Children hardly play outside on their own in their neighborhoods, and they are suffering in many ways as a result. Mike will describe how parents can give children a life of neighborhood play, every day. First, he’ll describe how this problem is social in nature, so that individual solutions like limiting screen time or structured activities are, by themselves, inadequate. Then, Mike will describe many innovative communities in the USA that have vibrant play cultures for their children. Finally, he will provide a comprehensive set of step-by-step solutions for parents.

Mike Lanza

Mike Lanza is author of Playborhood: Turn Your Neighborhood Into a Place for Play. He also blogs at Playborhood.com . He’s worked hard to create a very rich neighborhood play life for his three boys – ages 10, 7, and 5 – in Menlo Park, California. He’s also discovered and written about dozens of neighborhoods throughout North America that are doing innovative things to make a vibrant life for kids. Prior to his writing career, Mike was a five-time software and Internet entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. Currently, he’s working on startup number six in the field of location-based mobile games. He holds an MA in Education and an MBA from Stanford University.

How are you intelligent? Get outside and get smart!

The ways we understand intelligence have changed over the last 20 years or so, & outdoor education has great potential to nurture & develop it.

Norm Hunter OAM

Norm Hunter is the principal consultant of Thinkit Through, an educational consultancy with a particular focus on leadership, strategic thinking, mentoring and writing. He has a special interest in school culture, believing that it is the key to a successful school.

Norm was a founding Co-Principal, then Principal of Hillbrook Anglican School, serving for a period of 21 years. His work in creating an inclusive school culture with a shared vision, along with his contribution to Queensland and Australia’s education community has been recognised through national Fellowships of the Australian College of Educators and the Australian Council for Educational Leaders, the awarding of the 2006 Australian College of Educators’ Biennial Queensland Medal, and the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2007 for his services to educational leadership. In 2010 Norm was awarded the ACEL Queensland Excellence in Educational Leadership Award, and in 2013 the ACEL national Nganakarrawa award for educational leadership.

In the mid 1990s Norm undertook study leave in the USA and Canada, exploring the theme of school culture. He visited schools and academics in both countries, and attended the Summer Institute course for school leaders at Harvard University. In 2005 he visited Hong Kong, Denmark, Cambridge and Glasgow, focusing on the concept of schools as communities, and the potential for student leadership in this. The reports he wrote after of each of these experiences were widely read, and have influenced thinking and practice well beyond his own school community.

Norm has a Certificate of Teaching from Kelvin Grove Teachers’ College, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland, and a Master of Education (Leadership and Management) from the University of Southern Queensland, for which he was awarded the Dean’s Commendation for Outstanding Achievement.

He has been widely involved in education committees and other bodies at the state and national levels, including Independent Schools Queensland’s Education Committee, which he chaired for several years, as well as the ISQ Executive Committee. Norm has served on a number of State Government Ministerial Advisory Committees, and in 2001 and 2002 he was Queensland President of the Australian College of Educators and a member of the ACE National Council. He was an inaugural member of the Griffith University Centre for Leadership and Management in Education, and in 2007 and 2008 he chaired the Centre’s Executive Committee. Norm is currently Vice President of the Queensland Branch of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders.

Since stepping back from his role as Principal at Hillbrook, Norm has authored a book – If We Build it They Will Come – which describes the ideas behind the founding of Hillbrook Anglican School, and the principles that underpinned it during his leadership. He has written a number of educational papers, including ‘The Road Ahead or the Rear Vision Mirror?’ a monograph commissioned by ISQ, exploring a framework for a curriculum for the 21^st century. Several of his articles have been published in educational and other journals. He is the author of Schools Speaking for Themselves, a publication commissioned by Independent Schools Queensland advising schools on ways to balance the pressures of NAPLAN testing and the accompanying media league tables with the need to be developing the resilience and creativity of young people. In June 2011 he was invited to lead a research forum for the Strategic Research Division of Education Queensland based on Schools Speaking for Themselves. In 2012 his writing was recognised with the prestigious Gold Award by the Australasian Religious Press Association for an article he wrote for Brisbane’s Anglican Focus, which was judged as the best editorial piece of the year.

Other work has included assisting a number of independent schools in the appointment of their principals, convening school and system workshops on the Leadership Capability Framework of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders, leading strategic retreats for independent school boards, conducting professional learning seminars for school leaders and outdoor educators from all three education sectors, and mentoring/coaching principals, school leadership teams, and aspiring leaders. He regularly presents keynote addresses and workshops at state and national education conferences.

