The Eastern EYFS Conference | Tuesday 24 March 2026
This year, the VNET Eastern EYFS Conference is all about connection – between stages, settings, and practitioners – to ensure every five-year-old thrives, wherever they are on their learning journey. Built around one powerful idea: that a five-year-old is a five-year-old, whether in Reception or Year 1, the conference brings together inspiration, research, and practical strategies to bridge the gap between the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.
Join us for a day of insight, laughter, and connection – and leave inspired to spark deep engagement and ensure every child flourishes on a strong, coherent educational foundation.
Keynote: Joy, Wonder and Curiosity (the real school readiness)
With Ben Kingston-Hughes, Inspired Children
This unique keynote explores how children really learn and gives straightforward strategies for creating the most amazing and magical learning experiences for our children. By fundamentally understanding how children learn, we can better prepare them for a school environment and help them to become capable, confident and ready for life. Using a simple knowledge of neuroscience the keynote shows how we can embed joy, wonder and curiosity throughout children’s experiences, working with their brains to make learning truly irresistible.
Ben Kingston-Hughes
Ben Kingston-Hughes is an international keynote speaker, author and multi award- winning trainer. He delivers inspirational training to schools, nursery settings, out of school settings and for parents, as well as for local authorities and national charities. He is also the Managing Director of Inspired Children and has worked with vulnerable children across the UK for over 35 years. He has appeared on television
several times working on a variety of children’s projects and his distinctive blend of humour, neuroscience and real-life practical experiences have made his training invaluable for anyone working with children. His game-changing book about play, “A Very Unusual Journey into Play” has gained widespread acclaim and his new book, “Why Children Need Joy” was a finalist for a Nursery World Award for best professional book 2024, where it was awarded “highly commended”.
Keynote: Building Belonging: A Practical Toolkit for Behaviour and SEMH in the Early Years
With Joe Staines, Beacon School Support
Joe Staines
Joe Staines is a specialist behavioural consultant working for Beacon School Support, providing targeted support for schools and families across the West Midlands. He has over 15 years of experience in primary education, including more than a decade in senior leadership. He’s passionate about helping schools build inclusive, positive cultures, drawing on his deep understanding of child development. Specialising in Early Years and KS1, Joe provides training and coaching in evidence-based approaches that enable every child to flourish. He’s particularly passionate about supporting smooth transitions and developing children’s emotional regulation skills, recognising how these early experiences lay the foundation for lifelong wellbeing and learning. Through the lens of behaviour and SEMH, Joe helps schools create enabling environments in EYFS and KS1 where relationships, routines, and spaces work together to meet children’s emotional and developmental needs.
Workshops
Playful Brains – The Neuroscience of Play
With Ben Kingston-Hughes
This transformative workshop explores exactly what happens in children’s brains when they play and demonstrates that an understanding of how the brain works enables us to support our children to experience the most amazing play opportunities. The session then explores the vital role of Play in developing and growing children’s brains, highlighting the profound importance of play for brain growth, wellbeing and even life expectancy. Ben Kingston-Hughes makes a compelling argument that play is a fundamental building block for every aspect of well-being and development. This session is entertaining, thought-provoking and might just help us build the brains of the future!
Back to Play, Back on Task! Finding Calm in the Chaos of the EYFS
With Joe Staines
Starting with the Vision
With Homefield C of E VC Primary School
By the end of this workshop, you will leave with practical ‘quick wins’ that you can easily implement in your own setting.
Inside I am Wild!
With Lakenham Primary School
learning and draws strong links with the behaviour themes of the conference. We will consider strategies that develop routine, pedagogy and environment whilst getting you think about these in relation to your own context.
We know that children are innately curious about the world around them so we will share some key ideas and practical tips to get you outside, connecting with nature and embracing
your inner wild!
Where Greatness Grows – a child-led approach.
With Cecil Gowing Infant School
Making EYFS Practice Visible
With the School of Education & Lifelong Learning, UEA
Join us for an inspiring and practical workshop exploring how communities of practice can transform professional learning in the Early Years. Drawing on the work of Harvard Project Zero, we will unpack the power of “Zoom Panels” as a tool for making thinking visible, supporting action research, showcasing EYFS practice and strengthening reflective pedagogy. You’ll see examples created by a cohort of early years educators last year, that have been shared with senior leaders, governing boards, and conference audiences, and that have sparked deeper inquiry into key aspects of practice. This interactive session will give you the chance to begin mapping your own area of curiosity, and you’ll also be invited to join a new post‑Easter practitioner group using this process to develop their own research‑informed practice. A warm, collaborative space for anyone passionate about Early Years learning and professional growth.
- Tuesday 24 March 2026
- 8.45am – 3.30pm
- The Enterprise Centre, UEA, University Drive, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ
- Member tickets £150+VAT, Non-member tickets £175+VAT.
- We recommend that a Senior Leader and an EYFS Lead/teacher both attend if possible. So we are offering a buy one get one half price offer!
Discount code: Conference50
Conference Schedule:
- 8.45am: Arrival and refreshments
- 9.15am: Welcome
- 9.25am: Keynote with Ben Kingston-Hughes
- 10.10am: Refreshments and exhibitor fair
- 10.40am: Workshop with Ben Kingston-Hughes
- 11.35am: Keynote with Joe Staines
- 12.20pm: Lunch, networking and exhibitor fair
- 1.20pm: Workshops - session one
- 2.10pm: Workshops - session two
- 2.30pm: Panel reflection
Meet our EYFS Conference exhibitors:
