Bolton Start Well Conference - Closing the Word Gap in Bolton
The Start Well Conference took place at the Albert Halls on Friday 7th February 2020 to address the Word Gap in Bolton 'Children Ready to Learn, Closing the Word Gap in Bolton’.
Thank you to all that attended, the delegates, speakers and Start Well staff for making the 2020 Bolton Start Well conference a hugely successful day.
The conference speakers included:
- Dr Helen Lowey - Director of Public Health and Melissa Maguinness - Director of Transformation
- Michelle Morris - Consultant Speech and Language Therapist Lead for GM
- Tim Vaughan - Her Majesty's Inspector Ofsted
- The Start Well Communication and Language Development Team
- Ed Hollamby - SUMO
At the end of a fabulous day, Bernie Brown - Director of People's Services addressed the conference, asking delegates, staff and speakers to make their 'pledge' to show how they would go on to close the Word Gap in Bolton, which brought the conference to a close.
We've tried to capture a few images from the day:
![Bolton SW Conference Picture](/bolton-startwell/images/Conference_1.png)
Feedback from the day has been fantastic. Speakers and workshops were valued and the 'pledges' made at the conference to help close the Bolton Word Gap were inspirational. The 2021 conference is already being planned, so watch this space!
![Bolton SW Conference Picture 1](/bolton-startwell/images/Conference_2.png)
Delegates commented on what they liked most, adding to their evaluation forms:
- "Superb speakers and a mix of data, facts, practical ideas and inspiration"
- "I most liked networking and the multi-agency knowledge of the speakers"
- "Relevant topics to help me in my setting"
- "Knowledgeable, interesting speakers - I feel motivated to return to school and make changes"
- "Very informative - Lots of ideas to take back and develop ideas - Great to network with a range of professionals"
All evaluation forms are being reviewed and feedback will be used to ensure that our next conference for 2021 is even greater.
If you still need to provide feedback, please return this to: startwelldevelopmentteam@bolton.gov.uk