Early Years Network Annual Conference, June 2013: Holding the parent in mind so they can hold the child in mind

Transcription

1 Early Years Network Annual Conference, June 2013: Holding the parent in mind so they can hold the child in mind Summary evaluation report Background The latest NHS Health Scotland Early Years Network Annual Conference took place on Wednesday 19 June The conference aimed to provide a forum for sharing practice and lessons around the early years agenda bringing together 380 people on the day at the Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow. A further 180 participating via webcast were able to view the main speakers and discussion live and submit questions. The Conference provided an opportunity for those interested in the Early Years to share experiences, hear presentations from leading early years professionals across Scotland and the UK, find out how the national strategic direction can support early years work at a local level and meet a wide range of people all working to improve outcomes in the early years. Representatives from the NHS Health Scotland Early Years Network Reference group, which includes members from NHS Health Scotland, the Voluntary Sector, Scottish Government, Local Health Boards, and Local Authorities formed the steering group for the conference. All aspects of conference planning were agreed by this group. In particular, the group reviewed all the abstracts received in response to the call for abstracts sent out via the Early Years Network and shortlisted them for the parallel session programme. The Conference The conference theme in 2013 was Holding the parent in mind so they can hold the child in mind. The event was structured to have main session speakers which provided an opportunity to: hear from Margot Sunderland, Director of the Centre for Child Mental Health hear from Suzanne Zeedyk, The Science of Human Connection hear from key players on the barriers and facilitating factors of positive parenting. learn about the national direction to support parenting in Scotland In addition there were 8 parallel sessions themed around areas highlighted within the parenting strategy. Promoting attachment Empowering parents Looked after children Play 1

2 Early Learning Environment Tailoring support to meet need Fathers Antenatal Care These interactive sessions allowed the opportunity to engage in more depth with practical examples of practice, followed by facilitated discussion to provide a networking opportunity for delegates to share practice relevant to the theme. A full conference programme can be found in Appendix 1 To further enhance the networking element of the conference, delegates were also invited to participate in the marketplace during the coffee break and lunchtime sessions. Attendance The Conference was aimed at practitioners across the NHS, local government and the community and voluntary sector working in early years, both professional and volunteers. It included those interested in raising the profile of early years and supporting parents and young children across Scotland. Delegates Speakers - 7 Parallel session presenters - 24 Chairs for Parallel sessions - 8 Facilitators for Parallel sessions - 11 Marketplace staff - 23 HS staff - 13 Following the pattern from previous years the attendance was again broader than previous conferences as new sectors were engaged including LA, voluntary sector and maternity care. 37% of the delegates came from NHS, 32% of the delegates come from local authority, 24% came from community and voluntary and 3% came from private organisations. 4% did not specify In addition, webcasting was provided, allowing those who registered the opportunity to follow the conference live online, and submit questions and comments electronically. Over 180 people viewed the presentations live. The archived footage of all the main speakers is available online. You can find a complete record of the main proceedings from Twitter Twitter was used as a tool to promote the conference and share the messages to a wider audience 2

3 Tweets Posted: Before - 5 During - 24 After - 1 Hashtags used: #EYNC #bestplacetogrowup Reach: Tweets from the NHS Health Scotland corporate account plus retweets from the people/organisations below reached 8221 twitter users Retweets, mentions and positive feedback/thanks from: David Martin MEP Suzanne Zeedyk Karen Grieve (Scottish Government) Scottish Drugs Forum Growing Up in Scotland Parenting Across Scotland Healthcare Improvement Scotland Katie Mackintosh (Holyrood Mag) Scottish Out of School Care Network Licketyspit Theatre Professionals (various) Evaluation On the day delegates were asked to fill in a quick paper survey to capture their initial feedback on the day. Following the event, all speakers and delegates were invited to complete an online survey to gather information on the impact of the conference. Webcast delegates were also asked to feed back using a separate online survey. 200 responses were received for the paper survey on the day from delegates attending in person (hereafter referred to as delegates). 215 responses for the online survey were received from delegates (5 incomplete). 7 responses for the online survey were received from the webcasters (3 incomplete) Plenary Sessions The majority of the delegates found the conference programme useful and informative. With positive feedback for the plenary speakers in the morning and afternoon sessions, although time keeping was noted as an issue for the speakers. 3

4 Table 1: Feedback on overall conference All presentations were informative and from various aspects of early years and all relevant to work practice Chair needs to keep an eye on the time of speakers and pull them back in when straying Table 2: Feedback on morning speakers Dr Sunderland and Dr Zeedyk s presentations were fascinating and useful in terms of understanding the research behind the policy 4

5 Table 3: Feedback on afternoon speakers The key speakers were very interesting and informative and complemented each other well Parallel Sessions The parallel sessions were well attended with Promoting Attachment and Antenatal being the most popular selections. Table 3: Attendance at parallel sessions Delegates appreciated the opportunity to learn more about local projects and network on a particular topic within the parallel sessions. 5

