Childcare Provider Bulletin - March 2023!

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Childcare Provider Bulletin March 2023

Welcome to our latest e-bulletin, designed to keep you regularly informed of latest news, information and training relevant to the childcare sector.

We would appreciate your feedback on the e-bulletin and if there is anything you would like us to include or clarify then please let us know by completing our short survey

Please note: You will receive this bulletin in Welsh in a separate email.


Flying Start expansion and accessing the ICP form

General

The preferred application window for Flying Start placements to start after Easter ended on Friday 24 February and approval emails have now gone out to parents.

Please remember, families can still apply at any time, so please encourage any families with eligible children who have not yet applied, to do so.

Further information is available on the Flying Start childcare webpage here: https://www.caerphillyearlyyears.co.uk/childcare/flying-start-funded-childcare/

If you are contacted by a parent and a placement is agreed, you will need to complete an ICP form with them. You will find a direct link to the ICP form our our website here: https://www.caerphillyearlyyears.co.uk/childcare/childcare-providers/flying-start-provider-info/

To access the form, you will need to login to Caerphilly Connect:

  • If you already had an account, you can login using the email you provided when you created the account. If you have forgotten your password, you can click the 'Forgot password' link on the login screen to reset it.
  • If you did not already have an account, we have created one for you using the email address we have on file for you. You should have recently received an email to that email address inviting you to create a password. If you have not setup a password yet or have forgotten it, you can click the ‘Forgot password’ link on the login screen to reset it.

If you are not sure what email address to use to login, please email earlyyearshub@caerphilly.gov.uk and early Years Hub staff can check for you.


Assisted Places to change from 4 to 5 sessions per week

Curriculum

Following a recent review of the Assisted and Supported Places scheme, the number of sessions available will increase from four to five sessions per week, each session consisting of 2.5 hours. This change will be introduced at the start of the summer term.

This means that Childcare Providers contracted to deliver Assisted Places will be paid £5 per hour, for up to 12.5 hours per week

Further information is available on the Assisted Places webpage.


Huge thank you for your support with Dewis

Dewis Logo

Updating your Dewis resources and making sure they are visible to families is incredibly important for promoting your business. It only takes a few minutes and is FREE.

Currently, we have only 2 expired resources which is fantastic when you consider we have over 500 childcare related resources on Dewis. This is a huge achievement, and we want to thank you all for your support in achieving this. 

A few reminders:

  • You need to check your Dewis resources at least every 6 months. You will get email reminders to do this.
  • You can update your resource Description on the first page to personalise your information. However, if you are delivering Flying start, Assisted Places, Early Years Education, Childcare Offer or are a Welsh language setting we have added some hashtags to your resource descriptions. These are being used to generate lists of providers for parents. If you update your resource descriptions, please take care, and ensure that you leave these in place.

#CCBCFlyingStart
#CCBCAssistedPlaces
#CCBCEarlyYearsEd 

#CCBCChildcareOffer
#CCBCWelshProvision

If you have any questions, please contact your Childcare Officer or email earlyyearshub@caerphilly.gov.uk.


Childcare Offer Spot Checks

Childcare Offer

Please be aware that we are currently carrying out spot checks to check eligibility for Childcare Offer. 

Any parent who had their funding approved on or before 6 January 2023 and applied through the Caerphilly Early Years and Childcare service and not the new National Digital System, we are required by the Welsh Government to check that they are still eligible for funding. We have sent parents an email and text message containing to a form they need to complete.

To continue to receive the funding, they must complete this form by 13 March 2023.

Please can you talk to any families who are claiming Childcare Offer and did not apply through the new national system to check their emails and make sure they respond by the deadline.


Discussing play sufficiency in Gwent ... what is enough?

PLay sufficiency

Date: 30 March 2023, 10am - 12noon
Location: Zoom
Organiser: Play Wales with Aneurin Bevan Gwent Public Health Team

Having the chance to play is an important part of a happy and healthy childhood for every child.

The Welsh Government has legislated in support of children’s play. The Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 places a statutory duty on local authorities to assess and, as far as is reasonably practicable, secure sufficient opportunities for children to play.

So many policy decisions impact on children’s ability to play. Sufficiency and quality of play also impact on the outcomes for other policy areas.

This webinar will:

  • discuss the national and international policy context
  • share play sufficiency case studies from across Gwent.

This work supports the ‘Building a Healthier Gwent’ ambition, where ‘In 2030 the places where we live, work, learn and play make it easier for people in our communities to live healthy, fulfilled lives’.

The event is aimed at those working at a strategic level in areas which have an influence on play, including public health, education, planning, roads/transport, and leisure.

Register

Hello from our new Play Sufficiency Officer - Beck Miller

Becky

A warm welcome to Becki Miller who is new in post as Play Sufficiency Officer.

Becki’s role is to manage the play sufficiency assessment and action plan and in doing this she will be supporting play opportunities across the borough. We have a statutory duty to produce a Play Sufficiency Assessment (PSA) every 3 years.

The matters that are considered for the PSA are:

  • population,
  • providing for diverse needs,
  • space available for children to play,
  • open spaces,
  • outdoor unstaffed designated play spaces,
  • supervised provision,
  • play work provision,
  • structured recreational activities,
  • charges for play provision,
  • information/publicity/events,
  • the play workforce,
  • community engagement and participation, and
  • play within policy and implementation agendas.

The Play Sufficiency Action Plan will underpin the work going forward however we are keen to hear of any suggestions on how you, your families, schools, and communities would like to support play going forward. Please email miller1@caerphilly.gov.uk.


Welsh language message of the month

Learning welsh

Reflecting on World Book Day…

Useful Welsh words:

  • Reading – Darllen
  • Character – Cymeriad
  • Books - Llyfrau

Activity suggestion:

You could listen to variety of stories being read in Welsh via: BookTrust

Preparing for Easter 9th April 2023!

Useful Welsh words and phrases:

  • Happy Easter - Pasg Hapus
  • Jesus - Iesu
  • Easter Eggs - Wyau Pasg
  • Cross – Croes

Here’s a thought?

Include ‘Pasg Hapus’ to send bilingual Easter cards home with the children.


Let's Talk message of the month - Re-casting

Lets talk

Re-casting is a way of helping children learn how to say words and sentences correctly. It just means correctly repeating words or phrases a child has made a mistake with.

Recasting helps children to hear an accurate example of what the word or sentence sounds like but doesn’t draw attention when they’ve made a mistake.

You can use re-casting when the child says a word but makes a mistake with sounds:

If the child says...

You can say...

It's a tar

Yes, it's a car, a fast car

It's dunny today

It's so sunny today

Delly please

You want some jelly

You can also recast when they make a mistake with their words or grammar:

If the child says...

You can say...

Look, cat!

Look, a dog!

He swimmed

He swam in the pool

Her wants apply

She wants the apple

It can be really tempting to correct the child by saying ‘it’s not a cat it’s a dog!’ but re-casting means that your response stays positive and encourages the child to keep communicating with you.

For more information on re-casting visit: Recasting: Best way to correct grandchild's words - BBC Tiny Happy People

For more information on interacting with young children, visit https://gov.wales/talk-with-me


Visit our new website

website

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. 


Like us on Facebook

facebook

For the latest information and advice on childcare services and activities, Like the Family Information Service on facebook.


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