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Bulletin 275

12 June 2023

Welcome to our Early Years and Childcare bulletin. Previous bulletins are available at: Cheshire East Early years and Childcare Bulletin

Business Support

Free Early Education Entitlement – FEEE Briefing

There will be 2 FEEE Briefings via Microsoft Teams on Thursday 15 June 2023. The sessions will be held at 10am or 6.30pm.

These Briefings are aimed at both new providers and those providers who would like a refresher. They are due to last around 1 hour and will give you the opportunity to meet the Team as well as to ask any questions you may have. We would recommend that at least 2 people, where possible, join so that there is back-up in case of illness when adding data to the Portal.

To book onto one of these sessions, please go to the Online Shop below to book your place. These Briefings are free of charge.

Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements

Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements: Focus on...

Children cannot control their body temperature as efficiently as adults during hot weather because they do not sweat as much and so can be at risk of ill-health from heat. The government have published guidance for early years setting about the health risks from heat and how to prevent heat-induced illness in young children.

Department for Education

Have you heard about the DFE Covid Recovery Programme?

The DFE Covid recovery programme offers Early Years providers face to face support from an Early years Expert and online support for your team from an Early years Mentor. The programme is free to join.

Providers who have already been on the programme found it valuable support in developing areas of practice and provision, such as curriculum, environments, routines, quality interactions and child development knowledge.

More information can be found on the following link:

Applying for support from the Early Years Experts and Mentors programme | Pen Green Children's Centre

Any provider can self- refer onto the programme by following the link below (priority may be given to eligible settings)

Early Years Experts and Mentors programme - Request for support Autumn 2023 (office.com)

Applications are now open for Autumn term 2023 and will close on Friday 23^rdJune. To discuss the programme further with a member of our team please contact Earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Great News for Childminders- the DFE Childminder Mentor Programme is now available

By joining this programme, you will receive support from experienced early years practitioners. You can apply for support as an individual, or with other childminders as part of a small group (of up to 4 people) . Best of all the support is free

You will also have the opportunity to network with other childminders in your area who are part of the programme 

For more information and to apply please follow the link below

COVID-19 Recovery Childminders | Hempsalls

If you would like to discuss the programme further with a member of our team please contact earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk . Application deadline is 31^st July 2023

Department for Education Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Consultation

The Department for Education has launched a consultation on the EYFS to offer providers increased flexibility and alleviate known burdens, exploring giving providers more choice over how they operate and making it easier for them to deliver the EYFS. It is their intention that these changes will support settings to deliver the new entitlements announced at the Spring Budget.  

They hope to hear from many people and organisations before the deadline on 26 July, so they can gather a broad range of views to help them reach well-informed decisions. The Department for Education and Foundation Years are also planning some engagement events for stakeholders, so please look out for this.  

To note, this consultation builds on the measures consulted on in Summer 2022. The changes to 2 year old staff to child ratios and supervision whilst eating are due to come into force in September 2023, subject to parliamentary procedure.

EYFS Consultation Blog

The Foundation Years website has published a blog on the EYFS consultation. It gives information on why the Department for Education are running the consultation and how you can respond. 

Foundation Years online event - 6 July 2023

Foundation Years will host another online session on Thursday 6 July where you can again engage with representatives from the Department for Education about the consultation.

Attendees will also hear from:

• Ofsted on their latest research and resources
• Education Endowment Foundation on personal, social and emotional development (PSED)
• Education Development Trust on the Early Years Professional Development Programme

You can book your free place on Eventbrite here.  

New oral health guidance for early years practitioners

Nearly a quarter of 5-year-olds in England have tooth decay – but this is largely preventable. 

New oral health guidance from the Department for Education is now available on the Help for Early Years Providers website.  

The guidance: 

• explains the importance of good oral health for early years children
• helps practitioners to meet the oral health requirement in the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework
• includes practical tips and activities to use in early years settings
• links to further reading and resources

For more guidance on supporting children in the early years, visit the Help for Early Years Providers website. 

Information for all education settings: new weather health alerts

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has worked in collaboration with the Met Office and Cabinet Office to produce an updated collection of guidance and advice on hot weather and health.

This includes updated guidance on looking after children and those in early years settings during heatwaves.

A dedicated platform for issuing heat-health alerts and cold-health alerts has also been established.

You can receive these alerts by completing this online form.

