**Exclusively for Birmingham Early Years Practitioners** - Laura Henry-Allain will share her top tips on the importance of supporting children as they transition through their Early Years stages.
Join us for a fabulous session with Laura Henry-Allain, where she will share her top tips on the importance of supporting children as they transition through their Early Years stages.
The session will include tips on:
Acknowledging the emotions children feel during transitions
Helping children deal with these feelings and emotions
Using transitions as a celebration for children’s next steps, where possible
Supporting children in making their own transition stories to strengthen their literacy, language and communication
Knowing how books can support children with their understanding of change, using 'Maya & Marley and the New Friend' to illustrate
Understanding the importance of sharing the concept of transitions with parents to support teaching and learning within the home environment
This session is part of the BEYN Transition Approach and links directly to our transition text, 'Maya & Marley and the New Friend'.
Every Birmingham-based setting and childminder with children moving into reception in September 2026 will receive a copy, as will every reception class.
Please make sure you attend your upcoming district transition event to collect your text!
Then join Laura for this session, where she will support you to think about how to use the story to strengthen transition experiences for the children in your setting.
BOOK YOUR PLACE >>> Building Effective Transitions with Laura Henry-Allain | Mon 22 June 2026
PLEASE NOTE: Places are limited - if you book a place and your circumstances change and you can no longer attend, you must cancel your place via Eventbrite to release it to the next person on the waiting list. We will be monitoring bookings and attendance at all BEYN events going forward, as we need to report on this to the BEYN strategic group.
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Important notice: This session is exclusively for practitioners working in Birmingham Local Authority. Please ensure you complete the booking form fully to ensure your booking is accepted.
If you have any further questions about this session, please email the BEYN Coordinators: Clare Williams & Sue Bennett (info@birminghamearlyyearsnetworks.org)
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About Laura Henry-Allain
Laura Henry-Allain MBE is an author, educationalist and consultant. She is the creator and series producer of the well-loved, award-winning, first Black British Animation global series, JoJo and Gran Gran, developed and produced by CBeebies.
Laura has worked with several global brands, including Paramount, Mattel, Moonbug, John Lewis, Comic Relief and Bafta.
Laura is a board member of the Children’s Media Foundation and vice president of the British Association of Early Childhood Education. She is a supporter of the Grenfell Memorial Quilt, an Ambassador for the British Dyslexia Association, an Ambassador for the National Year of Reading and a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund. She is the creator and presenter of the podcast My Words, My Book and the writer of the song: ‘Pick Up A Book’.
Laura is proud to be dyslexic and, on her travels, shares her dyslexic story, from childhood to the present day, the highs and lows. Her favourite quote is by basketball coach John Wooden: “Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do.”
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