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Bulletin 307
25 March 2024
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Provider Portal
The Provider Portal has closed for interim (70%) payments to be calculated and paid by Friday 12 April. The Portal will reopen on Thursday 4 April 2024 for you to continue to add new starters, any children added will be included in balancing payments.
Guidance on invoicing parents
The DfE Statutory guidance for early education and childcare was updated in January 2024. Advice and guidance on invoicing parents (available on our webpage) has also been updated to reflect the changes in the statutory guidance.
2-year-old eligibility codes
Working families entitlement: to apply for a code parents should go to childcarechoices.gov.uk or call Childcare Choices on 0300 123 4097.
Eligibility codes will be issued in the same format as the 30-hour codes for 3- and 4-year-olds which are 11 digits and start with ‘50...’. The same code will remain with the child until they reach school age regardless of whether they drop in and out of eligibility.
Working parents who have a tax-free childcare account may have already received their 2-year-old eligibility code. Codes with an end date of 31st March will need reconfirming to make sure they are valid for summer term 2024. Please validate codes through the Eligibility checker in the Provider Portal. Add the code, child date of birth and Parent/Carer NI number and submit. The data will not be stored at this stage but checking the end date of the code will provide assurance to providers and parents that 2-year-old working family funding will be available in summer term.
 Current entitlement: Parents of 2 year olds who are in receipt of certain benefits are able to check their eligibility for 15 hours funded childcare via our webpage, or by contacting the Family Information Service on 0300 123 5033.
Eligibility codes are 6 digits and are a mixture of letters and numbers.
Unlike the working family entitlement, parents who receive a 6-digit code will continue to be eligible for a 2-year-old place until their child turns 3 and receives 3-year-old funding.
Reminder to apply for or reconfirm 30 hours childcare funding codes
Useful information for working parents of 2-year-olds
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Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements |
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Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements: Focus on...
Providers must ensure that people looking after children are suitable; they must have the relevant qualifications, training and have passed any required checks to fulfil their roles. Providers must take appropriate steps to verify qualifications, including in cases where physical evidence cannot be produced.
Look out for Safer Recruitment training dates on the Early Years Training Hub soon.
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Childcare applications for parents of 9-month-olds
From 12 May, eligible working parents of children from 9 months old will be able to register to access 15 hours of government-funded childcare a week, from September 2024. See the full press release below.
Department for Education Childminder Recruitment and Retention Consultation
The Department for Education are seeking views on proposals to support childminders and childminder agencies (CMAs) with recruitment and retention and future policy development.
The consultation is running from Friday 15 March 2024 to Friday 10 May and is available via the button below.
HAF Easter 2024 bookings are now live!
The Cheshire East Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) enables children and young people who are in receipt of income/benefits-related free school meals who live in Cheshire East or attend a Cheshire East school to attend free activities during the main school holidays, where nutritional food is also provided.
Booking an activity session is easy!
All families will have to do is visit the Cheshire East HAF programme booking platform, or alternatively, scan the QR code opposite.
They can then look through all the activities on offer (filters are available), and when they find an activity they like, select book and complete the booking information.
For more information about the programme and the full eligibility criteria visit the Cheshire East webpage: Holiday activities and food programme (HAF) (cheshireeast.gov.uk)
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National Wraparound Programme Briefings
Engagement sessions for primary schools and childcare providers have been arranged to discuss how the National Wraparound Programme will be supported within Cheshire East. The briefing will include information on the application and allocation process for the available capital and revenue funding for providers of term time wraparound care. The funding is intended to create new places and not to sustain existing provision.
The briefings are on:
- 24th April 2024 10:00 - 11:30 (Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School)
- 24th April 2024 13:30 - 15:00 (Oakenclough Family Hub)
These are now available to book through the ChESS Early Years Training Hub.
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Do something Big, recruitment campaign
The ‘Do something BIG, work with small children’ early years early years campaign is now live. It aims to raise the profile of the sector and showcase the important contribution early years and childcare professionals make in preparing young children for learning in school and beyond.
Alongside this, the DfE have launched an early years careers website. This includes information on all areas of early years work, routes into the sector and real-life stories.
It also directs people to Department for Work and Pensions’ Find a Job platform to search for early years roles in their area. Watch the video tutorials to help you list any vacancies in your setting on Find a Job. Please use the term ‘early years’ in the title of your job adverts and select ‘Education jobs’ for the job category.
The DfE would be incredibly grateful if you could help to promote the campaign through your channels and use the hashtag #dosomethingbig on social media.
Useful links
YouTube playlist – 15 second and 30 second adverts on a playlist
Be part of something Big (short version) (youtube.com)
Dropbox - campaign assets https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/pfpvp5j5ncj60kg77hf8a/h?rlkey=msrd4r0maz2l8alaiaok9xe54&dl=0
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EYFS Learning and Development |
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Bookstart Celebrating British Values
Bookstart World Autism Acceptance Week
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Early Years SEN Inclusion Funding (SENIF) panel
Feedback from March SENIF panel should be available on 26 March. Unfortunately, there will be a short delay with feedback this month, however, all applicants should be notified of the application outcome before the Easter weekend.
