CBeebies presenter to attend Childcare Expo

A leading children’s TV presenter is starring at a major early years and primary education event in Coventry to mark its tenth anniversary. 

CBeebies television presenter Sid Sloane is attending Childcare Expo which takes place at Ricoh Arena on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 September. 

Sloane, who helped to launch the CBeebies channel in 2002, will be demonstrating activities on how to improve the health of children’s brains on Friday 27 September. 

Childcare Expo is a major industry event created specifically for professionals, practitioners, teachers and senior leadership who work within early years and primary settings. 

A new activity zone is also being introduced called Mrs Mactivity, allowing education professionals and their children to try out child-led learning activities such as a make-your-own phonics fishing game. 

The event is expected to attract a record 2000 visitors and 100 exhibitors to Ricoh Arena across both days – ten years on from when they started with 1200 visitors and 70 exhibitors. 

Emma Barrett, Director and Show Organiser of Childcare Expo, said: “This is a must-attend event for anybody working in the early years education sector to keep abreast of the key issues in the industry, while engaging with suppliers of products that are used in nurseries and classrooms across the country every day. 

“The hot topics at this year’s event will be around the 30 free hours of childcare and ways in which nurseries can help to boost their income around this, as well as how education providers can strive for an ‘outstanding’ OFSTED inspection. 

“We’ve been growing in numbers and ambition year-on-year, providing added value for visitors through hands on experiences in workshops, fun feature areas and CPD opportunities with the seminar programmes.  

“The vast space and flexibility of Ricoh Arena has also enabled us to grow the size of the show year-on-year – helped by its central location – which has played a key factor in us having a long-term presence in Coventry.”  

Caroline Lissaman, Senior Events Manager at Ricoh Arena, has overseen the growth of Childcare Expo since its inception. 

She added: “We’re extremely proud to have had one of the leading shows from the UK education sector on Coventry’s doorstep for so long. 

“Around 77 per cent of the events we hold are returning customers, and we look forward to developing Childcare Expo in the future.”