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The Department for Education (DfE) has published its response to the consultation on proposed changes to strengthen EYFS safeguarding requirements, which ran from 22 April 2024 to 17 June 2024:
Early years foundation stage (EYFS) safeguarding - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Based on consultation responses the government will proceed with implementing:
- all of the safeguarding changes that were consulted on, with minor changes to the wording of some for additional clarity
- 2 new changes on whistleblowing and providing employment references
The response document provides further detail on each of the safeguarding changes individually, setting out the responses to the consultation and the reasons behind the decisions made.
It is the government’s intention to proceed with statutory national implementation of the EYFS safeguarding reforms from 1 September 2025.
We are delighted to share that the Child Protection and Safeguarding Model Policy for 2024-2025 has now been revised and uploaded onto Schoolsnet:
Safeguarding (derbyshire.gov.uk)
The policy has been streamlined and updated with key statutory changes. In this review you may now notice that our policy has removed the appendices which were previously included within the body of the policy – these are now available as separate appendices which are also uploaded onto schoolsnet.
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Have you seen the Department for Education’s recruitment campaign?
Do Something Big - childcare and early years
The campaign promotes early years and childcare careers by highlighting the huge difference early years professionals make to young children and how rewarding working in the sector can be.
As an employer, you can use the Department for Work and Pension's Find a Job vacancy platform to post vacancies for potential applicants to see. This service is free to use and will ensure vacancies are seen by a large pool of potential candidates.
If you do not yet have a Find a Job account and have current or upcoming roles in your setting, please watch these video tutorials to help you create an employer account and post your jobs. Providers should use the term ‘early years’ in the title of their job adverts and select ‘Education and childcare jobs’ as the job category.
More information on how to advertise jobs and share the campaign on your social media channels can be found here:
Do something BIG campaign toolkit
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 We are proud to share the news that Smalley Preschool were judged winners of the Inclusive Education Provider Award.
This category is for educational spaces, teachers or facilitators that go the extra mile to create an inclusive environment for neurominorities. Whether it is a school, home-schooling network, nursery, or neurodivergent teacher, what matters is that they are neuroinclusive and promote acceptance.
Smalley Pre-School was nominated for this award by a parent who felt that her son had received outstanding support from all staff during his pre-school journey. It was noted that the pre-school works hard to individualise the curriculum for each child based on their strengths and interests.
Jenny Rowland – Manager and SENDCo was highlighted for working closely with parents and carers to signpost and access support from other services such as Early Years SEN and Speech and Language. This ensures that all children receive the support they need to flourish and thrive.
Congratulations Smalley Preschool!
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Helping Families Thrive with Reliable Information & Support!
As a childcare provider you help children grow, learn, and develop the foundational skills they need to succeed. In addition to the care and education you provide, it is helpful for families to know how to access the wide range of information and resources available to them. This is where we come in!
The Families Information Service (also known as FIS) provides free, impartial information and guidance to any family caring for children or young people aged 0-19 (or up to 25 years, for children and young people with SEND).
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- Help with finding the right childcare and information on eligibility for childcare funding schemes.
- Finding family support services locally and nationally for parents at every stage, from infancy to adolescence.
- Health & Wellness: information on maintaining family health, supporting mental well-being, and finding healthcare resources.
- Information about local family activities and events across Derbyshire.
- Plus, much more...
Our mission is to empower families to thrive, and we’re here to support you in helping them do just that. We kindly ask that you share our website and social media with the families you work with. It’s a simple way to offer them support and keep them informed.
You can find us here:
We appreciate your support in helping us reach more families. If you have any questions or would like more information about our services, please feel free to get in touch!
At Derbyshire Adult Community Education Service (DACES), we offer free courses for families, community groups and volunteer organisations to equip parents and carers to support their children’s learning. Our courses are designed for parents and carers with children ranging from babies to secondary school age.
We work with families in school and pre-school settings to strengthen their connections and to provide skills to help with family life. Our goal is to help parents and carers to engage with and support their children’s learning and development.
Recently we have piloted a “Supporting your neurodiverse child” course which started on 10 September and has been running online each week to support parents/carers of neurodiverse children. Feedback from parents has been incredibly positive and we plan to offer this course for parents in schools in the near future. Please do get in touch if this is something that interests you.
During October half term at Cotmanhay ACE centre there are two short courses for parents/carers to take their children and develop numeracy and cooking skills together as a family.
