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Bulletin 404
7 September 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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Autumn headcount
The portal is open to submit your autumn headcount from today and will close on Friday 18th September. Please take this opportunity to double check all the children on your live register are attending for the current term, checking that there are no school leavers on there and that new starters have been added.
School leavers
Whilst submitting your autumn headcount, you may find that you have still got children on your Live Register that have left your setting and started school this autumn term. You will need to go to your live register, click edit and remove child. You will also be asked to input their end date and number of weeks they attended for the Summer term.
New starters
Please also accept any new children who are starting with you from your future starter register, so that they are included in your autumn headcount submission.
Age 3 cohort children
Children moving from the age 2 cohort to the age 3 cohort for the autumn term, with dates of birth between 1 April 2022 and 31 August 2022, will be aged 3 by the start of the autumn term. These children will be entitled to:
- 15 hours Universal Entitlement
- 15 hours Working Parent Entitlement (where eligibility criteria are met)
Please ensure these children are updated on the live register to reflect the 15 Universal hours and 15 Working Parent hours before submitting your headcount.
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Climate action plan toolkit pilot
The Department for Education's (DfE) Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy set out an ambition for all education settings to have a Climate Action Plan in place and a designated Sustainability Lead by 2025. This includes non-domestic early years settings Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education - GOV.UK.
At Cheshire East Council, we have developed a toolkit, and guidance document to help all education settings create their climate action plans. We are currently looking for non-domestic early years’ settings, within Cheshire East, to pilot our toolkit and provide us with some feedback in the form of a short questionnaire.
If you would like to pilot our resources, please sign up via this link: School's Climate Action Plan Toolkit Pilot Sign-up – Fill in form.
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Recordings from ERASE Tool Briefing and Families First Early Years DSL Webinar
In July, we held an ERASE Tool Briefing delivered by Kathryn Jones from the SCiES Team, and a Families First Early Years DSL Webinar delivered by Kerry Madden from the Families First Team.
The ERASE tool supports the children’s workforce with the identification and assessment of children and young people, including early years, who display sexually harmful behaviour (HSB). The Families First Early Years DSL webinar provided colleagues with an update on the progress of the Cheshire East partnership towards implementation of the Families First reforms and to share thinking so far.
If you missed the sessions and would like to view the recordings, we have sent the links to all early years providers by email.
Please email earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk to request the links if you haven't received them.
Prevent in education: training for early years foundation stage staff
The DfE have released new dates for 2026/2027 for their training package for staff within the early years foundation stage to understand their responsibilities and the importance of the Prevent duty.
The training dates are:
Monday 7th December 2026 6pm to 7:15pm
Tuesday 26th January 2027 - 4pm to 5:15pm
Tuesday 4th May 2027 6pm to 7:15pm
Please click on the button below for more information and to book a place.
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Said Rabbit book resources
All of us must learn to cope with adversity, big or small, and carry on. Like us, toddlers must learn to manage their emotions when things don’t go as they like.
‘No! said Rabbit’, ‘Ready! said Rabbit’ and ‘Again! said Rabbit’ by Marjoke Henrichs are the perfect books for toddlers as they are all about first experiences. In each, Rabbit and his family explore emotions that often need to be navigated in the world
of a young child.
Scallywag press have provided some resources around adversity and emotion, investigating boundaries and learning to be tolerant.
To access the resources click the button below.
National Year of Reading – autumn term events and resources
Don’t miss out on Early Years events and resources as part of the final term of the National Year of Reading.
Discover how you can make the most of your local communities to support the development of a reading for pleasure culture in the early years with brand-new free resources, CPD and events.
A taste of what’s on offer:
Access the full Early Years offer this autumn term and catch up on previous terms’ content, all through the free and flexible platform.
If you’re already taking part, log in here and continue exploring.
If you’re new, it's never too late to join. Sign up here for a guided journey of content that supports you to build and grow a reading for pleasure culture in your setting.
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SEN Inclusion funding autumn term 2026
Please ensure that FEEE funding hours are entered as soon as possible for all children in receipt of SENIF or EHCP funding. Attendance for each child (setting and FEEE hours amount) is checked at the beginning each term.