From November 2010 to June 2011 Norm conducted an independent review of the Queensland Certificate of Education for the Queensland Studies Authority. He consulted widely and presented fourteen recommendations to the QSA, all of which were adopted and acted on. In 2011/2012 he led a series of ACEL leadership development seminars with Catholic school leaders and aboriginal assistant-teachers in the Northern Territory.

Also in 2012 Norm conducted a review for Independent Schools Queensland on Asian language studies in independent schools. His report attempts to shed light on why so few students opt to continue their Asian language studies into the senior phase of schooling, and what schools can do to address this.

His recent work has included a review and a report for a Queensland independent school which has introduced a new learning management model, and a major review and report for two Catholic schools in south-east Queensland on the transition from primary to secondary school. In 2013 he was invited to present a keynote address & workshop on school leadership at a national conference for school leaders in New Delhi, India.

In October 2013 Norm was presented with the Nganakarrawa Award by the Australian Council for Educational Leaders. With its origins in the Ndjebbana language of Central Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, the term Nganakarrawa refers to ‘those who move about, all seeing, all knowing, knowledgeable and well regarded ‘. The Nganakarrawa Award is one of ACEL’s four major national awards, presented annually.

Norm is currently engaged (February 2015) with Brisbane North Catholic Education as critical friend/evaluator of SVAP, an initiative devised by three principals in the northern Brisbane North area to enhance the learning and future employability of high needs students drawn from all three schools. He has also begun working with the DET School Improvement Unit, visiting state schools throughout Queensland as an independent member of review teams.

In his spare time Norm enjoys time with his family, reading, sport and music. He is an accomplished jazz pianist, and plays keyboards in the Allan Brown Big Band, a community big band, and in a ’60s rock ‘n’ roll band. From his experience as a professional musician, he has drawn the metaphor of ‘the school as a jazz band’, presenting a number of workshops on this theme.

Norm is married to Rae, and they have two daughters, Danielle and Sally, and four grandchildren, Amelie, Lucy, Jackson and Aidan.

How to grow a successful human

Every parent wants their child to grow into a strong, successful human being. How is this best achieved? When we analyse the traits of successful individuals, a number of factors stand out:

• adaptability (you can effectively change in response to changing circumstances);
• resilience (the ability to “bounce back” after failures or setbacks, and the development of high failure tolerance);
• problem-solving (a coping style in response to trauma/challenge that focusses on solving the problem at hand rather than lamenting “why me”?);
• approach motivated (you are willing to try new things, take risks and learn from your mistakes);
• social skills (we are a remarkably social species and achieve our best in teams or groups).

There are, of course, other advantageous factors (such as personality type and IQ) but those I’ve listed are more malleable by our environment and upbringing.

The way in which the human brain develops has ensured that we are arguably the most successful species on the planet. We have achieved this status because of our brain’s ability to “wire itself” in response to the environmental conditions it encounters.

The kind of play experiences that help cultivate the development successful traits are found via a genuinely challenging environment, where kids can test their abilities in self-assessment, problem-solving, risk-taking, and adaptation in response to difficulties and failure (Too much screen time and too little outside play is holding back kids). These experiences are particularly crucial during critical or sensitive periods when the brain is most receptive.

Challenge comes with risk; but if we withhold from our children the opportunity to take risks, learn from their failures, and discover adaptive coping techniques, we withhold from them the opportunity to learn (Bulldozer parents: creating psychologically fragile children). Their growing brains fail to develop autonomy, competence, self-discipline, good decision making, rational self-assessment of ability, high failure tolerance, and a smorgasbord of other cognitive and psychological benefits.

This talk will outline some hints, tips and pitfalls in facilitating children’s opportunities to innovate, problem-solve, bounce back from failure and adapt as they go forth to meet life’s inevitable challenges.

Dr Rachael Sharman

Dr Rachael Sharman is a lecturer and researcher in psychology, specialising in child/adolescent development. Rachael’s research is focused on the optimal and healthy development of the paediatric brain, and has covered the neuro/psychological impacts of: dietary practices of parents and their children; physical activity; obesity; autism; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; genetic disorders; concussion; acquired brain injury; and childhood trauma.

Rachael has a long history in working in child-related fields including child protection, juvenile justice, disability, advocacy and genetic research. A high point was meeting personally with the Queensland Health Minister in 2002 to successfully lobby the government to invest in expanded newborn screening. The result of that meeting ensured that every baby born in Queensland is now screened via the ‘heel prick test’ for an additional 30 rare genetic disorders. This has prevented the unnecessary death or disability caused by these disorders if left undetected and untreated.