SEN Inclusion Funding (SENIF) – summer term 2024
Children in receipt of SEN Inclusion Funding before 1 January 2024, when the new SENIF policy was introduced, will continue to receive funding during summer term 2024. New agreement schedules will be issued in April.
Many of these children will start school in September 2024. Children who have not yet have reached school age by September and therefore continue to access their early education entitlements will require a new SENIF application under the terms of the new policy.
Applications for SEN Inclusion Funding received after 1 January 2024 are considered under the new SENIF policy. Should SENIF be agreed, a one-off payment is made based on the tiers / bands outlined in the policy. Should more support be required, providers must submit a further application to the SENIF panel.
SEND Inclusion Funding (cheshireeast.gov.uk)
SENCO Contact Details
Please ensure that the SENCO contact details for your setting are up to date. If you have referred a child at your setting to the Early Years Forum, the outcome of Forum will be shared with SENCO's via the contact details held on the Provider Portal.
Please check the information held by the Early Years Team via the Staff section of the Provider Portal and add/delete SENCO details as required. Guidance notes are available.
SEND Consultations
If you would like to book a SEND, PSED or Communication and Language consultation, please email: earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk
You will be sent paperwork to complete, once that is finished and returned by secure email, including with a parent/carers signature, you will be offered a consultation slot.
Please note that the SLCN and SEND paperwork has been updated. Please delete any old copies that you have saved and email to request the latest forms.
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Cheshire East Chatters Talking Walk-in's
Please share the information below with parents. The Talking Walk-in's are opportunities for parents to speak with a Speech and Language Therapist to receive advice and guidance to support their child at home.
Cheshire East Chatters Dummy Campaign
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PVC Banner Collection
We are providing settings (nurseries, pre-schools, schools and childminders) in Cheshire East with a PVC banner to promote Childcare Choices and the new entitlements.
These are now available to collect from the reception at either:
- Oakenclough Family Hub, Colshaw Drive, Wilmslow, SK9 2PZ
- Monks Coppenhall Family Hub, Remer Street, Crewe, CW1 4LY
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The CATCH app
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The CATCH app is an award-winning health app for parents and carers of pre-school children and expectant parents in Cheshire. Free to download, the CATCH app offers tips on how to stay healthy during pregnancy, prevent accidents and illness and treat minor ailments in 0 to 5 year olds. The information and guidance on the app can support with deciding when self-care is appropriate or if the child needs medical treatment. The CATCH App creates a profile for your child which then provides articles and information relevant to your children's age. The app was developed by the NHS and local government in Cheshire, with health technology studio Damibu Ltd. To download the free app now, scan the QR code or search for ‘Catch app’ in Google Play or the App Store. |
Family Hubs Digital Offer
We are delighted to be launching our Family Hubs digital offer on Tuesday 2 April.
The digital offer is an online resource dedicated to sharing all the help, support and information that families need if they cannot access a physical Family Hub in the borough. The webpages will highlight local events in the area, our SEND services on offer, and the family support available depending on a child's age.
We are looking forward to broadening our Family Hubs offer to make it more accessible for our children and families in Cheshire East. Keep an eye out for this resource, going live on our website on Tuesday 2 April.
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Family Help Drop In's
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Continuous Professional Development |
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New training opportunity! Trauma and Attachment in Early Childhood
- 16th April 2024 9:30 - 13:30 (Oakenclough Family Hub)
- 18th April 2024 9:30 - 13:30 (Apples and Pears Private Day Nursery)
Join us for a new training opportunity to explore trauma and attachment in early childhood, delivered by an Educational Psychologist. This training will cover attachment theory related to early childhood, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and what they are, the impact of trauma on young children and attachment awareness and trauma informed practice in early years settings.
Please book on through the ChESS Early Years Training Hub – spaces are limited!
Summer Term Training on the ChESS Early Years Training Hub
The ChESS Early Years Training Hub will be updated soon with lots of training opportunities for the Summer term, please watch this space!
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Early Years Training Hub – reminder to sign up
Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to the Early Years Training Hub. If you haven’t yet signed up, please do so now to book on to training. You can sign up by accessing this link:
Chess Early Years Training Hub (sla-portals.co.uk)
Then click on the sign up button on the top right hand side of the login page.
The ChESS Early Years Training Hub button on our Early Years and Childcare Training Resources (cheshireeast.gov.uk) webpage will also give you access to the Hub.
Through our Early Years training page, you can find information about the training and CPD offer available to Early Years practitioners in Cheshire East.
Please note: If you already have access to the ChESS Hub for schools, you do not need to sign up again, however, please email us to request additional access user rights to the Early Years Hub.
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