Program

Please see below our Provisional Program for the 2021 conference. We are building a dynamic and varied program that will be delivered in short sessions over the course of the week. Sessions will begin with a keynote presentation followed by live Q&A. Following the keynote, delegates will break into streams to learn more about how policies and practices are being shaped by data. Poster sessions will provide opportunities to learn about new ideas and approaches being trialled in different settings around the country and the globe. Continue to visit the website regularly to learn about confirmed 2021 presenters, as this will be updated as planning proceeds.

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Program times are listed in AEDT. To convert program times to your timezone, CLICK HERE

MONDAY

Monday 15^th March 2021

1030 – 1100	Please join us for our first networking session at the conference.
OPENING PLENARY SESSION
1100 – 1130	Opening Address & Welcome to Country
1130 – 1230	Keynote Speaker Population data for shaping education policy Luis Crouch, Senior Economist, International Development Group RTI
1230 – 1300	Networking Session to catch up with peers and colleagues to share your thoughts on the morning and what the following days will bring.

TUESDAY

Tuesday 16^th March 2021

1145 – 1200

Join for some networking before the keynote presentation

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

1200 – 1300

Keynote Presentation

Reflecting on improvements in the AEDC in light of changes to the Western Australian service system over time

Dr Rosemary Cahill, Chief Investigator, Telethon Kids Institute

Dr Aresh Anwar, Chief Executive, Child And Adolescent Health Service

Colin Pettit, Commissioner for Children and Young People WA

David Zarb, CEO, Playgroup WA

CHAIR: Jonathan Carapetis, Director, Telethon Kids Institute

1300 – 1400	CONCURRENT SESSION ONE
1300 – 1330	Community	Education (ECEC and schools)	Government / Policy	Research
	Determined that no child in Parkes Shire would be an invisible child, Project Sprouts was formed as a new community-led model to address children’s developmental health in rural NSW Mrs Sherree Rosser Project Sprouts	Bays Cluster Health and Wellbeing Hub: Creating an integrated model of service within a Queensland primary school Skye Frazer-Ryan Children’s Health Queensland Hospital & Health Service Kathleen Webb Hercules Road State School	Child Health Pop-Up Clinics Soulmaz Rostami Children’s Health Queensland	Key Data Challenges for Place-Based Prevention and Implementation in Australia and workshop discussion. Geoffrey Woolcock Logan Child-Friendly Community Ltd (This presentation will be one hour and include a workshop discussion component)
1330 – 1400	Connect 4 Children Strategy John Fry Connect 4 Children, Department of Education Queensland Melissa Kidd Department of Education Toowoomba	Exploring how schools can influence children’s academic achievement trajectories through planning and programs in the early years Ashleigh Collier College of Medicine & Public Health, Flinders University	Supporting families experiencing significant vulnerability and/or disadvantage access early childhood education for their pre-school aged children Johanne Gow, Anthony Shannon Department of Communities and Justice, NSW
Rapid Presentations
1400 – 1430	The Waverly Community Skills 4 Kids Café, Sherridan Emery Neyg, Launceston, Australia Danielle Watkins The Smith Family, Launceston, Australia
	Paint the West REaD Community wellbeing and engagement to improve a child’s first 1000 days of life through attachment, literacy, learning and school engagement in areas of significant childhood developmental vulnerabilities. Using AEDC data, collective impact models and results-based assessment methodologies in community development. Maggie Mccabe Department Of Human Services, Taperoo, Australia
	Look Who’s Talking: an interactive guide for parents to facilitate their child’s language development. Suzanne Finn Burnie Child And Family Centre, Burnie, Australia
	Healthy Kids – Bringing early childhood education and care communities together to improve the health of our Queensland kids Kym Dunstan Centre for Children’s Health and Wellbeing, Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, Australia
	Sing&Grow: Skills for School- Supporting Early Childhood Educators’ use of Music to Develop Children’s School-Readiness Lorna Berry, Dr Alison Stewart Sing&Grow, Playgroup Queensland, Australia
	Effective approaches for removing barriers for children to access early learning in the year before Kindergarten Simon Hammond, Michael Dempsey Department Of Education Tasmania, Glenorchy, Australia,
PROGRAM BREAK
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
1630 – 1730	Keynote Presentation Bringing together Queensland Health and Education to support children and families across Queensland Dr Grant Webb, Assistant Director-General, Early Learning and Development Branch, Early Childhood and Education Improvement, Department Of Education Queensland Adjunct Professor Frank Tracey, Health Service Chief Executive, Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service
1730 – 1745	Networking Session to mingle, meet and chat, with presenters and other attendees

