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Bulletin 361

15 September 2025

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

Liquidlogic

Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) – new establishment portal

If you do not have access to the new establishment portal, please contact the FEEE Team via feee@cheshireeast.gov.uk as soon as possible.

An Acceptable Use Agreement (AUA) must be in place for all users of the new portal. If there is more than one member of staff at your setting who requires access to the portal, there must be an individual agreement in place for each user. Once a signed agreement is returned, the FEEE Team will verify the individual user’s account on the portal enabling them to register for an account.

Free Early Education Entitlement – new system training

If you haven’t already, please book onto the final training session on the new establishment portal:

• Wednesday 24th September 18:30 - 20:00 (Microsoft Teams)

Places can be booked via the ChESS Early Years Training Hub.

Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) – headcount window

The new establishment portal requires childcare providers to submit a termly headcount. The headcount is made up of the information held in your Live Register.

The Live Register is accessed via the early years menu on the establishment portal:

Once you have checked that the Live Register includes all children claiming the entitlements at your provision during autumn term, please navigate to the Submissions section via the menu shown above and follow the steps.

It is important to note that any amendments made to the headcount will not feed back to the Live Register, therefore all changes must be made within the Live Register before clicking Submissions.

The headcount window opens on Monday 15 September and closes on Tuesday 30 September. Please ensure that your headcount is submitted during this period. Without this submission, autumn term balancing payments cannot be processed.

If you do not have an establishment portal account, please contact the FEEE Team as soon as possible via FEEE@cheshireeast.gov.uk.

Business Support

FEEE Compliance

To ensure providers are compliant with the Early Education and Childcare Guidance Early education and childcare - GOV.UK the Early Years and Childcare team/FEEE team have asked for copies of your fee structures/ information you send to parents.

The information needs to be clear and transparent and there must be no mandatory charges for parents. Providers can charge for specific categories of consumables or activities, but these are not compulsory for the parent to buy.

Thank you to those who have already provided the documents. If you have not already done so, please can the information be sent to earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk by the end of the week.

If you have any questions, please email the Early Years and Childcare Team.

Primary School Admission Applications Open

Applications are now open for children starting primary school. Parents are strongly advised to apply for three preferences.

Applications must be submitted to the child’s home local authority by:

• 15 January 2026 for pupils starting primary in September 2026.

Parents still need to apply even if the child has a brother or sister already at the school or the child is attending a nursery/preschool attached to the school. Some faith schools may also require parents and carers to submit a supplementary information form/confirmation of baptism. Further information about this will be available on the school’s website.

Parents should consider how their child will travel to school when making preferences. Parents can find out about school transport at School transport (cheshireeast.gov.uk)

To apply online and for further information please go to Application process for starting school in September (cheshireeast.gov.uk)  or call 0300 123 5012.

For up to date information please direct parents to follow our twitter @CE_Admissions and follow The Family Information Service – @FISCheshireEast or Family Information Service (Cheshire East Council) - Home | Facebook

The DfE's Big September Switch

This September, the Department for Education are launching The Big September Switch, part of the Do Something Big campaign, to engage career changers – especially parents – to consider rewarding roles in early years.

You can download and share the Early Years Careers Guide from the website, which is full of information to help people understand pathways into the sector.

The Big September Switch - Early Years Careers

 You can help to raise awareness of The Big September Switch by:

• Sharing the guide with your networks.
• Re-sharing DfE social posts and Instagram activity throughout September to amplify campaign messages.
• Promoting the new campaign webpage: https://earlyyearscareers.campaign.gov.uk/the-big-september-switch.
• Keeping an eye on the socials – Parent-facing influencers will be sharing their own ‘switch’ stories and shining a light on the rewards of early years careers.

Thank you for helping to encourage more people to join the early years workforce and give every child the best start in life.

If you have any questions, please get in touch at earlyyears.careers@education.gov.uk.

Free Childcare Toolkits for Providers and Schools

The Childcare Works Early Years and Wraparound toolkits have been created to collate useful resources that providers, childminders and schools need to start, grow and sustain a wraparound or early years childcare business. All resources within the toolkits are available free of charge.

Providers, childminders and schools can also access the HUB, which connects to a wide range of high-quality knowledge and learning resources that are free of charge. HUB Resources - childcareworks.org.uk.

Safeguarding

 Keeping Children Safe in Education 

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2025, the statutory safeguarding and child protection guidance for schools and colleges in England, has now come into force (effective from 1st September). 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.

Please click the button below to read the guidance.  

National Updates

Ofsted confirms changes to education inspection and unveils new-look report cards

Ofsted have published their response to changes to the education inspection framework.

The reforms will take effect from 10th November 2025 for Early Years and state-funded schools. There will be no routine inspections of state-maintained schools in the first half of the Autumn Term. You will see that Ofsted has agreed with the Secretary of State to prioritise schools that volunteer for inspection from November. Routine inspections will be introduced on or after 1st December and there will be no routine inspections during the week before Christmas.

Click the button below to view the press release.

