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Bulletin 391

8 June 2026

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

Liquidlogic

Summer term – funded weeks update

• As communicated in March, funded weeks per term are changing slightly to match DfE funding allocations.
• In summer term, children can receive 12 or 13 weeks of funding, depending on when they became eligible.

Funded weeks:

Who gets what:

• January–March birthdays: 13 funded weeks in summer.
• All other children: 12 funded weeks in summer.

What we’ll do:

• Headcount records will be updated automatically before summer term balancing payments are made.
• Updates may take time—please don’t worry if your records haven’t changed yet.

How to check:

• View the Payments section or summer headcount submission in the establishment portal to see which children have 13 weeks.

Further details:

Children born between January and March will claim 13 weeks in summer 2026, 14 weeks in autumn 2026 and 11 weeks in spring 2027, giving a total of 38 weeks.

Other children with birthdays outside this range need to consider the number of weeks attended in the previous term(s).  For example, a child with a birthday in September will have claimed 12 weeks in spring 2026 and will claim 14 weeks in autumn 2026.  Therefore, the maximum claim for summer 2026 is 12 weeks, giving 38 weeks in total.  Claiming 13 weeks in summer term 2026 would exceed the 38 weeks maximum entitlement.

Business Support

Business Support Tools for Providers

The Department for Education (DfE) have now launched a set of business support materials on the Foundation Years webpage to provide practical support around the running of an early years provider business, bringing together guidance on business planning, finance, marketing and human resources in an early years context. 

The page signposts key national guidance, and highlights the importance of understanding local provider agreements, funding rules and consumer law when delivering childcare.

It also brings together a range of practical business support tools which were developed by a local authority and kindly shared for wider use. This includes a business planning template, cashflow tools, occupancy calculators and marketing plans to support sustainability and growth. 

To access the tool click the button below.

Safeguarding

Families First Early Years DSL Webinar – book on now!

Wednesday 15th July 2026 - 12:00 - 13:00 on Microsoft Teams

Join us to hear about the Families First reforms, delivered by the Families First Programme Team. This session will provide colleagues in early years with an update on the progress of the Cheshire East partnership towards implementation of the Families First reforms and to share thinking so far.

For anyone that can’t attend the lunchtime briefing, we will be recording the session to share.

Please click the button below to book on through the Early Years Training Hub.

National Updates

Action for early years settings and schools: Take part in the Education Endowment Foundation early years funded trials 

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) are recruiting nurseries and schools to take part in funded trials of programmes for early years settings, focused on strengthening language and self-regulation for ages 3 to 5 years.

Programmes include:

• Talk With Tales for Children: A professional development programme that supports practitioners to use dialogic reading and themed story sessions to strengthen language development. The sign-up deadline is midnight on 31 July 2026.
• Positive Early Childhood Education: A professional development programme that offers practical strategies to improve self-regulation, behaviour, and social interaction. The sign-up deadline is midnight on 31 July 2026.
• OxEd Whole Class and Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI): A universal oral language enrichment programme for reception pupils, delivered alongside or separately from NELI. The sign-up deadline is midnight on 30 June 2026.

All participants receive financial recognition, and those delivering programmes benefit from training, coaching, and resources.

To find suitable programmes and register your interest click the button below.

Statutory guidance for information sharing duty

The Department for Education (DfE) is inviting feedback from safeguarding organisations and practitioners on its statutory guidance relating to the new information sharing duty introduced in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act.

To support your response to this consultation, the DfE are hosting a number of national webinars on the information sharing duty to provide more information, foster discussion and answer any questions. 

The webinars, copies of the draft documentation and the form to share your views can all be found by clicking the button below.

SEND

Early Years SEN inclusion funding – summer term dates

Please see below the dates for SENIF in summer 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

Best Start Family Hubs launch new ‘What’s On’ Guide

Earlier this year, during our Best Start Local Plan engagement events, the Family Hub team worked closely with school representatives across the locality, who highlighted the need for clearer and more consistent signposting to Family Hub services. In response, we partnered with our Web Team to develop an improved online ‘What’s On’ guide, designed to make it easier for families and professionals to find activities and support in their local area. The updated platform includes enhanced search functionality, allowing users to filter events by age, postcode and keywords, alongside consistent branding to improve accessibility and user experience. Through our Family Hubs, we offer a broad and inclusive programme of services for babies, children, young people and their families. This includes regular sessions such as stay and play, sensory activities and early development groups, alongside antenatal support, breastfeeding guidance and practical advice for parents and carers to help give children the best possible start in life. We also provide targeted support for those with additional or specific needs, including services for children and young people with SEND, groups for young carers and care leavers, and safe, inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ young people. These tailored services offer advice, emotional support and opportunities to build confidence, develop life skills and connect with peers. In addition, families can access a wide range of wider support through our hubs, including professional advice via drop-in sessions, educational psychology and speech and language input, financial wellbeing guidance and information about becoming a childminder. All of our sessions are free, informal and available without booking, ensuring families can access the right help at the right time in a welcoming and supportive environment. We would welcome your support in continuing to raise awareness of these opportunities by signposting families to the ‘What’s On’ guide and including links to these listings in your communications wherever possible. Have a look at the ‘What’s On’ guide by clicking the button below.