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday 17^th March 2021

1200 – 1215

Networking Session

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

1215 – 1315

Keynote Speaker

Systemic reform to reduce inequalities in children’s outcomes in socio-economically deprived communities

Michael McAfee, President And CEO, Policylink

1315 – 1415	CONCURRENT SESSION ONE
1315 – 1345	Community	Education (ECEC and schools)	Government / Policy	Research
	Grassroots and Grass Tops: How a Shared Data Set Can Promote Change Rebecca Halperin & Jaclyn Vasquez, Anisha Grimmett, Elizabeth Richardson Erikson Institute, Chicago	The 2020 Tasmanian Kindergarten Development Check results, and what it might mean for the 2021 AEDC results Michael Dempsey Tasmanian Department of Education	Using research evidence to inform practice in early childhood education related to the five areas of development measured by the AEDC Danielle Toon Evidence for Learning Dr Sandra Cheesman C&K (The Creche and Kindergarden Association)
1345 – 1415	Enhancing Children’s Well Being through Relationships in Place Susan Cary, Isabel Stankiewicz Department of Education, Queensland South East Region	The Thriving and On Track Program: A Collaborative, Place Based Initiative Responding to High Levels of Developmental Vulnerability Frances Bugden Brisbane South PHN Melissa Taylor Hansford Queensland Department of Education	Queensland’s Early Childhood Development Core Story Madeline Hagon Queensland Department of Education	Risk factors at birth and later developmental risk of mental disorders Felicity Harris School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales
Rapid Presentations
1415 – 1445	Early Physical Development: Its fundamental importance to later academic success. Deb Cavanagh Elf: Education Linked To Families, Perth, Australia
	A School with no “Teachers” – Blair Athol North, Shaun Harris Blair Athol North B-7 School Children’s Centre, Blair Athol, Australia
	The Basics Channel Maree Thompson, Kate Slater Department Of Education
	A Profile of School Readiness in South Australia: Perceptions of Preschool Directors Alessia Pivato University Of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
	AEDC informing policy development, implementation and evaluation Caroline Croser-Barlow Department for Education, South Australia
PROGRAM BREAK
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
1645 – 1745	Keynote Speaker Improving conditions for children, families and communities in Australia Commissioner April Lawrie, Aboriginal Children and Young People, South Australia
1745 – 1845	CONCURRENT SESSION TWO
1745 – 1815	Community	Education (ECEC and schools)	Government / Policy	Research
	The implementation of an integrated family and community hub on the grounds of a new primary school in the greenfield community of Yarrabilba Andrew Resetti Children’s Health Queensland	Ready, Set, Prep!: a collaborative approach to support school readiness and early life outcomes by increasing family engagement, implementing targeted interventions for the most vulnerable and streamlining early years health and education systems in northern Melbourne. Kat Thorn Merri Health	Enabling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to thrive in their early years Andria Mastroianni & Sue-Anne Hunter SNAICC – National Voice for our Children	Preschool Aged Children’s Accounts of their Own Wellbeing: How do Current Child Wellbeing Assessments Accord with Young Children’s Perspectives? Jennifer Fane Capilano University, British Columbia
1815 – 1845	Using the AEDC to Drive Community Action: Loddon, Victoria Catherine Nolan & Jane Hosking Department of Education and Training, Victoria	Tiny Tots Talking in Doonside – A Model of Effective Place-Based Service Integration Cathrine Nielsen-Hewett University of Woolongong	Children’s Ground: Backing Aboriginal people to lead the way in systems and service reform Jen Lorains Children’s Ground, Alice Springs	Early life predictors of suspensions from primary school: a longitudinal multi-agency record-linkage study Kristin Laurens Queensland University of Technology
1845 – 1915	Networking Session to share your thoughts and learn with/from the other attendees

