View this email in a browser

Bulletin 385

20 April 2026

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

Liquidlogic

Summer Term Headcounts

The portal is now open to submit your headcounts for the summer term until Friday 1 May 2026.

Please check your live register is correct and any children who have left have been removed. Also accept any new children who have now started from your future starter register.

Please note if a working family code has expired, the code may just need rechecking on the funding tab of the live register to refresh the eligibility dates.

You can then submit your headcount, using the submission wizard in the early year’s menu of the portal.

Business Support

Sign up to Tax-Free Childcare if you’re a childcare provider

Click on the button below to find out how to sign up to Tax-Free Childcare and get a childcare provider account to receive payments from parents using Tax-Free Childcare.

Sign up to Tax-Free Childcare if you’re a childcare provider - GOV.UK

Safeguarding

Free Child Safety Week Resources from the Child Accident Prevention Trust

Child Safety Week is 1st - 7th June. This year’s theme is Making Prevention Possible and The Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) are on a mission to empower families to make simple changes without feeling overwhelmed.

You can access free Child Safety Week resources for your setting and to share with your families by clicking on the button below.

Prevent in education: training for early years foundation stage staff

The DfE have designed a training package for staff within the early years foundation stage to understand their responsibilities and the importance of the Prevent duty.

Three new training dates have been added to the current dates for 2026/2027:

Wednesday 29 April 2026 4:00pm - 5:15pm

Tuesday 16 June 2026 6:00pm - 7:15pm

Monday 7 December 2026 6:00pm - 7:15pm

Tuesday 26 January 2027 4:00pm - 5:15pm

Tuesday 4 May 2027 6:00pm - 7:15pm

Please click on the button below for more information and to book a place.

National Updates

Help improve the ‘Check an early years qualification’ online service

The Department for Education is inviting early years professionals to share their feedback on the ‘Check an early years qualification’ online service. If you’re a setting manager, childminder, or a practitioner, your experience matters.

They would love to hear about your experience by completing the survey below.

Your feedback will help them to understand what works well and where the service could be improved, so they can better support people working in early years.

If you have any questions, please contact: research.early-years-quals@education.gov.uk

Getting children ready for reception

The Department for Education has published a new guidance to support schools and early years settings, including childminders, with how they can work with families to support children’s transition into reception.

Supporting a smooth transition into reception - GOV.UK

To help make the transition into Reception as smooth and positive as possible you can share the following resources from Starting Reception with parents and carers:

• Starting Reception website
• Starting Reception Guide (Downloadable PDF)

Starting Reception is a free, practical online resource designed to support parents and carers in preparing their child for school. It offers simple activities, helpful advice and clear guidance on the key skills and routines that help children feel confident and ready for their first day.

Starting Reception have also provided guides for Potty Training and Children’s Toothbrushing. Children being able to use the toilet independently and having healthy routines such as brushing their teeth is an important part of getting ready for starting school.

• Potty Training Guide website
• Potty Training Guide (Downloadable PDF)
• Children's Toothbrushing Guide website
• Children's Toothbrushing Guide (Downloadable PDF)

The Department for Education (DfE) are also encouraging parents to explore the new Preparing for school webpage on Best Start in Life, which brings together helpful guidance and tips, including the Steps for School song:

Preparing for school - Best Start in Life

SEND

Change of Referral form for CYP Speech and Language Therapy Service based in Cheshire East

As you may be aware from 1st June 2025 Cheshire East Paediatric Speech & Language Therapy (SALT) Services has been provided by Central Cheshire Integrated Care Partnership (CCICP).

To support a smooth transition for this service and to ensure there was no impact on service delivery, the CCICP continued to use the same referral form that was being used by the team previously aligned to East Cheshire Trust.

Now that they have aligned all IT systems, they are now in a position to use the same referral form for all of their CYP Speech and Language Therapy services.

