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Bulletin 351

19 May 2025

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

Business Support

Final phase of childcare expansion: get 30 hours childcare – apply now

From this September, 15 hours childcare for working families with children under 3 will expand to 30 hours, meaning eligible working families can now apply for 30 hours of childcare from the term after their child turns 9 months until they reach school age.

This expansion is designed to support children’s early education and help parents better balance work and family life. It’s the final phase of the childcare expansion, which could save families up to £7,500 per year.

Families need to apply for their childcare code by 31 August to start using the support from September.

Please share the below links with your families:

For a step-by-step guide on how to apply, watch the video below with Early Years
Educator, Steff, explaining the process: How to get help with the cost of childcare:
government-funded support in England.

Get free childcare if you're working: Apply for free childcare - GOV.UK

Disability Access Fund (DAF)

For any children claiming DAF we need a copy of the disability living allowance letter as confirmation to receive the £938 payment. This is not needed if previously claimed – the anniversary payment will be processed automatically.

Summer term 2025 data

It is essential that providers reconcile data in the portal to ensure all hours are added for the term. We cannot add children retrospectively or amend the number of hours claimed once a term is ended.

Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) – system change

The system used to claim and administer the early education entitlements is changing. From 1 September 2025 a new establishment portal will be available to all childcare providers delivering the entitlements.

Autumn term interim data will be collected via the current provider portal and migrated to the new system. Any revisions to the usual timescales for collecting autumn data will be communicated via the bulletin and included on the current provider portal homepage.

In preparation for the system change, please check the staff contacts held in the current portal (especially the FEEE administrator) as these details will be used to roll out access to the new establishment portal.

Further information and guidance on the new system will be included in future bulletins.

Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements

Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements: Focus on...

Group and school-based providers

At least one person who has a current paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate must be
on the premises and available at all times when children are present and must accompany children on outings. The certificate must be for a full course consistent
with the criteria set out in Annex A. PFA training must be renewed every three years and be relevant for people caring for young children and babies.

Childminders

Childminders are required to have a paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate to register
and must continue to hold this at all times that they are registered. At least one person who has a current paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate must be on the premises and available at all times when children are present, and must accompany children on outings. The certificate must be for a full course consistent with the criteria set out in Annex A. PFA training must be renewed every three years and be relevant for people caring for young children and babies.

Please visit our Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements webpage to view a new suggested Early Years Safeguarding Training Pathway document.

Click the button below and open the supporting documents drop-down list to find and download the document.

National Updates

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) space requirements consultation launch 

As we get more children ready for school at age 5, the Department for Education are exploring new ways to help providers offer more high-quality childcare places for families, that include access to outdoor space. Evidence shows the huge benefits of outdoor play to children from improved problem solving to mental and physical health. Yet currently, the government’s early years framework requires provision of outdoor play but only formally recognises indoor space in its requirements for how many children nurseries and childcare providers can take on at any one time.  

On 12 May, the government launched its 'space requirements in early years childcare settings' consultation. The consultation is seeking views on whether to introduce flexibility into the EYFS that will allow free-flow outdoor space to be included in the indoor space requirements, with a possible cap on the number of additional places that can be offered. The government is also seeking feedback on the proposed definition of 'free-flow'.  

This consultation has been launched because early years providers expressed a desire for these rules to be updated. To meet forecasted demands for the expanded entitlements, the DfE estimate an additional 60,000 new places are required between September 2024 and September 2025, and one of the barriers to expanding childcare is physical space. In the department’s Pulse surveys of childcare and early years providers, November 2023, 70% of providers who responded said they would make better use of their outdoor space if more flexibility was introduced.  

The DfE want to hear from as many people as possible to inform a decision on what to do next. Please complete the online consultation survey and encourage your parents and carers to complete the consultation too. 

This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 11 July 2025.

Sustainability Support for Education – Climate action

The Department for Education has set a target for all education settings to have a sustainability lead and a climate action plan in place by the end of 2025 to "help embed sustainability in all they do". Sustainability Support for Education – part of a set of projects commissioned by the DfE – is running a series of free online events which will introduce those working in the early years to the basics of climate action and climate action plans.

For further information and to book onto a session see the link below.

SEND

Cheshire East Chatters

Family Hubs

Continuous Professional Development

The Open University – OpenLearn

OpenLearn is a free learning platform, delivered by The Open University. You can read articles, get activity ideas, watch presentations and access early childhood training for free via this platform.

Please click the button below to view the OpenLearn early childhood resources and training.

Summer Term Training available on the Early Years Training Hub

The ChESS Early Years Training Hub has lots of training opportunities for the summer term. Please take a look and book on now!

Upcoming training after half term:

Step Inside the Baby Room – 3rd June 2025 10:00 - 12:00 (Oakenclough Family Hub)

This session is part of a series focussing on supporting the three different age groups of children within the Early Years. Did you know? 'For children aged under two - at least half of all staff must have received training that specifically addresses the care of babies' (EYFS, 2024). This training aims to support practitioners working in the baby room to implement best practice and provision. The training will cover how babies learn and develop, how we can best meet their needs through attachment and interactions and how to build an environment and play resources that are right for babies. We will also discuss safer sleep, parent partnerships and the importance of the first 1001 days of a little one’s life for holistic development.

Effective Interactions – 4th June 2025 9:30 - 14:00 (Eagle Bridge Health and Wellbeing Centre)

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.

Out of School Club Network – 4th June 2025 10:00 - 11:30 (Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School and Sixth Form College Training and Conference Centre)

This network session is for Out of School Club providers. The Out of School Club Network will include up to date information on the wraparound programme and breakfast clubs’ schemes and provide an opportunity to network with other providers.

Role of the DSL (part 1) – 4th June 2025 18:30 - 21:00 (Microsoft Teams)
Role of the DSL (part 2) – 16th June 2025 18:30 - 21:00 (Microsoft Teams)

Role of the DSL (part 1 and 2) will be delivered over 2 evening sessions. You must
be available to attend the dates for both part 1 and part 2 of the training to receive a certificate and the slides. This training course provides information and guidance to practitioners new to the role of the DSL or those wishing to refresh their knowledge. The training includes 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, the role of the LADO and policy and procedure development.