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Bulletin 401
17 August 2026
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Welcome to our Early Years and Childcare Bulletin. Previous Bulletins are available at: Cheshire East Early years and Childcare Bulletin.
The Early Years and Childcare Bulletin is issued every week during term time and a condensed version during the school holidays.
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Apprenticeships: off-the-job training
The Department for Education (DfE) have updated the off-the-job training documents to align with the 2026 to 2027 apprenticeship funding rules.
To access the guidance on how employers and training providers should meet the off-the-job training requirements for an apprenticeship, click the button below.
Coram PACEY and Ofsted videos on YouTube
Coram PACEY and Ofsted have released a series of videos for childminders discussing Ofsted’s renewed inspection framework.
Click the button below to watch the recordings.
Best Start in Life toilet training campaign
With Reception just around the corner for many children, Best Start in Life has launched a Toilet Training campaign to support parents of children aged 3 to 4 who are due to start school this September. The campaign reassures parents that there is still time to help their child build confidence and independence with using the toilet before their first day at school.
To help promote the campaign, early years providers can download a range of resources from the Campaign Resource Centre, including a social media toolkit, a hero film, shorter film cutdowns, and five carousel assets that provide practical toilet training guidance for parents.
The campaign directs parents to the new Best Start in Life Potty Training webpage, which provides practical advice to help children develop the skills they need for school, from recognising when they need the toilet to managing clothing, wiping, flushing and washing their hands.
The advice is available on the NHS Best Start in Life website, alongside a wide range of free information and resources to support families from pregnancy through to starting school.
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Supporting parents mental health and wellbeing
When parents struggle with poor mental health - often made worse by challenges including poverty, insecure or unsuitable housing, domestic abuse, addiction, conflict between parents, isolation and loneliness - it’s a pressing public health challenge.
But while some parents experiencing mental health and wellbeing issues need clinical interventions, others may just need practical support with their young children, and with parenting skills.
The National Children’s Bureau has launched a best practice guide on supporting parental mental health and wellbeing. Drawing on the A Better Start Parents as Partners Insight report and the World Health Organisation’s definition of mental health and wellbeing, the guide shows that mental health and wellbeing are inseparable.
Using practical examples from ten years of work across A Better Start partnerships, you can access resources, reflective questions and video grounded in a decade of place-based delivery to inspire your practice.
To access the free best practice guide, click the button below.
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Working parent eligibility codes expiring 31st August
Following a check on all working parent eligibility codes, there are still 292 children with codes that expire from their grace period on 31st August.
Whilst the working parent hours will have gone through for the autumn term estimate, when headcounts are submitted the hours will not be accepted unless the code is reconfirmed before 31st August. The child will then lose the working parent funding for the autumn term.
Please check your live registers and contact any families whose codes expire on 31st August, to prompt them to reconfirm before this date.
The alert shows as an ! as below and also shows the red GP alert.
Deadlines: Early years SENIF panel and forum September 2026
The deadline for early years SENIF panel is Tuesday 1st September 4.30pm.
For more information click the button below.
The deadlines for early years forum referrals are:
North - Tuesday 1st September 2026 4.30pm
South - Tuesday 8th September 2026 4.30pm
For more information click the button below.
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