THURSDAY

Thursday 18^th March 2021

1200 – 1215

Networking Session

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

1215 – 1315

Keynote Speaker

Empowering communities to create sustainable change

William Tilmouth, Chairperson, Children’s Ground

Chair: Jane Vadiveloo, CEO, Children’s Ground

1315 – 1415	CONCURRENT SESSION ONE
1315 – 1345	Community	Education (ECEC and schools)	Government / Policy	Research
	Compounding impacts of Bushfire on Developmental Vulnerability in Rural and Remote Communities: Intervening to change trajectories Sarah Eagland Royal Far West, NSW Jacqui Emery Royal Far West NSW Dr Sarah Verdon Charles Sturt University	No one gets left behind: Managing early learning equity and COVID-19 Myra Geddes, Dr Kate Liley Goodstart Early Learning, Queensland	Child development and student wellbeing: A six-year follow up study using 2009 AEDC data Tess Gregory Telethon Kids Institute	Child protection profiles for children with special health care needs: A population record linkage study Gabrielle Hindmarsh School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales
1345 – 1415	Improving educational outcomes in a disadvantaged community: using AEDC as a reference point for cross-sector collaboration Liz Chapman OAM Tomorrow Today Foundation, Victoria	Twelve Books for Twelve Months: Enhancing the language and pre-literacy teaching skills of Early Childhood Educators using a multifaceted resource Jessica Anton South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) Speech Pathology Department	Trauma informed practice in education: a South Australian example of how AEDC data is being used to inform wellbeing initiatives and track outcomes in schools Tania Plueckhahn, Lizzie Button & Yasmin Harman Smith Telethon Kids Institute	Jurisdictional change over time in the AEDC Sally Brinkman Telethon Kids Institute
RAPID PRESENTATIONS
1415 – 1445	Supporting Vulnerable Families & Communities to Achieve Better Developmental Outcomes for Their Children Ruth Callaghan, Manik Gadre Woodville Alliance, Fairfield, Australia
	Regional distribution of mental health risk at age 5 years in an Australian population sample. Felicity Harris University Of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
	Siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities: Exploring dynamic networks of risk and resilience to enable early identification, intervention, translation, and implementation of sustainable scalable change. Brittany Mann Telethon Kids Institute, Subiaco, Australia, and The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
	Thriving Qld Kids Partnership: enabling systems leadership for child wellbeing Michael Hogan Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership, Brisbane, Australia.
	Integrating early childhood services: determining definitions and factors for success Vicky Saunders Health Research Institute, University Of Canberra, Canberra, Australia
PROGRAM BREAK
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
1845 – 1945	Keynote Speaker Shaping early years education policy for our future generations Dr Georgie Nutton, Senior Lecturer in Education & Course Manager, Bachelor of Education Early Childhood Teaching, Charles Darwin University
1945 – 2045	CONCURRENT SESSION TWO
1945 – 2015	Community	Education (ECEC and schools)	Government / Policy	Research
	Using AEDC data as the foundation for collective action in improving children’s oral language and emotional maturity before school Rebekah Pick Mission Australia, Queensland	Improving Child Development Outcomes by Connecting Early Learning and Care Services and Schools Anne Nilsen Ngala; Nicole Hunt, Connecting Community for Kids; Christine Bewetz, Leda Primary School.	Stronger Starts Brighter Futures – Exploring trends in the early development of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Australia Tadgh McMahon Settlement Services International Alanna Sincovich Telethon Kids Institute
2015 – 2045	Does Paint the Town REaD Help Turn the Curve? Barbie Bates Paint the Town Read Ltd	Oral Language Development: The Foundation of Later Literacy Success and Social Emotional Well-Being Sharlene Samuel-May Trumpet Early Years Consultancy, WA	Lead indicators to drive ECD systems Sharon Goldfeld Murdoch Children’s Research Institute	At What Age Does the Word Gap Emerge? Findings from the Language in Little Ones Study Mary Brushe Telethon Kids Institute
2045 – 2115	Networking Session

FRIDAY

Friday 19^th March 2021

1200 – 1215	Networking Session with other delegates
PANEL SESSION
1215 – 1300	Trends in Child Development – the Future of Australia Panel Professor Sharon Goldfield, Director, Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children’s Hospital Professor Sally Brinkman, Telethon Kids Institute

KEYNOTE & CLOSING PRESENTATIONS
1300 – 1400	Keynote Speaker What shifts it will take today to create better futures for our children Jay Weatherill, Chief Executive, Thrive By Five Initiative, Minderoo Foundation
1400 – 1430	Conference Close