 Costs for funded placements will increase from 1 April 2024.
- Childcare Placement (Flying Start and Assisted Place) daily rate will be £16 per child per 2.5-hour session.
- Enhanced Provision (Additional Support) will be funded at £14.00 per hour, please see below breakdown for the 2.5 hour session:
| Needs of child |
Session Costs |
| Complex e.g., mobility |
£35 |
| High |
£28 |
| Medium |
£17.50 |
| Low |
£10.50 |
 Caerphilly Early Years Childcare Service would like to give a warm welcome onboard to new childcare providers, that have opened their doors to its new childcare settings this term, Clwb Y Ddraig and Sunshine Flying Start Childcare
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Clwb Y Ddraig, who have this term opened 2 brand-new childcare settings in Bryn Primary and Nant Y Parc Primary Schools. The settings both offer a Wraparound service to support families in their local area with their childcare needs. The owner of Clwb Y Ddraig, Rebecca Bennett strongly believes in and is an advocate of articles 31 and 12 of the UNCRC, in that all children have the right to play and all children have the right for their views and opinions to be taken seriously. Clwb Y Ddraig ensure that all children have access to freely chosen play opportunities, to enhance their experiences and have the opportunity through child led consultations to explore their voices freely during their time at Clwb Y Ddraig.
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Sunshine Flying Start Childcare, which is based in Caerphilly Children’s Centre, Energlyn. The setting offers an Inclusive Flying Start Provision who provide Child led play opportunities and learning experiences. Their environment is free flowing, so the children attending will always have free access to a wonderful indoor and outdoor environment.
 The AWARe/ Health Protection Team at Public Health Wales is pleased to announce the launch of their new website.
Visit the new Health Protection webpage here
Please take the time to make yourself familiar with the site, as it will host the most recent guidance, information and training available for childcare settings.
This site provides information on who the AWARe/ HPT are and how they can be contacted.
Additionally, the team have announced the release of new guidance on Health Protection in Children and Young People's Settings, including Education. This replaces the former Infection Control Guidance in Childcare Settings. You can access this guidance under the section titled "Guidance for Childcare Settings".
If you have not done so already, please take a look at the two grants that are available, the Childminder Assistant Qualification Grant and the Training Attendance Allowance. Find out more here. The closing date for applications is Friday 22nd March 2024.
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For contracted Flying Start Settings, the term dates for January 2024 to Easter 2024 are:
- Term starts: Monday 8 January 2024
- Half term holiday starts: Monday 12 February 2024
- Half term holiday ends: Friday 16 February 2024
- Term ends: Friday 22 March 2024
If you have any planned closure days where you are not operational (this includes school inset days if you are a setting based on a school site) or cannot offer children their full Flying Start entitlement on any day during the term, it is essential that you discuss the closure dates with your Childcare Officer and update the Early Years Hub on 01443 863232 or email earlyyearshub@caerphilly.gov.uk.
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Families who applied for Flying Start childcare by the 26th January have now received their email confirming their child's eligibility. This email instructs them to contact their preferred Flying Start Childcare provider to arrange the placement. A link to a list of approved Flying Start childcare providers on Dewis is included in the email so please make sure your Dewis resources are up to date and have not expired. To arrange the placement, you will need to complete the ICP. This is available on our forms and links page here.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Early Years Hub on 01443 863232 or email earlyyearshub@caerphilly.gov.uk.
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Easter is the perfect time to model a range of words to improve children’s vocabulary. The Hanen Centre discuss the importance of modelling to children a variety of word types. It is tempting to focus on colours and shapes but children benefit from hearing different words that serve a function. Here is the Hanen article: Tips to Build Vocabulary: Repeat Words That Match Your Child's Interests (hanen.org)
Here are some examples of Christmas themed vocabulary.
- Names: Easter Bunny
- Words that describe: yummy, happy
- Action Words: singing songs, eating chocolate
- Words for feelings: happy, excited
- Location words (where things are): eggs are in the grass, look under
- Social words: hello, good morning
- Words that express belonging: my chocolate, your dinner
- Question words: why, when
For more information on interacting with young children, visit https://gov.wales/talk-with-me
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 With Easter just around the corner here are some links that might be useful when planning activities at your setting:
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