2025 IPA Asia Pacific Conference Encores Series with Lucinda Jones
Play Australia presents the 2025 Asia Pacific Conference presnetation Encores by selected presenters from the conference.
Over the next few months we will get a chance to meet some of the conference presenters and experience their presentations from the conference.
Monday February 9th 2026 at 4:00pm (DST Sydney, Canberra & Melbourne)
Presenter: Lucinda Jones
Topic:
| Lucinda Jones is an enthusiastic and passionate Key Worker, Early Interventionist and Sector Capacity Building Project Officer at Bathurst Early Childhood Intervention Service (BECIS) in regional NSW. Graduating with a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood- Special Education) from CSU Bathurst in 2001, Lucinda has had over 25 years of extensive experience in a diverse range of Early Childhood Services and Tertiary Education before embarking on her multi-faceted role at BECIS Often described by her peers as a passionate and persuasive Early Childhood Professional, all aspects of Lucinda’s work are driven by a dedication to play advocacy for children, especially those with developmental concerns, delays or disabilities, their family and community. Embedded in this passion is her advocacy for play to be entrenched with connection, nature, loose parts, real world resources, practicality and unhurriedness. Lucinda’s role within BECIS provides her with the opportunity to advocate that play is an essential element in a child’s early intervention journey. She is committed to empowering all stakeholders to recognise that each child’s play is as diverse, individual, joyful and amazing as the child. Lucinda is able to do this through direct key worker involvement with children and their families as well as building the capacity of current and emerging Early Childhood Professionals within her community 2024 saw Lucinda undertake the Certificate in Playwork Practice (Foundation) with Play Australia. This solidified Lucinda’s certainty that Early Interventionists held a vital and significant role in promoting and advocating that children with developmental concerns, delays and disabilities flourish when interventions are provided through play. Lucinda’s thrives in sharing her passions in Early Childhood and has the ability to deliver with enthusiasm, excitement, practicality, all with a splash of humour. She avidly advocates from the heart, promoting that play must be accessible, inclusive and equitable, with diversity in play celebrated. It is important for Lucinda to inspire peers to prioritise, promote and celebrate play as the most successful early intervention approach for each child. |
BECIS over recent years has seen its Early Interventionists and Speech Pathologists have authentic and hard critical reflections on capacity building in children. Why were we stripping play away to meet goals, rather then preserve, promote and practice play knowing that evidence in early childhood, brain development and connection tells us children need to play for optimal development- physically and mentally. BECIS also understood and recognised inclusion and play go hand in hand, and how dare we use early intervention in any way but to link play and inclusion as both were a child’s right and a child’s strength. Every child thrives in play, every child has a right to play, and every child wants to play- for children with developmental delay, concern and disability, having early intervention that prioritises play for the child is critical and the most successful early intervention approach. BECIS journey to play as it’s heart is the focus of this panel discussion. BECIS is honest and built on integrity. This is why our journey into a world of play and inclusion is so critical for us to not only consume ourselves with, but to also promote and advocate to the wider early intervention world. It has been hard, for some more than others, and for families and community as well. But for goodness sake we all know, without a doubt, inclusion is play, inclusion and play is a child’s right and inclusion and play is now at BECIS heart.
Topic: Encore - Lucinda Jones
Australia