HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have issued a reminder encouraging parents who want to take up a 30 hours place in the autumn term to apply now, to get their code in good time. As HMRC sometimes needs more information back from the parent to check whether they’re eligible, parents should allow time for this to ensure that a valid code is received well ahead of the 31st August deadline. 

Whether you have toddlers or teens, you could get Government support with childcare costs.

To check eligibility and how you can get it 30 hours free childcare visit: gov.uk/30-hours-free-childcare

Early years sector has criticised Channel 4 over its upcoming programme 'Train your Baby like a Dog' petitioning Ofcom for the show to be cancelled.

The controversial documentary (transmits on Tuesday 20 August at 8pm) explores a brand-new approach to parents struggling with their child’s behavior; teaching parents how to use clicker training normally used on dogs to train their children to be compliant with treats.

Instead of telling kids what not to do, animal behaviourist Jo-Rosie Haffenden believes in motivating and helping them to understand what ‘to do’.

In this one hour pilot programme, parents of a three-year-old, experiencing daily tantrums and 18-month-old who refuses to sleep in her own cot, turn their backs on discipline and instead embrace positive dog training techniques for children.

Channel 4’s reaction to the complaints can be read here.

The Department for Education (DfE) plan to increase registration fees for early years settings and are also seeking views on revising provider type categories used to determine Early Years Register fee model.

The DfE has launched a 12 week consultation suggesting to increase fees by £8 for childminders and sessional settings and by £49 for settings that offer full daycare. Currently childminders and sessional settings pay a £35 application fee and full daycare settings a £220 fee, both of which must be renewed annually.

Under the proposals from April 2020, fees could increase to £43 for childminders and sessional settings and £269 for full daycare settings. The reasoning behind this it is to help the inspectorate recover more of the costs associated with childcare inspection and regulation.

Find out more about the proposal here.

Nearly 500 childcare providers have registered since the launch of Meningitis Aware Recognition Mark (MARM) in 2018. Meaning that thousands of children around the country are better protected from meningitis, thanks to the comprehensive checklist of actions every participating childcare setting has signed up to.

This includes displaying awareness materials and training staff about the signs and symptoms of the disease, informing parents and carers about meningitis, and ensuring a policy is in place to deal with a case of the disease.

Information and Projects coordinator Kelly Archer – who runs the MARM scheme – said that they are thrilled at how many nurseries, childminders and preschools had already signed up.

Find about more about the MARM programme.

The world of early years and childcare was certainly a very different place two decade ago. It was a world before the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), Ofsted inspection, children’s centres, 15 hours universal entitlements for three- and four-year-olds, two-year-old funding, and 30 hours. Not to mention the development of key legislation including the Children Act (2004) and the Childcare Act (2006). And crucially, the evidence base to prove all our worth was a fraction of the size it is today.

Although it may now feel like many arguments for supporting early years and childcare as a key service with significant outcomes have been won, Hempsall’s continue to work hard to develop collective resources and smooth out operational and strategic issues. You can view Hempsall’s new leaflet describing their current work and services here and read more about the Hempsall’s history at: hempsalls.com/about/history

Cambridgeshire Early Years and Childcare Service celebrated international Friendship Day on 30^th July and reflects on the benefits of childhood friendships.

Learning how to make friends is a key part of children’s social and emotional development. Forming early friendships help children to learn and progress through developmental milestones and ultimately become happy, well-balanced, emotionally resilient individuals.

Our early childhood friends, share similar first-time experiences with us, as we find out about ourselves and discover the world around us. Ultimately, helping to influence each of us and define who we are.

Obviously we want all children to make and keep friends. However being too eager for children to build relationships and be popular should not become a parental pride project.

The Personal Social Health Education (PSHE) offer this advice: cambslearntogether.co.uk/services-to-schools/pshe/areas-of-work/relationships

The Education Endowment Foundation funded EasyPeasy project sends families game ideas, hints and tips to help develop the skills that will prepare their children for school and beyond.

There is good evidence that a positive home learning environment in the early years is associated with improved outcomes at school. However the EEF study from the recent pilot scheme, did not find evidence that EasyPeasy had an impact on children’s language development at the end of nursery using a summary language score. Impacts on language subscales, and social, emotional and behavioural outcomes were small and mixed.

The largest of these effects was on cognitive self-regulation, which is consistent with previous studies, though the effect here is smaller than has been reported previously and should be interpreted with caution: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk

As a reminder, the DfE has produced Level 2 Criteria for Early Years, as they did for Level 3 in 2014 when introducing the Early Years Educator.

From September 1, 2019 any learner embarking upon a qualification at Level 2, wishing to enter the workforce and count in the ratios, will need to register on an approved DfE qualification from the Level 2 Early Years Practitioner qualifications list.

Any learners who are currently registered, or will be registered before September 1, 2019 on a qualification containing Early Years knowledge and skills at Level 2 will not be affected, they will still be able to enter the workforce and count in the ratios for Level 2.

The criteria is not being applied retrospectively so if a practitioner holds a Level 2 qualification and has been counted in ratios up to September 1, 2019, they will continue to count after this date.