Boost children’s maths and language learning with Maths Champions

NDNA are thrilled to be recruiting again for their fully funded Maths Champions programme for an additional 1,810 places, starting from September 2025. Funded by the Department for Education, places are now available to school-based nurseries, academy nurseries, nursery schools and PVI settings across England.  

The 12-month online programme will help staff to increase knowledge and become more confident in delivering maths rich day-to-day activities and boost children’s maths and language learning.

Click the button below to find out more and express your interest.

Join the National Education Nature Park

The National Education Nature Park invites children and young people across the country on an exciting journey to explore, understand and care for nature. Together, they're making their outdoor spaces better for wildlife and their nursery or school community.  

This autumn, a tailored version of the Nature Park programme launches for early years settings. Free, quality-assured activities are designed to meet early learning and development goals, while building curiosity, empathy and confidence in the natural world. By taking part, you’ll be supporting children to develop a lifelong connection with nature and the skills to become its future advocates.  

The programme has been commissioned by the Department for Education and is led by the Natural History Museum with the Royal Horticultural Society and additional partners, and has seen more than 7,500 schools, colleges and nurseries get involved so far.

Click the button below to view and download the resources.

Have your say - future of the National Professional Qualification for Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL)

As part of the review of the NPQ suite, the Department for Education (DfE) are keen hear from anyone who is interested in or had experience with the NPQEYL. They would like to understand how you found the experience, what you liked about the programme and any barriers faced. If you’re interested, please share your thoughts and reflections by completing this survey: 

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

This should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete, and at the end you will be asked whether you would be happy to have a short discussion about your experience. If you are interested, please ensure you provide your name and email address.

SEND

Pupils with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) transitioning to Primary School in September 2026

Letters have been sent to parents and carers of children with an EHC Plan who are due to move to a new phase of education in September 2026. The letter explains ways to inform the SEND Team of their preferences for the next phase of education. Should parents/carers wish to advise the local authority of their preferences prior to the autumn term annual review, then there is a link in the letter (and below) to submit their choices.  

Children with EHCPs moving to a new phase of education

Please can we encourage all settings to hold their autumn term EHCP transition reviews for their Nursery 2 cohort to support the SEND Team with timely consultations in line with the statutory deadline.  

Early Years SEN inclusion funding

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 the application link 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.

Family Hubs

Training

Bright Futures Early Years Stronger Practice Hub free webinars

Bright Futures North West Early Years Stronger Practice Hub are thrilled to announce a series of free webinars and CPD opportunities. These sessions are designed to enhance your skills and knowledge.

1. Webinar: Starting Strong Through Play 3

Date: Tuesday, 25th November 

Time: 7-8pm 

Facilitated by the inspiring Ben Kingston- Hughes, an international keynote speaker, author, and multi-award-winning trainer. This thought-provoking and entertaining webinar highlights the exceptional power of play to shape and change children’s lives. Join us as we explore how play can profoundly impact our children's well-being and support even our most vulnerable children to thrive.

Webinar: Starting Strong Through Play 3 - Bright Futures Training

2. Live Webinar: Playful Maths for 0 to 5

Date: Tuesday 11th November 2025 and Wednesday 11th February 2026

Time: 7-8pm

Facilitated by Dianne Ellithorn who has over 25 years of experience as a teacher in EYFS and key stage 1. This two-part series focuses on promoting early mathematical development for children aged 0 to 5 years. We will delve into how young children learn mathematically and how, as practitioners, we can playfully engage and create stimulating learning environments to maximize their mathematical learning.

Playful Maths for 0-5s Webinars - Bright Futures Training

Autumn 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 autumn term, please take a look and book on now!

Upcoming training next week:

Building your Curriculum – 22nd September 2025 18:30 - 20:30 (Microsoft Teams)

"Curriculum by design not by chance" (Dr J. Grenier, 2023). This session looks at what a curriculum is, why curriculum planning is important in helping children to learn and have a better experience, and what to consider when putting the curriculum into practice. Drawing on the latest messages around curriculum from Ofsted, using the non-statutory guidance and making links to pedagogy and assessment. This session is suitable for all practitioners working in Early Years settings.

WellComm – 24th September 2025 9:30 - 13:00 (Crewe Lifestyle 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.

Liquidlogic Establishment Portal – 24th September 2025 18:30 - 20:00 (Microsoft Teams)

A demonstration on how to use the Liquidlogic Establishment Portal for Early Years Funding purposes. The training is appropriate for all Early Years providers, and a session will be recorded and made available online. This means those who are unable to attend one of the sessions 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.

Difficult Safeguarding Conversations – 25th September 2025 9:30 - 11:30 (Microsoft Teams)

This training course aims to provide practical advice to enable practitioners to feel more confident in starting conversations about safeguarding concerns. The course will look at parent partnerships, professional curiosity and the practicalities of having difficult safeguarding conversations.

Step Inside the Baby Room – 25th September 2025 13:30 - 16:30 (Crewe Lifestyle 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, 2025). 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.