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Welcome back everyone, we hope you had a great summer and were able to take some well deserved time off.
Once again, we have a busy term ahead of us and looking forward to moving back to the new post-Covid “normal”.
Over the next few months there will be several changes to our service that directly effect you as childcare providers. As usual, we will use this e-bulletin to update you on everything you need to know so it is important that you spend some time reading it when it comes through. We aim to get the bulletin out to you at the beginning of every month so please look out for it.
 The latest Caerphilly Early Years and Childcare training timetable is now available to view on our website. Click the link below for details and to access the training request form.
 Early Years Wales - Workforce Development
In addition to our own training timetable, Early Years Wales aims to support the workforce to gain the skills that are needed to progress in a childcare career and access employment opportunities through quality professional development opportunities. Visit their website for further details and their latest training planner.
This autumn, the Childcare Offer for Wales will launch its new national digital service. Watch this video to find out what the new service means for childcare providers.
 Grants
As part of the Summer of Fun 2022 will are pleased to share with you, that we have awarded a total of 44 providers a grant so that they’re able to support the children in their settings to enjoy a summer of fun, as well as support local businesses throughout the summer period.
Play days
As part of Welsh Government’s Summer of Fun Campaign in Caerphilly, we delivered free open-access play in the park sessions for children and families to come and play together. We delivered sessions throughout the summer holidays, in various parks throughout the locality. We provided activities that were simple in nature with the intention that they could be replicated by families at home; we aimed to ensure that activities were inclusive for all needs.
In total there were well over a 1900 children and adults who attended all six Play in the Park sessions. Many families took the opportunity to share their gratitude and excitement throughout each day, and the children were notably happy, engaged, playful and particularly excited to try out messy play activities at home!
There was also an opportunity to network with many childcare providers which was both great and insightful. We hope that all had fun playing in the park!
 You will be aware from previous bulletins, the Welsh Government have been re-developing some training resources to support the implementation of Curriculum for Wales. If you have not done so already, we would urge you to take a look at these.
Please continue to use all modules for support as you prepare for the new term. The modules include child development, outdoor learning, transitions, observation, play and play-based learning and authentic and purposeful learning.
New modules have now been developed to support practitioners as they prepare for the implementation of the curriculum for funded non-maintained nursery settings.
This suite of modules complements the previously published modules on Hwb and have been developed specifically for practitioners in funded non-maintained settings.
The first of these modules ‘Schematic development: patterns of repetitive behaviour that can be seen in children’s play’ is now available on Hwb.
This module will deepen your understanding of schematic development in children and support you in understanding how effective environments can facilitate schematic development. It will also support you to reflect on your practice and consider how provision can impact children’s learning and development.
Three more modules will be published:
- Understanding the Curriculum for Wales and the development of A Curriculum for funded non-maintained nursery settings.
- Understanding the five developmental pathways and pedagogy.
- Leadership in a non-maintained nursery setting
All modules can be accessed from the same link as the Schematic development module and we will let you when these are available too.
 We are about to launch our new funding arrangement (Direct Purchasing System ‘DPS’) for delivery of Early Years Education, Assisted and Supported Places and the expansion of the Flying Start programme as it moves towards a universal offer for all 2 year olds.
The current Framework for Delivery of Childcare Places comes to a close in March 2023 so any setting, including those currently on the existing Framework, will be able to apply for the new DPS when it goes live.
Don’t worry if you miss the deadline as opportunities to apply will remain open for the duration of the DPS until 2026.
You will all be pleased to hear that we have tried to make the process of applying for the DPS as straightforward as possible to encourage you to join us in this exciting venture.
Information and further details can be found on the Sell2Wales website from Monday 5 September 2022.
 Did you know, if a child chooses the activity they are likely to stay for longer. Playing doesn’t have to involve toys. Anything your child enjoys counts as play – even if it’s a daily routines, helping with a job or bathtime. To talk and play every day, why not:
- Let your child choose what to do together
- Say the word for what your child can see or what they are doing
- Copy what they are doing with toys to help them notice you
For more information on interacting with young children, visit https://gov.wales/talk-with-me
Don't forget to have a look around our new website. It has lots of useful information and advice about early years, childcare and support for prospective parents or families with children from birth to 7 years. www.caerphillyearlyyears.co.uk/
We have a dedicated section for childcare providers where you can also view any previous e-bulletins you may have missed. Please let us know how you think this could be improved.
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