Conference sharpens focus on the child

More than 350 delegates attended the Great Southern's largest early years conference that wrapped up yesterday afternoon at the Albany Entertainment Centre.

The two-day conference was an initiative of the Great Southern Early Years Network and focused on parents, teachers, healthcare workers and early childhood educators involved in the development of youngsters up to the age of eight.

With keynote speakers including children's author Mem Fox and resilience specialist Maggie Dent, GSEYN governance committee chairwoman Catherine Salmaggi said the conference exceeded their expectations.

"We have had a lot of positive feedback from the attendees - the speakers were fantastic and very inspirational," she said.

"Everybody is going to take something away from the conference and use it in their professional life and family unit.

"There are a number of things that happen in the early years industry that we hope to assist locally to help parents navigate all the services that are available to them."

Conference committee member Carol Thomas said there was a great response and hoped it would further professional development in the industry.

"I think the program we have put together is especially relevant to people living and working in the early years," she said. "It certainly was a way of getting people together to talk to each other about these kinds of issues - the early years are the most important years in a child's life."