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Bulletin 355

23 June 2025

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

Business Support

Provider Portal – Autumn term 2025

The provider portal will open on Friday 11 July and close on Sunday 27 July for Autumn term data. The later opening date is due to an upgrade to the portal to include the new entitlement of 30 hours for 9 month and over and 2-year-old children.

This is the last time the Synergy provider portal will be used to collect data. From September the early education entitlements will be administered via Liquidlogic. Access to the new establishment portal will be arranged for 1 September, training and user guides will also be available in September.

Liquidlogic Establishment Portal training

In preparation for the new system, each week in September the Business Intelligence Team are delivering a demonstration session on how to use the Liquidlogic Establishment Portal for Early Years Funding purposes. The training is appropriate for all Early Years providers.

• Thursday 4th September 2025 10:00 - 11:30
• Tuesday 9th September 2025 18:30 - 20:00
• Monday 15th September 2025 10:00 - 11:30
• Wednesday 24th September 18:30 - 20:00

All sessions will be delivered on Microsoft Teams

One of the sessions will be recorded and made available online. This means those who are unable to attend can watch, and all providers can refer back to the training at a later date.

The session will include an overview of how to register for an account on the establishment portal, how to navigate and update your live register, estimations and headcount.

Please book on through the ChESS Early Years Training Hub.

Are you interested in joining the Early Years Reference Group?

The Early Years Reference Group (EYRG) is a subgroup of the Cheshire East Schools’ Forum. The purpose for the EYRG is to offer advice, experience, information and recommendations to the Local Authority and the Cheshire East Schools’ Forum in relation to the practical exercise of developing, reforming and implementing early years funding arrangements.

Terms of reference:

https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/schools/info-for-schools/schools_forum/schools_forum.aspx

All providers of the early education entitlements in Cheshire East were invited to put forward nominations to join the EYRG.  Members were selected from the nominations to ensure representation across provider types.  It is some time since the group was refreshed and we are inviting new nominations. 

Please complete the following form if you would like to be considered:

https://forms.office.com/e/YVRQYxNGby

Nominations will close on Thursday 26^th June.  Membership will be confirmed shortly after nominations close.

Do Something Big: Recruitment Resources

The 'Do Something Big' campaign recruitment resources webpage showcases a detailed guide of how to upload an effective job advert.

To access the guide, please click on the button below.

Safeguarding

Protective Preparedness For Education Settings Webinar

The Department for Education (DfE) in partnership with the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) are providing a ‘Protective Preparedness For Education Settings’ webinar focussed on counter terrorism protective security and preparedness for education settings.

The DfE’s ‘Counter Terrorism Protect & Prepare Team’ will provide you with an overview and update on the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 commonly known as, ‘Martyn’s Law’, and its implications for the education sector. You can find more information about Martyn’s Law by visiting Gov.UK

NaCTSO will also provide a briefing on how to consider counter terrorism protection and preparedness across education settings. You can find out more about scalable counter terrorism preparedness by visiting Protect UK

If you would like to learn more about how you can protect your education setting ,staff and learners from terrorism, please click on a date below to sign up and access further details.

Monday 7^th July 2025 - 12:00 – 13:00

Tuesday 15^th July 2025 – 12:00 – 13:00

Wednesday 16^th July 2025 - 12:00 - 13:00

Wednesday 23^rd July 2025 - 12:00 – 13:00

To note, all webinars will cover the same content, so there is no need for settings to attend multiple sessions.

New Martyn’s Law explainer video

The Home Office has released a short video designed to educate viewers on the scope and requirements of the new Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, known as Martyn’s Law.

This easy-to-follow animation is intended to help those responsible for premises and events understand the conditions of the Act and what it will involve should they fall into scope.

To watch the video, please click on the button below.

National Updates

Hot Weather and Heatwaves

Please see links below regarding advice to schools and settings on hot weather and heatwaves: 

Looking after children and those in early years settings before and during hot weather: teachers and other educational professionals - GOV.UK

Hot weather and heatwaves: guidance for schools and other education settings – The Education Hub

NHS Measles information

Public Health are promoting the current NHS campaign to raise awareness about measles. Please share the ‘Information about measles’ factsheet with parents and carers:

Measles easy read

Please follow the Health Protection guidance below on when to make a referral to the UKHSA local Health Protection team:

Health protection in children and young people settings, including education - GOV.UK

Below is the current NHS guidance for health professionals when identifying a case of measles:

NHS-Measles-information-for-HP_FINAL150324.pdf

Calling All Early Years Educators – Join Our Research Study

The Department for Education (DfE) is inviting early years educators to take part in an exciting new research opportunity.

