Froebel Trust Autumn Lecture 2023

This year's Froebel Trust Autumn Lecture is all about children's play and creativity.

Our guest speaker Professor Tina Bruce CBE is renowned for her tireless work in the early childhood sector. In a challenging time when so many families, nursery schools and early years settings are facing increasing pressures, she is an important advocate for young children and their right to a creative, nurturing education.

Professor Bruce's deep commitment to Froebelian principles and children's play is recognised worldwide and we're delighted that she will be giving this year's Froebel Trust Autumn Lecture.

This event was held on Thursday 5 October 2023 in Cardiff, Wales

Professor Bruce is the author of numerous bestselling books which continue to influence and support educators in their daily work in schools and settings around the world. Her writing and thinking brings together theory and practice in early childhood education in both challenging and inspiring ways.

Tina's work with policy makers, education leaders and educators has been important in influencing current thinking, practice and curriculum development - passionately campaigning for a Froebelian approach to be kept at the heart of early years practice today.

Professor Bruce will be introduced by Dr Stella Louis, Lead Tutor of the Froebel Trust Short Courses and Gaynor Brimble, School Improvement Partner (Early Years) at South East Wales Education Achievement Service. There will be an opportunity for all those who attend the event to ask questions to Professor Bruce.

This year's lecture marks the publication of a new Froebel Trust pamphlet

Professor Bruce has written a brand new Froebel Trust pamphlet Empowering learning: Play, symbols and creativity (published on 20 September 2023 and available as a free download).

Titles from the Froebel Trust's pamphlet series are downloaded over 30,000 times each year by educators from around the world.

This interactive PDF is designed for educators working with babies and young children in schools and settings now. It asks educators to consider how they value and nurture young children's play.

"Children need adults who observe, support and extend their play, symbol development and creativity. They need guidance which nurtures."
Professor Tina Bruce CBE

A limited number of printed copies of Professor Bruce's pamphlet will be available to buy at the event in Cardiff. We are also delighted to announce that we will be launching a Welsh language version of our hugely popular Froebelian Principles poster.

Professor Tina Bruce CBE

Tina Bruce CBE, Honorary Professor, University of Roehampton, trained to be a teacher at the Froebel Educational Institute. She studied at Manchester University to work with children with hearing impairments. She was Head of the Froebel Nursery Research School at Froebel College, working with the Research Fellow, Chris Athey. She was External Examiner for Norland College and also at Moray House College, now part of the University of Edinburgh.

Tina co-ordinated the Ministerial Early Years Advisory Group (EEAG) for a decade. Her international work includes the USA, Germany, Portugal, Lithuania, New Zealand, Egypt and South Africa.

She is an author of books, educator and journal articles including Early Childhood Education (Hodder & Stoughton, now in its 5th edition), Time to Play in Early Childhood Education (1991) and her latest book Friedrich Froebel: A Critical Introduction to Key Themes and Debates (Bloomsbury Academic, 2021).

Tina has also edited several books including Early Childhood Practice: Froebel Today (Sage, 2012) and with co-editors Lynn McNair and Jane Whinnett, Putting Storytelling at the Heart of Early Childhood Practice: A Reflective Guide for Early Years Practitioners (Routledge, 2020).

She was residential expert presenting with Kirsty Wark on the six part series for BBC Radio 4, ‘Tuning into Children’.

She was awarded ‘Lifetime Achievement’ by Nursery World, and is a Vice President of Early Education, Associate of the Froebel Trust and a Patron of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE).

Gaynor Brimble

Gaynor was appointed Professional Adviser to the Foundation Learning team in Welsh Government in 2020. She has helped to shape policy guidance across Wales through documentation, ‘A Curriculum for Funded Non Maintained Nursery Settings’ and most recently 'Assessment Arrangements for Funded Non Maintained Nursery Settings’.

Gaynor has long had an interest in young children and how they learn, with most of her teaching career spent in reception classes in socially deprived areas in Wales. She has a deep interest in children’s communication – particularly their creative expressions through mark making and drawing. She gained an MA in Early Literacy Difficulties in 2003 from the Institute of Education, London. Gaynor has completed the Froebel Trust Short Courses and is one of the founding members of the Wales Froebel Network (currently in its seedling stage).