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Bulletin 371

1 December 2025

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

Liquidlogic

Establishment Portal – Spring term estimation

The estimate submission period is now closed.

Please contact the FEEE Team as a matter of urgency via feee@cheshireeast.gov.uk if you have not submitted an estimate.

Payment before Christmas is no longer guaranteed if the submission deadline has been missed.

Spring term headcount submission – advance notice

The spring term headcount submission window opens on 15 January and closes on 31 January. Please add any new starters for spring term to the Live Register before using the Headcount Submission Wizard to submit your claim.

Business Support

Closing date: Thursday 15 January 2026 for Parents to apply for Reception school places for Primary 2026

Please note that the closing date to make an application for a child to start primary school in September 2026 is Thursday 15 January 2026. Please can all early years providers remind parents of the deadline. Wording for reminders and posters in alternative languages are available from the Admissions team: admissions@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Please can providers also follow Family Information Service on Facebook and share reminders and advice:

https://www.facebook.com/FISCheshireEast

Advertise your vacancies via the free Find a job website

The Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) free ‘Find a job’ vacancy platform supports applicants to search for early years roles in their area.

Employers are encouraged to advertise their jobs on the Find a job website. Click the button below to create an account or login to the Employer section to add your company to post job adverts and manage your team.

You should use the term ‘early years’ in the title of your job adverts and select ‘Education jobs’ for the job category. Watch the video tutorials below to help you list any vacancies in your setting on Find a job.

Safeguarding

CESCP Neglect Strategy: Training on Tools and Best Practice

The Cheshire East Children’s Safeguarding Partnership is pleased to offer a new training session focused on recognising and addressing Neglect in Practice - this session introduces the refreshed Child Neglect Strategy 2025–2028 and identification tools, designed to further strengthen the partnership response across Cheshire East.

National Updates

Applications open for the Free Breakfast Club programme for schools – starting April 2026

In September, following the success of the early adopter scheme, the Department for Education (DfE) announced an additional £80m of investment into the free breakfast clubs programme to fund an additional 2000 schools between April 2026 and March 2027.

The DfE have published further details on school eligibility, how schools can apply and increased funding rates in mainstream schools of £1 per child per day, plus a guaranteed £25 per day. Schools with a 40% or higher FSM rate can apply to join the programme in April 2026. Want to learn more about the Free Breakfast Club programme? Watch this short video .

Find out more and apply on GOV.UK. Applications close at 11.59pm on Friday 5 December. 

SEND

Early Years Forum – spring term dates

Please see below the dates for early years forum in spring term.

As a guide the north covers Holmes Chapel, Congleton, Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Poynton and Knutsford. The south covers Sandbach, Crewe, Alsager, Middlewich and Nantwich. If you are unsure of your locality, please contact your Portage Quality and Inclusion Practitioner for clarification or email Early Years Forum.

Earlyyearsforum@cheshireeast.gov.uk

For more information, click on the button below.

Early years forum – information for practitioners

Early Years SEN inclusion funding – spring term dates

Please see below the dates for SENIF in spring term.

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.

You will receive an email confirmation for all documents submitted to EarlyYearsSenHelpline@cheshireeast.gov.uk. If you do not receive confirmation, please contact 01625 374170.

Family Hubs

Cheshire East Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme 

Please share the below information with your families. Cheshire East Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme is here for the winter school holidays – bookings went live on 24 November. Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.  Go to the Cheshire East HAF Programme booking platform to view the activities on offer, and when you find an activity you like, select book and complete the booking information.  For more information about the programme and eligibility criteria visit the Cheshire East webpage Holiday activities and food programme (HAF) (cheshireeast.gov.uk)

Training

Spring Term Training on the Early Years Training Hub

The ChESS Early Years Training Hub is currently being updated with lots of training opportunities for the spring term, please watch this space!