Rachael remains committed to research that ensures children have the best possible chance to meet their full potential. Her current research projects include: interventions for improvements in emotion recognition in children with autism; concussion in junior rugby union players; child sexual abuse and trafficking; adolescent misconduct/arson; adolescent self-harming disclosures in social media.

Rachael is an enthusiastic and engaging public speaker and regularly seen in the media, including newspapers (e.g., Sunshine Coast Daily, The Courier-Mail, Herald Sun), magazines, internet (ABC news, SBS news, The Conversation), radio (ABC and commercial), and commercial television (e.g., the news and the Project).

The challenge of building resilience when no challenge is allowed.

Resilience is the ability to face, withstand or recover from difficult or challenging situations. Like many strengths, resilience can only be created through a person actually facing tricky or difficult things. But in a parenting climate that stops children from facing anything challenging, how do they even get the opportunity to develop resilience and confidence they can cope with any sort of future hardship?

In this presentation Dr Judith Locke will give you some of her research findings, why we are in this situation, practical strategies to overcome some of the current issues, and some food for thought.

How do we encourage children to do the sorts of outdoor (and indoor) activities that will build their resilience and confidence? How do we get their parents to approve of their child facing challenge? And how do we ensure that the child even is willing to step outside?

Dr Judith Locke

Dr Judith Locke is a clinical psychologist and former teacher, who is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Queensland University of Technology where she researches modern parenting, child and parent wellbeing, and the school environment.  In her private practice, she treats children, teens, young adults and families who, have been impacted by overparenting. As the director of a training company, Confident and Capable, Judith also works with parents in schools teaching them parenting strategies which will make children more adept at facing the ups and downs of life.

The Parenting Revolution

The world is changing. Our attitudes to health, education, and especially parenting, are changing. Culturally, we’re recognising the importance of a holistic approach to raising our kids – and a holistic approach to life itself. We know that education is more than just reading and maths. Kids need a variety of experiences, particularly in the outdoors, to really develop a full range of skills. After all, life skills can only be realised by living life, not just through studying books.

The shift in attitude is already apparent in our education system. We have more alternative schools, like Steiner and Montessori, and more options for parents who want to home-school or un-school their kids.

Parenting is heading the same way. For a long time, it has been highly prescriptive, such as traditional behaviour management practices – using rewards to reinforce behaviour, and punishment to discourage it. Or learning practices – we used to think that the best way to maximise learning was by giving kids all the opportunities they could possibly need, from dance classes to music lessons to the latest technology.

Unfortunately, this approach to parenting is backfiring. From a behavioural view, we’ve become so focused on what kids are doing, that we’re missing the underlying issues that lead to the behaviour. Kids aren’t learning how to manage their emotions, they’re just learning how to behave. They’re learning how to become people pleasers, or how to rebel.

Many parents place such importance on classroom-based learning, that the value of outdoor education is being lost. Outdoor education, which is so crucial in developing teamwork, resilience, problem solving, and leadership skills, in unstructured environments, and which classroom-based learning cannot replicate.

There’s more to it than that. Because parents want to give their kids all the opportunities they can, kids are more over-scheduled and under-rested than ever. And this means that they’re not getting the down time they need to consolidate new skills. For most kids, down time means playing outdoors or doing some kind of physical activity, or having unstructured time to just be creative. It’s not just for their health – if we want kids to remember things, they need time doing different things. Exercising different parts of their brain, as well as their body. But between school and homework, not to mention the TV, iPad, or video games, kids aren’t getting the down time they need.

Also, not all kids learn well in classroom settings. Some kids, like those with autism and ADHD, need to learn by moving, or through hands-on experiences. When we consider that the rate of autism has almost doubled since 2009, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, we’re seeing more and more kids who actually need to be outdoors to learn.

More and more evidence is showing the benefits of parent responsiveness, versus a one-size-fits-all approach. By 2030, parenting will be less prescriptive and more holistic. And the benefits will be tremendous. We’ll see less depression and anxiety in kids. We’ll see less violence and drug abuse. We’ll stem the flow of kids who suppress their feelings with food or alcohol, or who criticise and bully others.

Instead we’ll have kids who are happier, more confident, and more emotionally resilient – and I trust that we agree, it’s what we all want for the future.

Dr Ash Nayate

I am a Clinical Neuropsychologist, which means I have specialised expertise in brain-behaviour functioning. I have almost 15 years of experience working with children and their families, including at two of the leading children’s hospitals in Melbourne, Australia.

Over the years I’ve realised that the best gift we can give ourselves is mental wellbeing. In a world where mental illness is on the rise, I’ve made it my mission to help kids and families become happier, more confident, and more emotionally resilient.