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Bulletin 410
19 October 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 term adjustments
The window to submit autumn term adjustments is open until Friday 27th November.
If you have any children changing their hours during the term, please amend the funding screen for them on the live register.
Select yes as a midterm change, then enter the date of change and the number of weeks before and after the change.
Please note you cannot make changes to hours in advance, they can only be changed on or after the date of the increase/decrease in hours.
 Please continue to remove any children from your live register if they are leaving your setting midterm.
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Winter readiness webinar
The Department for Education (DfE) is hosting a winter readiness webinar for education settings and local authority officials on Monday 9th November 2026, from 4:00pm to 5:30pm.
This free session will include practical advice to help settings prepare for winter, support attendance and protect the wellbeing of children and staff. You’ll hear from experts about how to mitigate and manage seasonal illness in early years settings and prepare for severe winter weather, including potential El Niño-related disruption.
To hear the advice that DfE and health partners across government are sharing with settings about winter resilience book a webinar place by clicking the button below.
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WARNING: safety alert issued for dangerous baby sleeping bags
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is warning parents to avoid baby sleeping bags with hoods or without arm holes, as babies can be at risk of suffocation, overheating, or serious harm.
Although these products are not considered safe for sleep, many are still available to purchase online.
Instead encourage parents to choose sleeping bags with well-fitting neck and arm openings to prevent babies from wriggling down inside. Avoid sleeping bags with hoods, as these can cover a baby's nose and mouth and interfere with breathing.
Please share this important safety information with parents and carers in your setting to help raise awareness and promote safer sleep practices.
For more information click the button below.
Updated model safeguarding policy
The Cheshire East model safeguarding policy has been updated and is now available.
Click on the button below to access the document.
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New information sharing duty for early years providers
A new statutory information sharing duty came into force on 30th September 2026. It applies to early years settings and strengthens information sharing between organisations to safeguard children and promote their welfare.
The duty requires relevant information about a child, or others connected to them, to be shared where it may help another relevant organisation assess needs, make decisions, provide support or take action. This supports prevention and early help, enabling practitioners to identify emerging needs and coordinate support before concerns escalate.
Information sharing is not limited to where a child is at immediate risk of harm or meets a statutory child protection threshold. Consent is not required when sharing information under the duty. Information must still be shared in line with data protection requirements.
Early years providers must follow the information sharing duty statutory guidance, and it should be read alongside the EYFS statutory framework and Working Together to Safeguard Children.
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Early years forum mandatory attachments
The early years forum portal has recently been updated, and there have been some changes to the mandatory documents required for referrals.
One of these changes is the addition of a parent/carer knowledge and agreement form, which must now be included with every referral. For convenience, a blank copy of this form can be found on the forum page directly above the portal link.
Please note that this form is different from the consent form that gives permission for a member of the team to visit a child.
When submitting a referral, please ensure that the knowledge and agreement form and all other mandatory documents are attached.
Thank you for your support.
For more information or to access the form please click the button below.
Early years forum – autumn term dates
Please see below the dates for early years forum in autumn 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.
Sensory Inclusion Service Update: Glue ear
The Sensory Inclusion Service (SIS) has updated its guidance for schools/settings.
The following types of hearing loss do not meet the SIS criteria for intervention: Glue ear, sensorineural loss below average 25dB in their better ear, unilateral losses (one-sided) below 41dB in the affected ear.
Sometimes, children with persistent glue ear may be issued with hearing aids as a temporary measure until the condition improves, or they are fitted with grommets. Others may be diagnosed with very mild losses, below 25dB average on their better side, or one-sided losses below 41dB in their affected ear. Children with this level/ type of hearing loss do not meet the criteria for intervention by the SIS. However, even if temporary, these types of hearing loss can still have a significant impact on hearing and the use of strategies to support the children is important to ensure that they hear and have access to learning and social activities.
Please click on the buttons below for support and guidance.
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Autumn Term Training available on the Early Years Training Hub
The ChESS Early Years Training Hub has lots of training opportunities for the autumn term, please take a look and book on now!
Upcoming training after half-term
Brilliant Boys – 4th November 2026 18:30 – 20:30 (Microsoft Teams)
This two-hour training course will explore how to engage, motivate, and support boys' learning and development within early years and childcare settings. It has been designed for practitioners who want to better understand boys' interests, strengths, and learning preferences. This training will help you reflect on current practice and consider how environments, interactions, and experiences can be adapted to inspire and engage boys. You will explore common barriers to engagement, challenge stereotypes, and identify strategies to support communication, language, literacy, and emotional development. The session will provide practical ideas for creating meaningful learning opportunities that build on children's interests and encourage positive outcomes. By the end of the course, you will have a range of approaches to help all children, including boys, reach their full potential.
DSL Cluster – 5th November 2026 09:30 – 11:30 or 18:30 – 20:30 (Microsoft Teams)
These virtual sessions are intended to further develop your DSL's understanding, knowledge and skills. Childminders are the DSL for their setting. At these meetings there will be opportunities for discussion with other leads, networking, sharing of effective practice/materials, input from other agencies and updates on new legislation/initiatives. Attendance at each termly cluster is highly recommended to keep your safeguarding knowledge up to date.
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