KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's largest annual conference for early childhood professionals starts in Wellington tomorrow, with 685 delegates to attend the three-day programme.
Early Childhood Council chief executive Sue Thorne said the unprecedented level of interest showed the conference and the organisation were going from strength to strength.
Last year 530 delegates attended.
This year's event will feature 47 speakers, 35 workshops, 50 trade stands and 25 invited government officials and sector leaders.
"Education will be a key issue at this year's election and we are very pleased to be hosting a policy forum with members of parliament from seven political parties," she said.
"This will be the first chance for the sector to get some insight into what politicians are thinking about early childhood education," Mrs Thorne said.
One of the most important challenges facing the sector was how to engage with at-risk children, she said.
"These are the children who stand to gain the most from education but are traditionally the least likely to attend early childhood services."
Two women from England would address the conference on the success the Pen Green centre had had engaging with children and families who had previously struggled to interact with early childhood education.
"There will be a lot of valuable lessons there for New Zealand."
-NZPA