6 The parallel session has given me encouragement how to involve fathers within the organisation as we have tried several times and failed. Hoping we know have more ideas to interact with them found networking easy, gained a lot of information regarding initiatives in other areas of Scotland. A very interesting and informative conference Effect and legacy Overall, the responses indicated that the event was successful in achieving NHS Health Scotland s aims of supporting the professional workforce by providing an effective platform to share information about relevant policy and learning about effective practice in maternal and early years. It is great to be in a place where we are all working to improve the outcome for young children. I very much appreciated the opportunity to attend, it is great to network with colleagues old and new Furthermore, in terms of a legacy from the event, the comments showed that not only did the vast majority (93%) report that the day would influence their work, they also gave concrete examples ranging from sharing what they had learned with colleagues, to using new knowledge to influence planning, or taking practical steps to change delivery. The presentations by Suzanne Zeedyk and Margot Sunderland have got me thinking about what we need to do to improve the programme that we offer in terms of making it more explicit to parents how to promote attachment and brain development Through attending the conference the following work has been directly attributed to contacts made on the day or following up on new information received; Attachment training for Care Inspectorate staff Attachment training for Children s Hearing System Volunteers Joint project linking anti bullying messages within Book Bugs through collaboration between Respect me and The Scottish Book Trust Joint working between UNICEF and NHS Health Scotland to raise the profile of the Baby Friendly Initiative s new standards for children s centers. Programming Overall responses showed that almost all who responded found the content useful and interesting regardless of whether they attended in person or participated by webcast. The theme was judged to be relevant and timely, and the speakers well chosen, although a few responses indicated that the number of presenters in the afternoon session made it difficult to absorb all the information given. Morning speakers excellent, very inspirational. In terms of EY workers recognising the importance of interaction/ brain development and good training 6

7 for staff to help families- but more on children with ASN (additional support needs) next time! The morning was very useful but the afternoon was less useful. I felt bombarded by the amount of presentations in the afternoon. Suggestions for improvements for future conferences included allowing for more time for discussion and questions within the parallel sessions, and allowing for more networking time and opportunities within the programme of the day. Conversely, there was also feedback that indicated that delegates felt that they had had an adequate amount of time to network, and even, occasionally, that there was too much time between sessions that was unnecessary. Practical arrangements The majority of the delegates found the conference to be well organised and reported that they felt they had been well-informed in advance. Most delegates liked the conference venue and facilities, and the location was considered central and easy to get to by many but not all. However, there were some comments around the start time of the programme and the distance between the rooms and therefore the amount of time lost travelling between sessions and to the lunch and coffee breaks. This point was also noted by the programme organisers. Webcasting It was decided to offer the option of participation in the event via webcasting because of feedback that people were finding it hard to get approval to attend the event in the current climate of restrictions on budget for travel or back-fill. Therefore, the option of webcast participation was introduced and over 180 people accessed the programme in this way. Overall, the provision of webcasting was welcomed by those who responded. Webcasting was only available for the main proceedings due to technology and cost constraints. Feedback from delegates indicated that they would also have found webcasting or recording of the parallel sessions useful. 7

8 Appendix 1 Conference Programme 8.30 am Registration 9:15 am Welcome from the Chair Mr Sandy Watson NHS Tayside 9:25 am Opening address NHS Health Scotland Chair Margaret Burns 9:30 am Why parenting matters Dr Margot Sunderland, Child Mental Health Centre 10:10 am Importance of early communication Dr Suzanne Zeedyk, The science of human connection am am Questions to the panel am 11:35 am Coffee, Exhibition and Networking 11:40 am 1 pm Parallel sessions themes: o Promoting attachment o Empowering parents o Looked after children o Play o Early Learning Environment o Tailoring support to meet need' o Fathers o Antenatal Care 1 pm 2 pm Lunch, Exhibition and networking 1.20 pm 1.50 pm Lunch time learning (optional) 2 pm Upholding children s rights Tam Baillie Scotland s Commissioner for Children and Young People 2.20 pm How well do we protect children and meet their needs in Scotland? Fiona McManus, Care Inspectorate 2.40 pm Families living in poverty; Alison Garnham, Child Poverty Action Group. 8

9 3.00 pm Good Places Better Health, Dr Sheila Beck NHS Health Scotland 3.20 pm Working together; Mike Foulis Scottish Government 3.40pm 3.50 pm Questions to panel 3.50 pm Closing address from Chair 4.00 pm Close 9

10 Appendix 2 Exhibitors Best Beginnings Andrea Priest andrea@bestbeginnings.org.uk Best Possible Start Sandra MacInnes Sandra.macinnes@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk Care Commission Colm Black info@xplusy.co.uk Child Poverty Action Group Anna Carr acarr@cpagscotland.org.uk Circle Maura Daly Maura.daly@circlescotland.org Craigmillar Books for Babies Michelle Jones info@craigmillarbooksforbabies.org.uk Enterprise Childcare Ann Walsh, ann.walsh@enterprisechildcare.co.uk The Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) Val Alexander, Val.alexander@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk Growing Up in Scotland Lesley Kelly, lesley.kelly@ed.ac.uk Healthy Valleys Clare Bell clare@healthyvalleys.org.uk Mellow Parenting Sarah Breustedt, sarah@mellowparenting.org NHS Ayrshire and Arran Vulnerable Families Maternity Team Elaine Moore, Elaine.moore@aaaht.scot.nhs.uk NHS Health Scotland Laura Martin, Early Years, laura.martin3@nhs.net Diane Clayton, Learning and Workforce Development, dianeclayton@nhs.net Emma Lyon, Mental Health and Wellbeing, emma.lyon@nhs.net North Lanarkshire Council Quality Improvement Service Linda Macpherson, macphersonl@northlan.gov.uk 10

11 Parenting Across Scotland Clare Simpson, Place2be Frances Griffin Scottish Out of School Care Network (SOSCN) Andrew Shoolbread, Support from the Start- East Lothian Steven Wray, Unicef Theresa McElhone 11