Training

Early Years SENCO Level 3 - Free training from the Best Practice Network

An Early Years Special Educational Needs Coordinator (EYSENCO) plays a key role in identifying and supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). They work closely with families and professionals to make sure children receive the right support, helping to secure the best possible outcomes in their early development and learning.

The Best Practice Network is offering free training funded by the Department for Education.

The June intake is now full. Apply for the July intake by 21st June.

Register for a place by clicking on the button below.

Early Mathematic Support from Education Endowment Foundation

You want to support your children to build their mathematical understanding in meaningful ways, while having fun. How can you do that?

You can find practical ideas from the Education Endowment Foundation in their Evidence Store, which brings together evidence-informed approaches for early maths. You’ll find:

• Video examples from real settings, showing how educators put approaches into practice.
• Clear summaries of what the evidence suggests could support children’s learning.
• Downloadable posters to use with your team.

To explore the resources please click the button below.

Free online child development training for all those working in early years, including reception

The Department for Education’s Early years child development training is a free, online programme designed by early years experts to support educators working with children from birth to reception.

This flexible online training will help you to:

• Build and strengthen your child development knowledge
• Get practical advice and ideas to support children in your setting, including reception classes
• Reflect on your practice and test your knowledge
• Learn from practical training videos filmed in early years and reception settings
• Access modules in any order, at any time 
• Download a certificate on completion of each module

The programme includes 8 modules, covering key areas such as:

• Brain development and how children learn
• Personal, social and emotional development
• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Mathematics
• Effective curriculum and assessment
• Supporting individual differences and needs

The training has recently been updated to include:

• Additional videos and practical advice for supporting children in reception
• Guidance on supporting the EYFS profile assessment

Access the training: Visit the Early years child development training to register or sign-in if you already have an account. 

Free early years resources: Help for Early Years Providers also offers free resources for educators working with children aged 0 to 5 years. The website has recently been updated to include EYFS profile assessment support  including bite-sized videos and case studies. A new safer sleep page has also been created in collaboration with The Lullaby Trust, providing advice to create and maintain safer sleep environments for babies and young children in their care. 

Supervision bitesize recording

The Early Years Team have recorded a bitesize training session around supervision in early years settings. This could be helpful to anyone new to completing supervisions with staff members or anyone who would like a refresher.

If you would like to view the recording, please email earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk to request the YouTube link.

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:

Preschool Network - 16th June 2026 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.

Progress check at age 2 - 17th June 2026 10:00 - 11:30 (Microsoft Teams)

“When a child is aged between two and three, practitioners must review their progress and provide parents and/or carers with a short written summary of their child’s development in the prime areas. The summary must highlight areas in which a child is progressing well, areas in which some additional support might be needed, and focus particularly on any areas where there is a concern that a child may have a developmental delay, which may indicate a special educational need or disability. The summary must describe the activities and strategies the provider intends to adopt to address any issues or concerns” (EYFS, 2025). Explore the process of writing a good quality progress check including when to do it, what to include and how you can work in partnership with parents/carers and other professionals to put in place appropriate early support and intervention in order to best meet the individual needs of the child. Delegates will be given access to a variety of resources that can be used when completing this statutory assessment.

Safe Sleep and ICON - 17th June 2026 18:30 - 20:30 (Microsoft Teams)

Join us to learn about safer sleep and ICON (Infant Crying and preventing abusive head trauma). Delivered by Charlotte Coop Specialist Health Visitor on Enhancing Families Programme, and Megan Vause Family Nurse with 12 years safeguarding midwifery experience. The training will provide information on safer sleep practices including the most up to date, evidence-based practice regarding the safest ways of babies to sleep. This session will also provide you with information regarding ICON, a national initiative to help reduce the risk of abusive head trauma, more commonly known as shaken baby syndrome.

Safer Recruitment - 18th June 2026 10:00 - 16:00 (Crewe Lifestyle Family Hub)

Childcare settings share with others a duty to safeguard the children in their care. Implementing safer recruitment practices is one way of discharging this safeguarding obligation. Keeping Children Safe in Education recommends that at least one of the persons who conducts an interview has completed safer recruitment training. This one-day course gives childcare providers, including childminders who employ assistants, information and understanding they need to recruit safely and comply with relevant statutory guidance. This course covers safer recruitment and the wider context of safeguarding, the prevalence of abuse and profile of abusers, important features of a safer recruitment process including interview and selection, setting acceptable standards of behaviour and maintaining an ongoing culture of vigilance.