The Child Development Collective

⏰⏰⏰ TIME'S ALMOST UP ⏰⏰⏰

Early Bird ticket prices are finishing June 30th 2026!

The Child Development Collective Conference returns this September, bringing together educators who are ready to deepen their understanding and elevate their practice.

📅 Saturday 19th September
🎟 From $225 (one-day pass)

Tickets are limited — secure yours now via the SwimCON26 booking site: https://swimcon.org/swimcon26-registration/

🎤 SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🎤

We are honored to feature our next speaker who is presenting on voice health for educators, one of the most valuable tools an educator has.

Katrina Wellins is an experienced and passionate voice educator with over 25 years of teaching across tertiary, secondary, and private studio settings. She has worked with students at every stage of development, from beginners to emerging and established professionals. Katrina currently holds the role of Director of Performing Arts at The Lakes College in Queensland where she also teaches voice and directs the college Vocal Ensembles.

Specialising in Contemporary Voice, Katrina teaches across a diverse range of styles including Pop, Jazz, and Music Theatre. Her tertiary teaching experience includes roles at Box Hill Institute, Monash University, and most recently as part of the online degree team at Central Queensland University.

A respected contributor to the wider music education community, Katrina regularly works as an eisteddfod adjudicator and presents at professional development events. Her engagements include presentations for ANATS Victoria and the Statewide Instrumental Music Teachers Conference Victoria.

Katrina is deeply committed to the development of healthy, sustainable vocal technique, with a particular focus on its application in contemporary performance contexts.

🎟 Early Bird tickets are now available from $225.
🏖️ The Events Centre, Caloundra, Sunshine Coast
📆 Saturday 19th September 2026
🤝 in collaboration with SWIM Australia for SwimCON26

Register here: https://swimcon.org/swimcon26-registration/

From movement to milestones — Connecting educators. Empowering children.

We ALL need more of this!

Is Australia sucking the joy out of childhood? The first time Renae Powell waved her eldest child through the primary school gates she felt something was missing: play time.

🎤 SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🎤

We're excited to announce not only our first speaker, but the first of our international presenters!

Based in Christchurch, New Zealand, Gill Connell is the founder of Moving Smart International and a globally recognised expert in child development, with a special focus on how movement and play build the foundations for learning.

She is the co-author of the widely acclaimed A Moving Child Is a Learning Child (2013) and curriculum Move Play and Learn With Smart Steps (2016).

More recently, she launched two popular online teacher training courses, Movement Matters and MoveMore for Learning PMP.

Gill also co-authored the best-selling book Moving to Learn in Australia and New Zealand, New Zealand Swimming's early childhood teachers' manual, and Sport NZ's Active Movement initiative, among many other respected resources.

Through her books, seminars, online training, conference panels and keynote presentations, Gill brings practical developmental insight to parents, early childhood and primary educators, government agencies, swim teachers, international schools, and organisations including Hasbro, Inc.

Join Gill and a growing line-up of leading educators, researchers and practitioners at the Child Development Collective Conference on Saturday 19th September 2026 as we explore how children grow, move, learn and communicate — and what that means in practice.

🎟 Early Bird tickets are now available from $225.
🏖️ The Events Centre, Caloundra, Sunshine Coast
📆 Saturday 19th September 2026
🤝 in collaboration with SWIM Australia for SwimCON26

Register here: https://swimcon.org/swimcon26-registration/

From movement to milestones — Connecting educators. Empowering children.

The conversations are taking shape.

Over the coming weeks, we'll begin announcing the speaker line-up for the 2026 Child Development Collective Conference.

We're bringing together educators, researchers, practitioners and specialists from a diverse range of disciplines, united by a common goal — helping children thrive.

From child development and movement to communication, learning, play and wellbeing, these are the people challenging thinking, sharing insights, and helping educators better understand the children in front of them.

Some names you'll know.
Some may be new to you.

All have been selected because they have something valuable to contribute to the conversation.

From movement to milestones — Connecting educators. Empowering children.

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