CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Take a look at what’s in store!
With themes centered on Understand Me, Support Me, and Enable Me, the 2025 ChildKind Conference program provides a rich blend of keynote addresses, interactive workshops, and panel discussions—all designed to empower professionals in creating meaningful, child-centered outcomes.
The following program is provisional in nature and subject to change without notice at the discretion of the Organising Committee.
Sunday, 26 October 2025
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Monday, 27 October 2025
8:00am - 5:00pm
8:00am - 3:30pm
Exhibition open
Level 1, Manly Pacific
9:00am - 10:30am
Opening Session
Ballroom, Manly Pacific
Conference open & welcome
Yvonne Keane | Chief Executive Officer, Reimagine Australia
The ChildKind Framework & 10 Ways of Working
Jane Warren | Senior Lecturer, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, School of Education, Univeristy of Wollongong
Invited address
Chenai Mupotsa-Russell | Founder, Rainbow Muse
10:30am - 11:00am
Morning tea and networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
11:00am - 12:30pm
Concurrent sessions | Explore the 10 ChildKind Ways of Working
Level 1, Manly Pacific
ROOM 1: Observe & Respond
“Families are the Agents of Change. All the Magic Happens in Between Therapy Visits”: Speech Pathologists’ Perspectives on Core Elements and Strategies for Collaborative Approaches
Jessica Hassett
Creating Inclusive Sensory Spaces for Neurodivergent and Disabled Children
Ciara McKillop
Enhancing Access and Improving Child and Family Outcomes: Delivering Services using Child and Family teams
Amelia McKay & Ingrid Clark
12:30pm - 1:30pm
Lunch & networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
1:30pm - 3:00pm
Concurrent sessions | Explore the 10 ChildKind Ways of Working
Level 1, Manly Pacific
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Afternoon tea and networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
3:30pm - 5:00pm
Closing session
Ballroom, Manly Pacific
Everyday Allies: Inclusion in Action - Embedding intersectional allyship in early childhood education
Jenae Tien Jenkins
Inclusion in ECEC Panel
Day 1 wrap up
Yvonne Keane | Chief Executive Officer, Reimagine Australia
6:30pm - 7:00pm
Pre-dinner drinks
Level 1, Manly Pacific
7:00pm - 10:30pm
Conference Dinner & Awards
Ballroom, Manly Pacific
Conference welcome reception
Cibaria, Manly Pacific
Registration open
Level 1, Manly Pacific
ROOM 3: Promote Inclusion
Breaking Barriers: Inclusive Practices at Mikarie Child Care Centre
Naomi Hardiman & Cathy Quinn
Inclusion Together: A resource to support the inclusion of children with disability or development differences
Emma Pierce & Carolyn Wilson
Workshop TBC
Chenai Mupotsa-Russell
ROOM 4: Individualise my supports
Accessing Support for Children with Rare and Undiagnosed Genetic Conditions
Fleur Smith & Heather Renton
Beyond the Cane: Individualising Orientation and Mobility for Children With CVI and Complex Needs
Carolyn Bates
The ABCs of behaviour - How to use functional behaviour analysis to support behaviours that challenge
Jaime Sharman
ROOM 5: Embrace Evidence
Trauma Changes the Brain: A Mindful, Neuroscience-Informed Approach to Supporting Children
Kate Hodgekiss
Practical strategies in Inclusion
Dr Jane Warren
Ages and stages
Domenica Decrea
ROOM 1: Be Agile
SENSORY INTEGRATION SIMPLIFIED - Tips on integrating sensory processing principles into your everyday practice to support ALL children
Holly Gawthorne
Sick Happens: How to respond to inevitable childhood illness with confidence and compassion
Penny Blunden
Anchoring Practices in Developmental Frameworks to Support the Learning and Capacity Building of Parents and Professionals
Marie-Eve Dostie
ROOM 2: Centre me & My Family
With Me: Empowering Parents and Carers with Everyday Tools to Nurture Development
Natalie Kidd
The Key Worker/Lead Practitioner Model: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Supporting Children and Families
Helen Dalgleish
Tailored Together: Enabling Families to Drive Early Intervention
Charlotte Joscelyne-May
ROOM 2: Collaborate with others
Grounding & Strengthening Research Through Meaningful Stakeholder Involvement
Jessica Hassett
Bridging the Gap: Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Students Who Are Deaf or Blind
Lisa Wahab
Walking Together: Embedding Cultural Ways of Knowing in Inclusive Early Childhood Practice
Aunty Denise Proud & Dr Melinda Miller
ROOM 3: Learn & Grow
More Than Words: Supporting Language Development with Key Word Signing
Megan Mahon
WORKSHOP: Cultivating Joy - A Transformative Approach to Early Childhood Practice and Organisational Growth
Dr Cathy Little & Dr Olivia Karaolis
ROOM 4: Build my capacity
Supporting Neurodivergent Staff in ECE Settings
Christina Keeble & Rhi Sugars
Personhood360: A Holistic Planning and Programming Tool Helping Children Flourish Through Play
Rod Soper
Supporting Early Career Clinicians to Build Strong Therapeutic Relationships with Families
Marie-Eve Dostie
ROOM 5: Support my Transition
Rethinking Approaches: Beyond Diagnosis, Toward Inclusion and Belonging
Dr Charmaine Bernie
Libraries as Community Connectors: Accessible Communities for Young Children
Kylie Aekins
Strengths, Not Struggles: Reframing Support Through Lived Experience
Carina Beattie
Registration now open
Standard rates apply until 30 September 2025 or until allocation is exhausted.
