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We are so excited to celebrate the close of an incredible conference season. ‘Getting it right in the baby room’ has travelled across England, and on Saturday July 12th, we wrapped up our tour in Bristol. We had three incredible speakers with us: Debbie Brace, who explored how to support babies and families to feel emotionally settled in the baby room, and Cassie Holland and Rachel Pirie, who discussed the rhythm of the day in the baby room and how to slow down in our practice with babies.

This delegate describes one thing they’ll do based on Debbie Brace’s workshop and one thing they’ll share based on Cassie Holland and Rachel Pirie’s workshop. They wrap up with a vision for the baby room that emulates discussions about children and families across the day.

There was a buzz in the air as the delegates engaged in reflective conversations about baby room practice. We were delighted by the passionate and joyful dialogues that filled the day, and below, we share some key takeaways:

• Baby room educators and nursery managers believed quality in the baby room needs 2 things: a) responsive and attuned interactions between babies and educators and b) quality staff. However, staffing was one of the main challenges for some baby rooms. Several qualified baby room leaders shared that they had started without any qualified staff on their team (i.e. just themselves and 3+ apprentices that they had to train). Moreover, once trained, a lot of the apprentices would leave. Even when the training pays off and the team stays, it takes a lot of time, and the process takes a toll on the more senior person in that period, leading to the risk of burnout if there are not proper supports in place.
• Group size was a concern. When asked why small group sizes matter in the baby room, the delegates agreed that it’s all about having time and space to engage in attuned, slow-paced interactions with babies.
• The delegates explored how qualifications vary greatly based on who delivers them. We heard of amazing experiences where people felt they gained knowledge of working with babies that ignited their professional curiosity for the baby room. Others felt they barely touched on the baby room during their course.
• Finally, the delegates discussed the conundrum of using the term ‘baby room educator’ in the baby room. While some loved it, others felt it failed to recognise how essential care is when you’re with babies. There was recognition that ideally the term ‘education’ would incorporate care, but they felt that on the ground, using the term ‘baby room educator’ might give parents/carers the wrong idea about what the baby room is and what happens there. 

This is our final conference recap post for ‘Getting it right in the baby room’! Thank you to everyone who made these conferences possible, including Louise Weir, Dr. Gemma Goldenberg, Dr. Sam Wass, Cassie Holland, Rachel Pirie, and Debbie Brace. You have made these unforgettable days and offered so many points of learning and reflection to over 200 baby room educators and nursery managers across the whole of England. Finally, a massive thank you to our delegates for taking time out of their Saturdays to dive deeper into the baby room with us – we hope you loved the conferences as much as we did.

Over to you!

What has resonated with you most across the conferences?

What questions have the conferences raised for you?

What changes have you made in your baby room practice since we started the conferences? Tell us about them in the comments below!