A NIFTeYWA group has been established over the last year or so and is a partnership of more than 15 departments, not-for-profit and professional bodies.
It has been decided at this stage not to have a formal structure but to function as a collaborative interest group that advocates for the principles that NIFTeY represents.
Several conferences or seminars have been arranged, including a very successful visit from Dr J Fraser Mustard - some 500 attending a day long seminar, a ‘conversation’ with Moira Raynor (Director, Office of the Children’s Commissioner, London), and a pending conference with Mary Gordan and Erica D’Ath. In addition, there have been visits to Government Ministers, Policy Officers and Directors of departments as well as opportunities to speak to a wide variety of professional groups concerning the Early Years. There are collaborative plans to blend the Parent Adviser approaches of Professor Hilton Davis with the establishment of several demonstration Early Child Development and Parenting Centres involving business partners also.
NIFTeYWA has become an energising forum and corporate voice for the issues and initiatives relating to the early years.
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