Play & Talk Conference
đź“… Thursday 19th March 2026
đź“Ť Malmaison York
⏰ 8:45am - 4:30pm
Join us this March for an inspiring and highly practical Play & Talk Conference, designed for early years practitioners and leaders who want to deepen learning, strengthen language development, and enrich provision through play and talk. Across the day, delegates will benefit from expert input from James Tunnell, Director and Founder of Nursery Nook, focusing on purposeful provision, and Nick Cannon from Ruth Miskin Training, delivering training on Talk Through Stories. This is a not-to-be-missed event for anyone looking to expand and enhance their early years offer.
đź‘Ą Up to 2 delegate places available per school. The day is targetted at EYFS leads, a member of SLT, an EYFS class teacher, or a Year 1 teacher with a focus on provision & story time.
Book Now
Morning Session
Purposeful Provision with James Tunnell – Nursery Nook
We are delighted to welcome James Tunnell, an experienced early years consultant, trainer, and practitioner, and the founder of Nursery Nook. James is widely known for his work supporting settings to develop high-quality, inclusive provision rooted in child development, cultural capital, and play-based pedagogy.
In this engaging morning session, James will deliver Purposeful Provision training, exploring how to:
- Design provision that reflects and values the cultural background of your learners
- Use children’s existing knowledge, skills, and dispositions as the foundation for deep, meaningful learning
- Build rich opportunities for open-ended play using loose parts
- Enhance provision in response to schemas and children’s interests
- Confidently support and extend children’s learning journeys through skilled adult interaction
A strong emphasis will be placed on language development, with practice rooted in a social constructivist approach, modelling how talk, interaction, and shared thinking drive learning forward.
Afternoon Session
Talk Through Stories with Nick Cannon – Ruth Miskin Training
In the afternoon, we are thrilled to be joined by Nick Cannon, a highly experienced trainer from Ruth Miskin Training, with extensive expertise in early language, literacy, and professional development.
Nick will deliver intensive training on the Talk Through Stories approach, a carefully structured programme designed to:
- Develop oral language, vocabulary, and comprehension
- Support children to retell, internalise, and talk confidently about stories
- Build the foundations for reading and writing success
- Strengthen narrative skills, sentence structure, and expressive language through high-quality texts and explicit teaching
This session will provide clear, practical guidance on how to implement Talk Through Stories effectively within Early Years and Key Stage 1 settings, ensuring talk is purposeful, progressive, and impactful.
We hope you can join us for what promises to be a highly engaging and impactful day. You will leave with practical strategies, renewed confidence, and clear next steps to enhance your offer back in setting. We would be delighted to welcome you.
