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Bulletin 363

29 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) – headcount window

The headcount window closes on Tuesday 30 September. Please ensure that your headcount is submitted by the deadline. Without this submission, autumn term balancing payments cannot be processed.

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.

Amendments made to the headcount do not feed back to the Live Register; therefore, all changes must be made within the Live Register before clicking Submissions.

Establishment portal – Live Register

Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) funding is calculated based on the number of whole weeks a child attends your provision. Children attending the whole of autumn term are eligible to receive 14 weeks funding. Children attending for fewer weeks during autumn term can receive funding up to 7 weeks funding during each half term.

For example:

1. A child with attendance starting week commencing 22 September would therefore be eligible for 12 weeks funding in total; 5 weeks before half term (w/c 27/10/2025) and 7 weeks after.
2. A child leaving a setting before the headcount submission deadline is eligible for up to 3 weeks funding depending on their leave date. Please note, funding is calculated on whole weeks only.

Business Support

Jobcentre Plus Support for Employers

Jobcentre Plus' network of local Employer Advisers can help you to find the right people for your jobs. They will work with you to fill your vacancies using the most suitable recruitment solution, including: help with job descriptions speeding up your recruitment process promoting your vacancies in local Jobcentres and on their social media use of Jobcentre Plus offices for interviews (where available) and local recruitment events planning future recruitments find a job - a free online jobs site Contact your local Jobcentre Plus Employer Adviser on crewe.lmra1@dwp.gov.uk to advertise and promote your vacancies. Please note: this email address applies to all Jobcentre Plus' in Cheshire East.

Safeguarding

Cheshire East Safeguarding Children’s Partnership

Cheshire East Safeguarding Children's Partnership (CESCP) is committed to providing a range of learning opportunities for all staff who deliver services to children, young people and families. They have a suite of E-Learning opportunities designed to complement existing multi agency learning and development programs. Please click on the button below to find out more.

National Updates

Education inspection framework: engagement programme

Ofsted have added another date to their programme of webinars to help familiarise providers with the November 2025 education inspection framework changes. The webinar will take place on Thursday 2 October 6pm-7pm for nurseries, pre-schools and other registered early years settings.  

Ofsted have also released a recording of their webinar for childminders, where they explain how they will carry out inspections of childminders.

To book a place/ watch the recording, please click on the buttons below.

SEND

SEND Drop-In session

The Portage, Quality and Inclusion Team are running SEND drop-in sessions for our Early Years settings the first Monday of every month. The first half hour will provide an overview of a current SEND topic. The next sessions are as follows: Monday 6th October – Bucket Therapy Monday 3rd November – Educational Psychology Team Monday 1st December – Paperwork and toolkit support The second half hour is an open opportunity to ask questions regarding any area of practice and support, share good practice and ideas with other settings and develop links. Each will be held 17:00 – 18:00 on Microsoft Teams. Please join us for an informal session designed to support you and your team. Email earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk to request the Teams link if you are available to attend. Please note: if you have received the link before, this will work for all upcoming sessions.

Age retained school September 2025

If you have an age retained child with an EHCP and have not yet been contacted, please email details to:

EarlyYearsSenHelpline@cheshireeast.gov.uk

SLCN Consultations

Have concerns about a child's speech, language and communication development in your setting? Complete a request for consultation online form and upload a parent/carer signature via the Cheshire East Young People and Families portal. Once the referral has been made our Cheshire East Chatters dedicated speech and language therapist's can organise a Teams meeting with you to discuss the child's communication profile and any advice and next steps to support them.

Please see the link below and instructions to complete a request for consultation:

https://childrenandfamilieseportal.cheshireeast.gov.uk/web/portal/pages/home

Once opening the link, select the ‘forms for professionals’ button.

Next select the ‘Request for Consultation with Early Years and Childcare Team’ button, and complete the form.

Family Hubs

Signpost families you work with to the family hubs digital offer, where they can access guidance for their children at the touch of a button: https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/livewell/care-and-support-for-children//family-hubs/family-hubs.aspx

Training

Autumn Term Training available on the Early Years Training Hub

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

Upcoming training next week:

Emotion Coaching – 6th October 2025 18:30 - 20:30 (Microsoft Teams)

Emotion Coaching is an evidence-based communication strategy that has been developed by psychologists. The strategy helps to support children to understand and self-regulate their emotions, empowering them to feel more confident and resilient. It is based on the principle that developing a nurturing and emotionally supportive relationship will improve children’s wellbeing and academic outcomes. Emotion Coaching enables a setting ethos of positive learning behaviour and gives confidence to practitioners to de-escalate situations when behaviour is challenging, and emotions are heightened. This training will cover an introduction to key psychological theories behind emotions, emotional literacy and communication, practical strategies and ways of working to encourage co-regulation and self-regulation of emotions within young children.

Developing Play in the Early Years (AET) – 7th October 2025 10:00 - 12:00 (Microsoft Teams)

This is an Autism Education Trust (AET) training course. This training will develop your understanding of the importance of play in the Early Years and how autism can impact upon a child's play development. You will also build your awareness of strategies that can be used to support autistic children with their play development. This course is intended to equip you with an understanding of the importance of play in the Early Years Foundation Stage and how the Three Areas of Difference in autism can impact on play skills. The training also considers how person-centred planning and making reasonable adjustments can enable autistic children to develop their play skills.

Out of School Club Network – 8th October 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.

Preschool Network – 8th October 2025 18:00 - 19:30 (Oakenclough Family Hub)

This network session is for Preschool providers. This Preschool network is an opportunity for preschool managers, committee chairs and business managers 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.

Enhanced Safeguarding Awareness – 9th October 2025 9:30 - 12:00 (Microsoft Teams)

This session expands on the Basic Safeguarding Awareness training session. The session covers the local safeguarding referral process, Risk Assessments and Health and Safety, Local Safeguarding Practice Reviews, CESCP information, Safer sleep, choking, Emotional Neglect and the Role of Family Hubs.

Physical Development in the Early Years – 10th October 2025 9:30 - 12:30 (Oakenclough Family Hub)

“Physical development is crucial for children’s overall progress. It enables children to engage with the world around them and lays the building blocks for their later physical capabilities and health” (EEF, 2024). Physical Development is the growth and development of both brain and body and involves developing control of muscles and physical coordination. Progression towards this control is not defined by the child's chronological age, but by the opportunity to acquire skills. Join us to explore how to promote Physical Development in the Early Years and how to offer fine and gross motor opportunities for children aged 0-5. This training will explore in depth the impact Physical Development has on children's holistic learning and development, and we will share good practice and provision ideas to inspire you as Early Years providers to get children moving.