View this email in a browser

Bulletin 347

22 April 2025

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

Business Support

Provider Briefing and Network – Early Education and Childcare Statutory Guidance

Tuesday 6 May 2025 1:00 – 2:00pm (Microsoft Teams)

Audience: All FEEE providers.

This session is aimed at all providers of the early education and childcare entitlements and will provide an interactive opportunity to discuss the revised statutory guidance and to network with other providers currently considering their delivery models. Members of the team responsible for regulatory and practice guidance will facilitate the session that will largely be an open forum, providing the opportunity to discuss and share delivery models and practice.

Please book on through the ChESS Early Years Training Hub.

Preschool Network – places still available

Wednesday 30 April 2025 10:00 - 11:30 (Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School and Sixth Form College Training and Conference Centre)

This Preschool network is an opportunity for preschool managers, committee chairs and business manager to meet together, make new connections and share experiences. There’s no agenda. Please feel free to come along, network and ask questions. The Childcare Development Team will be facilitating the network.

Please book on through the ChESS Early Years Training Hub.

Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements

Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements: Focus on...

Group and school-based providers Providers must not allow smoking in or on the premises when children are present or about to be present. Practitioners should not vape or use e-cigarettes when children are present, and providers should consider Public Health England advice on their use in public places and workplaces. Childminders Childminders must not allow smoking in or on the premises when children are present or about to be present. Practitioners should not vape or use e-cigarettes when children are present, and childminders should consider Public Health England advice on their use in public places and workplaces

Section 11 Safeguarding Audit

Thank you to all providers for completing our annual audit. Following feedback below is some information that you may find useful.

The Cheshire East Threshold of Need guidance provides a framework for professionals who are working with children, young people and families, and aims to help identify circumstances when children may need additional support to achieve their potential. The stepped approach provides information on the levels of children’s needs and gives examples of some of the factors that may indicate when a child or young person needs additional support or protection. The guidance can be found here: Supporting Families (2022-2025) Programme Summary & Guidance

The NSPCC ‘Talk PANTS’ campaign – with the help of the friendly dinosaur Pantosaurus, Talk PANTS is a simple conversation to help keep children safe from sexual abuse. Resources for early years providers can be found here: PANTS resources for schools and teachers | NSPCC Learning

The DSL clusters are Microsoft Teams meetings held once a term for DSL’s and Deputy DSL’s. Local and national updates are shared and there is usually a guest speaker. The summer term clusters can be booked on through the links below:

Wednesday 11 June 6.30-8.30pm DSL Cluster - 11th June 2025 | Chess Early Years Training Hub

Thursday 12 June 9.30-11.30am DSL Cluster - 12th June 2025 | Chess Early Years Training Hub

National updates

Calling all Early Years Educators: - Survey Now Open

The DfE’s research team is now running another round of research to better understand Early Years educators’ experiences with qualifications. They are inviting educators to complete a short survey to share their views and help shape future improvements.

They would appreciate your support in sharing the survey link with educators in your setting or wider networks:

Educator survey form

Thank you for helping the DFE gather valuable insights from the sector. If you have any questions, please contact: research.early-years-quals@education.gov.uk.

Supporting Children to Start School 

To help every child get the best start in life, we know children need to be ready to begin school. This involves a range of basic skills, and the DfE would like your help in sharing this with parents. They encourage you to include the Starting Reception website as part of the information going to parents. 

Answering your questions on the Experience-Based Route for Early Years

The Government has introduced an experience-based route for early years staff. This route allows suitable early years staff without an approved qualification to be included in the staff:child ratios at level 3 following a period of supervised practice.

This route can now be started by eligible providers and staff. Please see the full guidance for any further information: Experience-based route for early years staff - GOV.UK

The DfE wants to hear your questions about how the experience-based route works. This will help them to understand what further information and support would be helpful for providers to get the most out of this process.

They are also interested in knowing if you are using, or plan to use, this route in your setting and for how many staff.

Please submit any questions you have, or information on your use of the experience-based route so far, to foundationyears@beginbright.com for Friday 25th April.

EYFS Learning and Development

SEND

CEIAS Coffee Morning with CEAT

Cheshire East Information Advice and Support Service are holding an online parent and carers coffee session with Janet and Sue from the Cheshire East Autism Team on Tuesday 29^th April between 10.30am and 12.00pm. 

This is an online event via Microsoft Teams.

To book a place on this workshop please contact the team via email: ceias@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Alternatively, you can call 0300 123 5166.

(Please leave a quick message and a team member will respond to you via email or phone)

The team will send a link to join online the day before the event.

Please share the above with parents/carers in your setting. 

Many thanks

The CEIAS Team

Cheshire East Chatters

Family Hubs

Continuous Professional Development

Summer Term Training now available on the Early Years Training Hub

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

Upcoming training next week:

Fundamental Safeguarding Awareness – 29th April 2025 18:30 - 20:30 (Microsoft Teams)

This two-hour training course will provide fundamental information and understanding about safeguarding children. It has been specifically written to address safeguarding in Early Years and Childcare settings and covers practice and procedures used within Cheshire East. This training will help you to develop an awareness of, and the ability to act on, concerns about the safety and welfare of children and young people. It will enable you to understand your safeguarding role, be able to define, identify, understand and respond appropriately to signs of possible abuse and neglect and identify safer caring practices.

Preschool Network – 30th April 2025 10:00 - 11:30 (Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School and Sixth Form College Training and Conference Centre)

This network session is for Preschool providers. This Preschool network is an opportunity for preschool managers, committee chairs and business manager to meet together, make new connections and share experiences. There’s no agenda. Please feel free to come along, network and ask questions. The Childcare Development Team will be facilitating the network.

WellComm – 1st May 2025 9:30 - 13:00 (Oakenclough Family Hub)

Would you like to receive practical support on how to integrate WellComm activities into daily best practice within your setting? Or try out WellComm screening and explore activities from the Big Book of Ideas? During this session there will be opportunities to discuss and define terms relating to communication and how these relate to the WellComm screening tool, examine the rationale behind using WellComm to screen, track and monitor individual children and discuss the practicalities of setting up targeted groups. If you would like to purchase a WellComm toolkit before the training, please visit this website: www.gl-assessment.co.uk.