Information for all education settings: support to develop sustainability and climate action plans

On Thursday 18 May the Department for Education announced £15 million in funding for nurseries, schools and colleges as part of a wider roll out of the National Education Nature Park.

This will support settings and young people that need the most help to access nature.

The Department for Education also published guidance on support for settings to implement sustainability leadership to develop and deliver a climate action plan.

Information all education settings: guidance on government single-use plastics ban

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published guidance on the single-use plastics ban for a range of cutlery items, which will be enforced from October 2023.

This includes details on how to prepare for the ban and the list of items included.

EYFS Learning and Development

Bookstart Great Big Green Week

SEND

Cheshire East Chatters

Cheshire East Chatters key message - Together outdoors we can talk and explore!

Introducing Cheshire East Chatters latest key message poster – “Together outdoors we can talk and explore!”  Spending time outdoors has benefits for lots of areas of children’s development, health and wellbeing.  This half term we are exploring how being outdoors can support children’s language learning.  Research shows that children are often more relaxed when they are outside.  They therefore feel more comfortable and confident to communicate, the basis of any effective interaction.  When we are relaxed we are more ready to learn – this applies to learning communication skills too!

Being outdoors naturally sparks children’s curiosity; the larger physical space and increased freedom to explore allows them to become more mindful of what is around them.  The changes that occur with the seasons mean that your space is changing all the time and keeping children’s interest alive.  This provides the perfect opportunity for adults to follow the child’s lead and provide language models based on their interests. Being outdoors is great for physical development too and provides lots of opportunities for modelling action words.  Verbs are learned best through physically doing the action and children have plenty of space to practise when they are outside!  Research also shows that regular breaks for physical activity increase our ability to attend and focus, a foundation skill for language development.  Alongside all these benefits for language learning, we also know that spending time outside makes us feels good and improves our wellbeing, and this is the same for children.  What’s more, all that fresh air and activity will help them fall asleep more quickly at night too, an added incentive for families to spend time outdoors together!

Parenting Journey

Continuous Professional Development

Opportunity to register for the Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP)

The Early Years Professional Development Programme is funded by the Department for Education and offers a comprehensive package of professional development that is based on current early years pedagogy. It will help to build upon practitioners’ skills and knowledge to improve the quality of adult-child interactions. It offers the opportunity to:

• Improve skills to identify children at risk of speech, language and communication needs
• Provide an understanding of the theory of child development in early mathematics
• Develop skills to support children’s self-confidence, relationships, and self-awareness through expertly developed Personal, Social and Emotional Development training 
• Improve engagement with parents and carers to support the home learning environment

Registration is open for the September 2023 cohort and so if you are interested in participating in the Early Years Professional Development Programme then you can apply here: 

Apply – Early Years Professional Development Programme (earlyyearspdp.com)

Owners and Managers briefing

22nd June 23 9.15am-12pm Oakenclough Children Centre or 30th June 23 12.45-3.30pm Canalside Conference Centre, Middlewich

As some of you may know the early years team have had some changes recently as we transform our services to operate within the family hubs model. Our new Head of Service for Early Year Family help & prevention Danielle Holdcroft and the rest of our newly structured leadership team would like to meet with you as owners and managers to share some of these changes and consult with you on how we work in collaboration in the future to improve outcomes for our early years children and families as part of the family hubs model. We hope to see as many of you as possible.

Reserve your place by logging onto the Early Years Hub now : Chess Early Years Training Hub (sla-portals.co.uk)

Let’s talk twos…” Specifically 2’s”

Find out how our youngest children learn about maths, literacy, understanding the world and expressive arts and design, and how we can deliver these in an age-appropriate way for 2-year-olds.

Upcoming CPD Opportunities

Find out about the range of development opportunities available and book your place by logging onto the new Early Years Training Hub via the Provider Login Button on our Training web page: Early Years and Childcare Training Resources (cheshireeast.gov.uk). Please login in or sign up by clicking on the link at the top right of the page.

Explore the EYFS 12th June 2023 9.30-11am - Online

Explore Part 1 ‘The Learning and Development requirements’ and Part 2 ‘Assessment’ of the Statutory Framework. Look at the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and offers useful links and information to take back to the setting when considering curriculum, assessment and Ofsted expectations.

