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Bulletin 340

10 February 2025

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

Business Support

EYPP (early years pupil premium) – Spring term 2025

An EYPP check has been completed and eligible children can be seen in weightings in the portal.

EYPP forms part of the existing Ofsted inspection framework. Providers are expected to evidence outcomes as a result of the funding allocated and this will be assessed as part of the Ofsted inspection.

Further information and an example EYPP tracking grid is available on the Early Years Pupil Premium information for childcare providers webpage.

Provider Portal

The portal is closed for the spring term, however you can still add children and make adjustments by sending the signed parental declaration form through to FEEE@cheshireeast.gov.uk.

You can also access the following while the portal is closed:

• Eligibility checker - to check eligibility codes for parents

• Staff contacts – to change/update/amend staff details

Timewise - Flexible working: A guide for nursery managers

The Timewise Childcare Pioneers project 2024 explored how proactive flexible working cultures could improve staff wellbeing and retention and attract a more diverse pool of candidates.

Timewise created a guide for nursery managers to support with implementing flexible working in an EY setting.

Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements

Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements: Focus on...

If providers/childminders have concerns about children's safety or welfare, they must immediately notify their local authority children's social care team, in line with local reporting procedures, and, in emergencies, the police. Providers/childminders must also take into account the government’s statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ and ‘Prevent duty guidance for England and Wales’. All schools are required to have regard to the government’s statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, and other childcare providers may also find it helpful to read this guidance.

Early Years Section 11 Safeguarding Audit

‘Working together to safeguard children’ 2023 makes clear the statutory duties for early years providers with regards to the safeguarding requirements for your provision.

To enable us to support you with these requirements, we have put together a short safeguarding audit to capture what you have in place in your provision. This has been emailed directly to each setting.

School managed or governor run provision do not need to complete this audit as schools complete separate Safeguarding Audits.  

If you have not already done so, please complete the audit in full by Friday 28 February 2025.

If you have started the audit but can not get back in, please email us and we can send you a link back to your partial audit.

If you have not received the audit email please contact: earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk

National updates

Creating Inclusive Early Years Environments

Foundation Years are providing a free in-person event designed for early years educators around Creating Inclusive Early Years Environments. This is a chance to connect with like-minded individuals, hear from inspiring speakers and discover fresh ideas to foster inclusivity in early years settings.

The event is taking place on Thursday 6th March 2025 at The Met Hotel Leeds, LS1 2HQ 10:00 – 15:30 

What to expect: 

•  Expert speakers, including representatives from the DfE and Ofsted 
•  Networking opportunities with educators and experts who are passionate about inclusivity 
•  Lunch and refreshments provided 

This is an opportunity to gain valuable insights and connect with others dedicated to improving outcomes for children and colleagues in the early years sector. 

Spaces are limited – click the button below to register and secure your spot.

EYFS Learning and Development

To contact BookTrust, please see the contact details below:

Frances Lennon, BookTrust Coordinator - 07827 954086

Sarah Harrison, BookTrust Administrator - 07827 877966

bookstart@cheshiresharedservices.gov.uk

New children’s books available in Cheshire East Libraries

SEND

Cheshire East Chatters

Family Hubs

Continuous Professional Development

Spring Term Training available on the Early Years Training Hub

The ChESS Early Years Training Hub has been updated with lots of training opportunities for the Spring term, please take a look and book on now!

Upcoming training after half term:

Using Rhymes and Stories to Support Children’s Learning Everyday – 25th February 2025 13:00 - 15:30 (Oakenclough Family Hub)

This training session looks at how you can use our Are you Ready for Rhyme Time? programme to support you to build and deliver an effective curriculum tailored to your individual needs. The Cheshire BookTrust Team will explore sharing stories to maximise the benefits for children and parents. Learn about the importance of rhymes, songs and stories to support all aspects of a child's learning and development. You will find this session invaluable when supporting children to develop their early communication, language and literacy skills. Everyone will receive a copy of the Are you Ready for Rhyme Time? programme.

Progress check at age 2 – 26th February 2025 9:30 - 11:30 (Microsoft Teams)

“When a child is aged between two and three, practitioners must review their progress and provide parents and/or carers with a short written summary of their child’s development in the prime areas. The summary must highlight areas in which a child is progressing well, areas in which some additional support might be needed, and focus particularly on any areas where there is a concern that a child may have a developmental delay, which may indicate a special educational need or disability. The summary must describe the activities and strategies the provider intends to adopt to address any issues or concerns” (EYFS, 2024). Explore the process of writing a good quality progress check including when to do it, what to include and how you can work in partnership with parents/carers and other professionals to put in place appropriate early support and intervention in order to best meet the individual needs of the child. Delegates will be given access to a variety of resources that can be used when completing this statutory assessment.

Effective Interactions – 27th February 2025 9:30 - 14:00 (Monks Coppenhall Family Hub)

This one-day interaction training course aims to discuss and define terms relating to communication and why interaction is so important. During the session we will look at 'Top Tips for Talking' and ways you can adapt your interactions to promote communication and support the needs of the developing child. We will discuss how language levels and interaction styles differ between children and how you can differentiate to support individual children's communication development and then focus on the practicalities of how to integrate high quality adult-interaction into your daily routine.