They are looking for educators who:

• work directly with children
• are based in nurseries, preschools, and similar settings
• are not currently in a managerial role

The goal is to gather feedback on the ‘Check an early years qualification’ service.

• When: 16–27 June, between 8am and 5pm
• Format: 60-minute online session (link provided)
• Incentive provided for participation

Your insights will help shape improvements to the service and support the early years workforce more effectively.

Sign up here:

https://dferesearch.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6WriYUGGVLMG9hQ

Can’t make those times? Let them know and they will try to find a time that works for you.

Please feel free to share this opportunity with colleagues or staff who may be interested.

For any questions, contact us at: research.early-years-quals@education.gov.uk

Watch Now - Nurturing Nutrition: Event recording and resources available

Foundation Years is pleased to share the recording and supporting slides from the recent live event: Nurturing Nutrition – Building Healthy Foundations in the Early Years.

Hosted by Begin Bright, this informative session featured insights from the Department for Education, Ofsted and early years nutrition experts. The event explored the importance of nutrition in early childhood and provided practical strategies to support healthy eating habits in early years settings.

Whether you attended live or are catching up, the recording is a great opportunity to reflect on your current practice, gain expert guidance and access useful resources that promote children’s health and wellbeing.

They encourage all early years educators, setting leaders and support staff to watch and share the materials with their teams.

SEND

Early Years SEN inclusion funding

Early Years SENIF panel does not meet in August. Any applications for SEN Inclusion funding to start September 2025 submitted after 1 July 2025 will be considered at the September 2025 SENIF panel meeting. Autumn term dates will be available during the summer term.

Early Years SENIF applications – supporting documents:

All requests for Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funding (SENIF) must have a completed provision map to support the application. The provision map template is available on SEND Inclusion Funding (cheshireeast.gov.uk) and should be used in conjunction with the SENIF policy documents. The provision map is essential when applying for support provided over and above ordinarily available inclusive provision. SENIF is to support children accessing the Early Education Entitlement hours only.

Keele University: Call for Little Scientists

Keele University are running a research study to seek to understand how deaf children learn, specifically from visual cues. They are seeking families with a baby born deaf aged up to 2yrs.

Please can the below parent flyer be shared with any families you are working with who may wish to take part.

Cheshire East Chatters

Family Hubs

Ready Steady School – Free Family Event

Do you support children starting school in 2025 or 2026? Please help us to share information about our Ready Steady School event – a fun and informative session designed to help families feel confident and excited about the journey ahead!

Marketplace of Experts – Families can chat with professionals from health, SEND Transitions, Libraries and Public health. Gain advice on everything from school readiness to health and wellbeing. Our Start for Life team will have a range of fun activities for children to take part in during the session.

Please see flyer below for date, time and location to share with your families.

Continuous Professional Development

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 next week:

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

What is my behaviour trying to tell you? – 1st July 2025 10:00 - 12:00 (Monks Coppenhall Family Hub)

This training is suitable for all practitioners who work in early years and will provide the skills and knowledge to develop your understanding of children’s social and emotional needs. This session will explore how we can be curious about behaviours and what might be affecting the child at that given time and build a supportive, appropriate curriculum using the EYFS and development matters as a guide. We will also consider current strategies and approaches to ensure they meet the needs of all children, embed behaviour conversations in your practice and develop a whole setting approach to supporting children’s behaviour.

Early Language Lead Network – 2nd July 2025 14:00 - 16:00 (Microsoft Teams)

These sessions are delivered by Cheshire East Chatters Speech and Language Therapists. The Early Language Lead Network offers information and advice on how to support the early communication and language development of the children in your setting. These sessions are a chance for you to find out more about local and national updates around supporting children with SLCN. We often have guest speakers from the Family Hubs to share what’s happening in your local area.