence and incidence of developmental speech and language difficulties
*xa0 the impact of speech and language difficulties
*xa0 key messages for encouraging speech and language development
*xa0 where to go to for more information
Workshop: Importance of Good Nutrition for Childhood Development
Healthy eating and physical activity are essential for growth and development in childhood. Thisxa0workshop will focus on the following topics:
*xa0 Eat well guide
*xa0 Portion sizes
*xa0 Drinks and snacks
xa0Workshop: Cyber Safety for Parents and Carers
Protecting children in the online world can seem daunting. It is a fast paced, ever changing environment,xa0how are we meant to keep up with the risks that today’s children are exposed to? Should we discouragexa0children from the online world? How do we protect the children in our care? And is it all bad news? Atxa0this workshop we will guide you through these questions.
Workshop: Outdoor Play
This interactive workshop will explore methods for engaging children in play activities. Participants willxa0gain a better understanding of the need for play, to be creative and inclusive when planning, designingxa0and implementing play spaces.
*xa0 Importance of play
*xa0 The play space
*xa0 Resources and activities
*xa0 Managing risk in play.