Starting From 17th April 2026:

The link to the website is: https://www.mcht.nhs.uk/our-services/community-services-ccicp/cyp-speech-and-language-therapy-service

The referral form for Speech, Language and Communication issues is: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Ay0n7XT-B02VKvOhXtOqQD_BKF1b-z1Op41n6I42LqtURDY5VTNBVVFUVVFLTUtHOEw4OUNXTE9QUi4u

The referral form for Feeding and Swallowing difficulties is: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=Ay0n7XT-B02VKvOhXtOqQMageSS0u3NNqScT-oBKE5pUNVNSSlFUSE9GTTFXQ0ZJU0dYTEwwTE0xSiQlQCN0PWcu

The link on the East Cheshire Trust website will soon be closed down, so please do use the above links.

SEND Drop-In sessions

Thank you to those of you who joined the Portage Quality and Inclusion Practitioners (PQUIP's) at their SEND Drop-In sessions, which were held on the first Monday of every month. We hope you found these sessions valuable and supportive.

The final drop-in took place in April, and we wanted to let you know that these sessions will not be continuing in this format. However, there will still be opportunities to access support and information through our termly SENCO Network meetings. If you need any advice or support, please feel free to speak with your PQUIP.

The team would really appreciate any feedback you may have about the SEND Drop-In's, including what you found helpful and any suggestions for future support. Your views will help shape how support is offered going forward.

Thank you again for your engagement.

Family Hubs

Bright Futures Stronger Practice Hub EYFS Leads Network

Scan the QR code or click on the link to book a place:
Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Course Booking Form - Bright Futures Training

Training

Free Webinar Recordings from Bright Futures Stronger Practice Hub

Bright Futures North West Stronger Practice Hub have a wide range of webinar recordings available on their website for practitioners.

From Boys’ Communication & Language and Improving Outcomes for Boys, to Sensory Support, Emotion Coaching, Schemas, and Starting Strong through Play, there’s something to support every aspect of early years practice.

Whether you’re looking to deepen your understanding, reflect on your current provision, or gather practical ideas to take straight back into your setting, their webinars are designed to inspire and support you.

You can explore all the available recordings here: https://earlyyears.bright-futures.co.uk/funded-programmes-and-training/

Summer 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 summer term, please take a look and book on now!

Upcoming training next week:

SENCO Network - 27th April 2026 10:00 - 11:30 (Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School and Sixth Form College Training and Conference Centre) or 29th April 2026 18:30 - 20:00 (Microsoft Teams)

These network sessions are intended to further develop your understanding, knowledge and skills as SENCO. This session will be led by Sarah Clough - Strategic Lead for Mainstream Inclusive Practice at Cheshire East Council. An update will be provided for all Early Years settings on the reforms in the white paper and the work that is already being undertaken across Cheshire East. Attendance at each termly network is highly recommended to keep your SEND knowledge up to date.

Step Inside the Toddler Room - 28th April 2026 09:30 - 11:30 (Microsoft Teams)

This session is part of a series focussing on supporting the three different age groups of children within the Early Years. Don’t miss out - “staff attended training that extended their knowledge about meeting the needs of two-year-old children. The training was a valuable opportunity” (Ofsted, 2023). This training is for all practitioners working with toddlers and will provide the skills and child development knowledge needed to work with this unique age group. Step Inside the Toddler Room training will cover what you need to know about child development at 2, how 2-year-olds like to learn, the physical environment and supporting feelings and emotions.

Delivering Small Groups - 29th April 2026 14:00 - 16:00 (Microsoft Teams)

Together with our specialist Speech and Language Therapists you will explore ways to set up small groups focussing on the development of attention and listening skills as well as language skills and vocabulary. You will learn more about how to identify children for the groups as well as sharing thoughts and ideas around using a total communication approach to support children to engage with the activities. Attention and Listening and Vocabulary session planning booklets are included with this training as well as lists of necessary equipment.

Role of the DSL - 30th April 2026 10:00 - 16:00 (Crewe Lifestyle Family Hub)

This one-day 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.