If you are thinking of starting a Level 2 Diploma for Early Years Practitioner qualification in the autumn term, now is the time to book: cambslearntogether.co.uk/early-years/conferences-and-events/qualifications-and-awards

Kemi Badenoch has been appointed the new children and families minister in Boris Johnson's first cabinet.

The MP for Saffron Walden, who was elected in 2017, replaces Nadhim Zahawi. Ms Badenoch takes on responsibility for the inspection and regulation of early years and childcare policy and the delivery of 30-hour childcare, as well as the pupil premium, special educational needs and children’s social care.

As part of our support to providers facing recruitment challenges, we are actively looking to develop a Cambridgeshire Early Years Apprenticeship offer based on the new level 3 standard.

It’s still early days, but the offer to be co-developed with providers is expected to include:

• Recruitment support from the County Council
• Full funding for all the learning and end point assessment
• One day per week off-the job training with an established learning provider
• Mentoring support from highly qualified and experienced early years practitioners

If you have a vacancy for a level 3 and would be interested in employing a Cambridgeshire Early Years apprentice, this could be for you. Anyone interested in the scheme is invited to complete a brief online survey.

Selected providers in Godmanchester, Huntingdon, St Neots and St Ives will have the opportunity to take part in a special programme designed to establish local partnerships for development, and improve outcomes for children in language, literacy and mathematics.

The Education Development Trust will be working with Elklan to train up champions from local settings over the coming year, who will then cascade training to the other settings in their partnership.

This national initiative will be rolled out to 52 other local authorities, and we estimate that around 400 practitioners are likely to benefit over the two-year programme.

Many local settings have already been contacted, but more providers will be invited to join over the coming weeks.

Cambridgeshire County Council are working with huathe in the autumn term to offer Forest School qualifications. Huathe’s unique Forest School training course deliver a mix of theory and practical activity, suitable for everyone as it contains Levels 1, 2, and 3 qualifications which are all accredited by the Open College Network.

This unique model of training will be ideal for those working in schools and/or settings that may wish to complete different levels of qualifications but still train together, e.g. one person will attend either two or four days, hearing the same messages as their colleague who will return for the further tutor led sessions to gain their leaders qualification. 

The autumn term Forest School programme will begin on October 3, 2019.

Further information is available on: cambslearntogether.co.uk

Selected settings across the county will be receiving an invitation to join in the 'My Smile' programme.

Specialist Oral Health team members will come into the setting and work with practitioners to implement a supervised tooth brushing approach for pre-school children.

The project will provide all guidance, equipment and promotional materials each year for up to three years. The team will be contacting settings in September 2019.

A leading children's charity issues warning about the impact of poverty on child development, after new statistics revealed significant differences in crucial early years abilities across England.

Public Health England data found that five per cent of two-year-olds tested in Cambridgeshire lack key communication skills expected for their age and had not reached the expected level of development in other measured areas, such as problem solving, social interaction and motor skills.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "We are working with Public Health England and the NHS to modernise the Healthy Child programme which already ensures children and families receive five mandatory health visitor checks by the time they are two and a half”.

The Cambridgeshire County Council Family Information Directory is due to be replaced in late August 2019.

Ofsted registered childcare settings and childminders all have a listing on this directory, which is used by parents when searching for childcare provision in Cambridgeshire.

The new directory will be a combination of the content from the Family Information Directory and another of Cambridgeshire County Council’s websites called Cambridgeshire.net.

You won’t need to do anything, as all the information currently published on Ofsted registered childcare settings and childminders will be automatically transferred across and will be displayed in a similar way to how it is currently displayed on the Family Information Directory.

More information about the new directory can be found at: cambridgeshire.gov.uk/news/cambridgeshire-net-replacement-update.

The Armed Forces Covenant are raising awareness of service children’s experience and military life at RAF Wyton in October, as part of their ongoing commitment to support those who serve.

The conference will host talks and workshops from organisations including Service Children in State Schools Alliance (SCISS), MOD Directorate of Children and Young persons, and the Service Children’s progression Alliance (SCIP).

Admission is free, however preregistration is required. As this conference is being held at a military facility and security checks will be carried out on all attendees. If you are a foreign national and book onto the conference please contact: Victoria.Barr@cambridgeshire.gov.uk as soon as you have made the booking as additional security checks may need to be undertaken.

To book: eventbrite.com/e/service-childrens-conference-cambridgeshire-tickets-65924563143

As well as following the Early Years and Childcare service on Instagram @cambseyc, you can now join CambsEYC on Facebook: facebook.com/cambseyc.

The new page will be used to share all the latest sector news and information focusing on continuous professional development within Cambridgeshire, along with upcoming conferences and events.

Please feel free to comment and share any posts of interest. CambsEYC encourages you to use the platform much in the same way as you have already been using the ‘Learn Together Knowledge Hub’. To ensure respect is maintained within this communal group the Early Years and Childcare service kindly ask that you self-moderate your interactions and to also when/where relevant, seek permission before sharing any third party content.

Should you like CambsEYC to share a post on your behalf, you can contact the service directly via Facebook Messenger: m.me/cambseyc or at: eycinfo@cambridgeshire.gov.uk