Understanding the EIF and the Learning Walk 13th June 2023 9.30-11.30am – Online

An opportunity to consider Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework in the light of the new Early Years Foundation Stage framework. Curriculum is discussed and consideration is given to how to integrate Intent, Implementation and Impact into your setting. The Learning Walk is unpicked and Ofsted’s ‘Golden Thread’ is looked at in more detail.

Supporting Speech Sounds 13th June 23 1-4pm - Macclesfield Library

This course has been written to help you support children’s communication and language development. Its an opportunity to discuss typical speech sound development in the early years and get some practical ideas for strategies to support the children’s language development in your setting.

Progress Check and Integrated Review at 2, 13th June 2023 6.30-8.30pm or 14^th June 1.30-3.30pm – Online

**This training course is free of charge to attend for all Cheshire East Early Years providers**

Consider the requirements of writing a quality progress check to fulfil the statutory requirements of the EYFS and how this links in with integrated review and the Health development check.

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Cluster 14-Jun-23, 6.30pm - 8.30pm or 15-Jun-23, 9.30am - 11.30am - Online

An opportunity to develop your DSL's understanding, knowledge and skills. There will be discussion with other leads and sharing of effective practice/materials plus updates on new legislation/initiatives. The Local Authority Designated Officer will be looking at procedures to follow when there is an allegation against a member of staff and discussing our local processes.

Rhymetime Roadshow at Oakenclough Children Centre, 14^th June 10am-12.30pm

Come along to our Roadshow to hear about our Rhymetime document and our Bookstart Corner pack. Learn about the importance of rhymes, songs and stories to support all aspects of a child's learning and development and how you can use these resources to build, deliver and support an effective curriculum.  You will also hear about our Parenting Journey and the Library Service and how you can use them to support or signpost your families. All attendees will be given a Rhymetime document and a box of Bookstart goodies.

New to the role of the DSL 16^th June 9.30am-3.30pm Oakenclough Children Centre

Ideal for practitioners new to the role of the DSL or those wishing to refresh their knowledge, this course covers policy and procedure development, safer recruitment and induction of new staff members, liaising with staff members and other agencies, recording of safeguarding information, escalation of concerns, online safety, allegations against staff and the role of the LADO.

Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements 19^th June 9.30-11am – Online

This training explores the ‘must’ and ‘should’ elements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. It encourages practitioners to recognise their role in the broader picture of keeping children safe and offers useful links and information to take back to the setting when considering inspection and Ofsted expectations.

Role of the SENCo 30th June 23 9.30-3pm Oakenclough Children Centre

This course has been written for those new to the role of the SENCO and those wishing to refresh their knowledge. Hear about Cheshire East’s graduated approach, Cheshire East’s SEND Toolkit, including relevant paperwork and where you can signpost your families to for support. You will hear about useful ideas and strategies, the roles and responsibilities of the Early Years SENCO and there will be time to discuss any questions with other professionals.

Early Years Training Hub – reminder to sign up

Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to the new Early Years Training Hub. If you haven’t yet signed up, please do so now.  You can sign up by accessing this link:

Chess Early Years Training Hub (sla-portals.co.uk)

Then click on the SIGN UP link on the top right hand side of the login page.

The Provider Login button on our Early Years and Childcare Training Resources (cheshireeast.gov.uk) webpage will also give you access to the new Early Years training Hub.

Through our Training and Events page you can find information about the training and CPD offer available to Early Years practitioners in Cheshire East. You can access the Hub via the link on our training web page:  however you will need to request personal login details by signing up to the Hub.

Please note: If you already have access to the Schools Chess Hub you do not need to sign up again however please email us to request additional access user rights to the Early Years Hub.

Don't Forget!

FEEE – Afghan and Ukrainian children

Afghan and Ukrainian children aged 2, 3 and 4 years old living in Cheshire East are entitled to 15 hours early education irrespective of the immigration status of the child or their parent(s). To claim FEEE funding for children from Afghanistan or Ukraine, please add their details to the Provider Portal in the usual way. Should the Provider Portal be closed, please email the FEEE Team (FEEE@cheshireeast.gov.uk) who will update your funding claim.

In addition, please also complete the short form (link below), enabling the authority to monitor take-up of the free entitlement.  Please complete this form each time an Afghan or Ukrainian child starts or leaves your setting. If any Afghan or Ukrainian children currently attend your setting, please retrospectively complete this form and continue to use the form as you have any new starters or leavers.

https://forms.office.com/r/RN5KbkKrzL