Tuesday, 28 October 2025
8:00am - 5:00pm
8:00am - 3:30pm
Exhibition open
Level 1, Manly Pacific
9:00am - 10:30am
Opening Session
Ballroom, Manly Pacific
Conference open & welcome
Yvonne Keane | Chief Executive Officer, Reimagine Australia
Keynote Address
Em Hammond | NeuroWild
Couch conversation
10:30am - 11:00am
Morning tea and networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
11:00am - 12:30pm
Concurrent sessions | Explore the 10 ChildKind Ways of Working
Level 1, Manly Pacific
12:30pm - 1:30pm
Lunch & networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
1:30pm - 3:00pm
Concurrent sessions | Explore the 10 ChildKind Ways of Working
Level 1, Manly Pacific
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Afternoon tea and networking break
Level 1, Manly Pacific
3:30pm - 5:00pm
Closing session
Ballroom, Manly Pacific
Closing Keynote
Sonny Jane Wise | Neurodivergent advocate and writer, Lived Experience Educator
Panel
Conference Close
Yvonne Keane | Chief Executive Officer Reimagine Australia
Registration open
Level 1, Manly Pacific
ROOM 1: Observe & Respond
Every Moment Counts: Introducing the DIRFloortime® Approach to Early Childhood Practice
Megan King
Kia whakarongo aroha….listen with empathy
Naina Modi-Patel & Tāwera Ormsby
RURAL REWARDS - Why working in remote locations is not just beneficial for the communities - but for you as the professional.
Holly Gawthorne
ROOM 3: Promote Inclusion
Leading Inclusion: Supporting Early Childhood Educators to Embed Anti-Bias Practices
Rachel Bao
Building community by looking at the world through a lens of Intersectionality
Amanda Blakers
Whole Systems, Whole Child: Family-Centred Support for Vision Loss
Shona Lal
ROOM 4: Individualise my supports
The 7 C’s Framework: Practical Neurodiversity-Affirming Strategies for Everyday Support
Joanne Hatchard
Whole Systems, Whole Child: Family-Centred Support for Vision Loss
Shona Lal
Practical & Neuro-affirming Support Plans in ECE Settings
Christine Keeble & Rhi Sugars
ROOM 5: Embrace Evidence
Coordinated Developmental Supports: Embedding Goals into Daily Routines for Real Inclusion
Janine Tout
Workshop TBC
Jenae Tien Jenkins
ROOM 2: Centre me & My Family
Adapting Support to Fit the Family in Front of You: Clarity, Capacity & Collaboration
Alyce Svensk
Couch conversation - Lived experience
Heidi Denner, Jamie Dunn, Cheyanne Carter & Carina Beattie
ROOM 1: Be Agile
Embedding Open Dialogue & Responsive Design in Allied Health Early Intervention
Kirslyn Conlon
Bridging the Gap: Practical Tools for Authentic Collaboration in Early Childhood Supports
Carolyne Jones
Support That Fits: Reframing Services for AuADHD Through a Neuroaffirming Lens
Christina Keeble
ROOM 2: Collaborate with others
Collaborating for Impact: How Our Key Worker Approach Strengthens Families and Empowers Children
Lara Elliott
Many Hands, Many Voices: Creating a Preschool Model That Reflects First Nations Perspectives
Fran McCarthy
Evaluating a multidisciplinary, multi-modal training approach for AAC teams in regional Australia
Helen Dimond, Tammie Cunningham & Emily Hayles
ROOM 3: Learn & Grow
Using a Multisensory Approach to Build Emotional Regulation and Executive Functioning in Early Childhood – The Key Worker Role
Precious Zigori
Ready to Thrive: Inclusive Strategies to Foster Self-Regulation in Early Childhood
Angela Lockwood
Inclusive Leadership
Dr Amie Fabry
ROOM 4: Build my capacity
Title TBC
Leo Haythornthwaite
Thinking in Colours: A Whole Centre Approach to Emotional Regulation
Jenni Machin
More NeuroWild Things!
Em Hammond (NeuroWild)
ROOM 5: Support my Transition
Supporting Children Through Transitions
Sara Nogueira
Nurturing Emotional Safety & Security (NEStS): Responding to behaviours which challenge in early education contexts
Fay Gowers
The Childkind Framework in Action: reimagining supports in ECEC settings
Heidi Denner & Panel
Registration now open
Standard Rates apply until 30 September 2025 or until allocation is exhausted.