Introduction to Nurturing Confident Communicators for Childminders-1 of 2

Join us for a dynamic and practical two part professional development programme designed for childminders. This course focuses on using evidence-informed strategies and tools to support children’s communication and language development, tailored to the unique needs of your context. It is designed with space in between the two sessions to give you opportunities to try out the approach and strategies with the children.

Dates for the sessions:

Session 1: Monday 20 October 2025 at 6.30-8.00pm - Being a magnet for communication and a language radiator

Session 2: Monday 24 November 2025 at 6.30-8.00pm - Being a conversationalist and Sustaining the approach using the Family Childcare Environment Rating Scale [FCCERS]

PLEASE NOTE BY BOOKING THIS COURSE YOU ARE COMMITTING TO ATTEND BOTH DATES SO PLEASE ADD THEM TO YOUR DIARY.

What to Expect:

• Adaptive approaches to meet the diverse needs of children in your care
• High-quality professional development grounded in current research
• Online mentor support to guide implementation in your unique setting, including resources to share with your assistants if appropriate
• Tools and frameworks to build capacity for self-evaluation and continuous quality improvement
• Practical insights into using research tools to inform everyday practice.

Outcomes: Participants will have a toolkit of strategies, increased confidence in applying research to practice, and a clear plan for ongoing development and evaluation

Who should attend?

Childminders and childminder assistants

Costs: As well as two online sessions and mentor support you will receive electronic copies of materials needed for the course, materials to share with assistants and a copy of the Family Childcare Environment Rating Scale [FCCERS-3].

Who is the course tutor?

Clare Williams is a dedicated member of the Herefordshire Early Years Improvement Team.

With a background in both mainstream and special school settings, she has served as an early years teacher, leader, and headteacher. Clare brings extensive experience to her current role, supporting early years practitioners through training, mentoring, and strategic development.

She works nationally and internationally across the Early Years sector, delivering professional development and supporting quality improvement. Clare collaborates closely with researchers at the University of Oxford and is a co-author of several adaptive language programmes designed to support communication and language development in early childhood.