Playing for the Future: 10 Years of PEDAL
Join us at PEDAL’s 2025 Conference to celebrate our 10th anniversary and a decade of play and early years research! Hear more about what the future of play may look like, from new technologies to working together to ensure a future where play is valued and inclusive.
This one-day event will bring researchers, policy makers and practitioners into conversation about what we’ve learned about play and early development over the last decade, what we still need to learn, and how we can put this into practice.
Together let’s dream – and build – a world where play is truly valued.
PEDAL Conference Programme
We’re finalising the agenda for the day, but we’ll hear from:
- Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter (Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education)
- Dr Catherine Draper (University of the Witwatersrand)
- Dr. Nikhit D’Sa (Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child, University of Notre Dame)
- Dr Julian Grenier (Education Endowment Foundation)
- Bo Stjerne Thomsen (Lego Education)
You can read more about the speakers, keynote presentations and workshops here.
Conference FAQs
For any enquiries not answered here, please contact us via email at pedal@educ.cam.ac.uk.
The Pedal Conference 2025 will take place on 11 June 2025 from 9:00 – 5:00.
The conference is taking part in the Faculty of Education and the Mary Allan Building, both of which are in the grounds of Homerton College. The address is:
Homerton College
Hills Road
Cambridge
CB2 8PH
Registration will take place in the Mary Allan Building (shown below in purple) which can be accessed via the marked entrance on Hills Road:
Tickets cost £20 per attendee which also includes lunch and refreshments throughout the day.
If you are unable to pay the fee but would like to attend, please contact us via email at pedal@educ.cam.ac.uk.
The PEDAL Conference has been planned with clinicians, commissioners, educators, policy makers, practitioners, researchers and service managers in mind, but is open to anyone who feels they would benefit from it!
The Faculty of Education and Homerton College are approximately 15 minutes’ walk from Cambridge railway station and there are several direct buses from the station. Please click here for more information on travelling on foot, by bike or using transport.
Unfortunately, we are only able to offer on-site parking at the Faculty of Education for those with accessibility requirements. If you require a parking space, please email pedal@educ.cam.ac.uk and we can arrange this for you.
There are some parking spaces on nearby residential streets – such as Cavendish Avenue, Hills Avenue and Glebe Road – but we cannot guarantee parking on the day. The closest paid car park is Cambridge Leisure.
We strive to make our events as inclusive as possible, and can offer the following list of resources:
- All rooms are wheelchair accessible
- On-site parking for those with accessibility requirements
- Accessible toilets
- British Sign Language interpretation
- Hearing loop in rooms
- Prayer room
- Quiet space
- Service dog friendly
Please note that the Faculty of Education is situated within the grounds of Homerton College. Some workshops will take place in Homerton’s Mary Allan Building, which is approximately a five minute walk from the Faculty.
If you have additional accessibility requirements or any further questions please contact us via email at pedal@educ.cam.ac.uk.
There are many great hotels in Cambridge, but over the summer the city tends to get quite busy so we recommend booking early. The Ibis Cambridge Central Station is conveniently located next to Cambridge railway station, which is only a 15 minute walk from the Faculty of Education.
There is also a Travelodge only five minutes away from the Faculty. For further information about other Travelodge hotels in the area, please click here.
The Conference is an in-person event however limited content will be available online. We recommended attending the event in person to get the most out of it.