If a child is expected to attend but does not attend for any reason or FEEE attendance hours are reduced, please alert us as soon as possible to avoid any overpayment.
If you have a child who is deferring school entry and has a completed EHCP please email: EarlyYearsSenHelpline@cheshireeast.gov.uk.
Early Years SENCO training – fully funded training now available
As part of the government’s Best Start in Life strategy, breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving early identification and support for children with SEND, the Department for Education (DfE) is funding an additional 9,500 Early Years SENCO training places until March 2028.
You may be eligible for priority access if your setting is in a lower Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) area. These priority settings are typically allocated funded places faster.
While fully funded places are available to eligible applicants across all IDACI bands, we strongly encourage those in priority settings to apply as soon as possible to take advantage of this opportunity.
Recruitment is open now. For further information, including eligibility and to complete your application, please click the button below.
Pupils with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) transitioning to Primary School in September 2027
Letters have been sent to parents and carers of children with an EHC Plan who are due to move to a new phase of education in September 2027. The letter explains ways to inform the SEND Team of their preferences for the next phase of education. Should parents/carers wish to advise the local authority of their preferences prior to the autumn term annual review, then there is a link in the letter to submit their choices.
Please start planning for the autumn term EHCP transition annual reviews for your Nursery 2 children in order to support the SEND Team with timely consultations in line with the statutory deadline.
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Family Hubs and early years: Sharing what works
The National Centre for Family Hubs are developing a new toolkit to help strengthen partnerships between Family Hubs and early years settings, with a focus on improving outcomes for children and families.
As part of this work, they are looking for examples of good, effective or innovative practice from providers who have worked closely with their local Family Hub. This could include joint activities, integrated support for families, information sharing, outreach work, or creative approaches that have helped improve access to services and support.
If your setting has developed a successful partnership with a Family Hub, they would love to hear from you. Your experience could help shape the toolkit and provide valuable learning for other providers across the network.
To share your case study or find out more, please get in touch with the team NationalCentreFamilyHubs@local.gov.uk.
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 We're excited to announce our first annual Early Years Conference on Friday 18th September 9.30am-3pm at the Canalside Conference Centre, Middlewich.
This is your opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the Early Years sector, discover innovative approaches to practice, develop new skills, and celebrate the incredible work taking place across our workforce.
Inspirational Keynote Speaker
We are delighted to welcome Stacy Mann, Chief Operating Officer at The Early Years Company, as our guest speaker. With over 20 years' experience supporting children, families, and educators, Stacy will deliver an engaging and thought-provoking keynote exploring how we can better engage boys in Early Years settings. Expect practical insights, fresh ideas, and plenty of inspiration to take back to your setting.
Interactive Workshops Designed for Real Practice
Throughout the day, you'll have the opportunity to participate in a range of immersive, hands-on workshops, including:
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I'm Regulated, Are You? - Practical strategies to support co-regulation, developed in partnership with Educational Psychology.
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Am I Ready to Write? - An Occupational Therapy-informed exploration of motor development and how we can lay the foundations for successful writing.
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Sensory Environments - Experience the power of sensory spaces through this immersive workshop delivered by SPOTTS.
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Emotional Literacy for Little Learners - Discover the 5 Point Scale and explore personalised approaches to supporting emotional wellbeing in young children.
Be the First to See Our New Offer
We will also be unveiling the newly developed Portage, Quality and Inclusion Team offer, showcasing how we can support you, your setting, and the children and families you work with.
Meet the Experts
Browse our professional marketplace and connect with a range of specialist services and professionals who will be on hand throughout the day to answer questions, share resources, and highlight the support available across your locality.
Why Attend?
- Network with fellow Early Years professionals
- Gain practical tools and strategies you can use immediately
- Discover local services and support available to you
- Be inspired by sector-leading expertise
- Celebrate the passion, commitment, and impact of the Early Years workforce
Whether you're looking to learn something new, build connections, or simply take time to reflect and be inspired, this conference is not to be missed. Join us as we come together to learn, connect, innovate, and celebrate Early Years excellence. We can't wait to see you there!
Book your place via the ChESS Early Years Training Hub. If you require any support please contact: Earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk.
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