These are:
We offer a range of pre-designed courses, or we can deliver bespoke courses developed with partners such as:
- children’s centres
- schools
- libraries
- countryside services
- Home-Start.
If you’d like a member of our team to contact you to discuss possibilities or you are interested in having a face-to-face family learning course or event at your venue, we would love to hear from you. Please email cs.dacesfamilylearning@derbyshire.gov.uk giving your contact details including your postcode.
Remember, laying the foundations for learning to read is like preparing for a sporting event. First comes a passion and a drive, as we develop children’s love of books and a desire to read for pleasure, next success is achieved through consistency, repetition, and a step-by-step approach. Much of the success achieved by Phonics schemes used in schools is that they are systematic, chunking down learning through a clear and coherent progression.
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Before we move children onto recognise, say and remember letter-sound correspondences and blend these together, they need to be able to look closely, remembering what they see, hear and say. Children also need to be able to make sounds, matching them with objects, people, or patterns.
Emma Spiers, The Learning Lady, uses this image to help us.
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Phonics is a sounds-based system, so hearing the differences and similarities between spoken sounds is vital. This process is known as auditory discrimination and begins in everyday situations. Early listening skills are the ability to listen and distinguish between both environmental and speech sounds from one another. It is the awareness that spoken sentences are not a continuous stream of sound but are separable into words. Just imagine if you can’t distinguish the difference between a car horn beeping and a pig oinking, how will you be able to hear the individual sounds that sound very similar like /f/ and /th/. Early listening skills are essential. Children need to have had rich playful opportunities to explore how to make and change sounds with their voices, bodies and with objects or instruments, copying more complex sound patterns as experience and repertoire grow.
These are some of our recommended books to support children to explore sounds:
Toddle Waddle – environmental sounds
The Happy Hedgehog Band – musical instruments
Next stop seeing and remembering visual discrimination…
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The Paper Dolls
Author - Julia Donaldson Illustrator - Rebecca Cobb
A very good friend (and fellow teacher) bought the Julia Donaldson collection of books for my little boy Eric, when he was born and I couldn’t have been more excited to read these to him as he grew up. What I love about Julia Donaldson books are that they’re written so beautifully and make pretend play based on them so easy. Be it ‘The Gruffalo’ or the ‘Room on the Broom’, the characters and plot are exciting and easy for the children to become immersed into the creative world.
When I picked out the Paper Dolls book from the shelf, I didn’t think it would become such a hit, but Eric has asked for it repeatedly, often choosing it as one of his bedtime stories. He even chose the book to take to a recent Squirrels camp sleepover!
The book is charmingly written in easy language and has beautiful illustrations. I love how Rebecca Cobb has used everyday objects to illustrate different animals. The main rhyming when the paper dolls say,
“You can’t get us. Oh no, no, no! We’re holding hands and we won’t let go”
…helps you introduce unity in a very subtle way. I am sure you will make up your own tune to this as I have!
Not only is the book a fun and light read, but it has a beautiful message on how life comes to a full circle with the little girl growing up and making paper dolls with her own little girl. It can also be used to subtly teach about people passing, and the transition into becoming a wonderful memory.
Finally, a fun fact…
Did you know that ‘The Paper Dolls’ broke a Guinness World Record? Children all over the world were invited to make their own paper dolls, and all of them were then laid out on the floor of the ballroom in the Royal Festival Hall!
Emma Wilson - Early Years Improvement Officer
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Owl Babies
Author - Martin Waddell Illustrator - Patrick Benson
I love reading stories to young children, there are so many books that I could chose but Owl Babies is amongst my favourites.
It was published just before I had my first baby and I loved reading it to the children in my class. I enjoyed the way it enabled me to use my voice in different ways and the way the children loved to join in with Bill as he cried ‘I want my Mummy’ something they could mostly relate to (we always did it in a slightly sad and squealy voice).
My favourite parts of the book is the anticipation before the Mummy owl returns and the joy of holding the page back just long enough for the children to feel a bit of empathy for the baby owls before turning the page to that wonderful alliteration ‘Soft and Silent She Swooped through the trees.’ I love empathizing the alliteration with my voice and the then delight as they all cry ‘Mummy!’ and Bill says, ‘I love my Mummy.’ Children are always so relieved that Mummy comes back and often like to talk about their love for their carers after we’ve read the story. Sometimes children will talk about times they’ve felt scared and occasionally children have begun a conversation that required a lot of trust from the child following the reading of this book.
It was such a joy to share this book with my own children and it became a firm favourite for the whole family.
As my children grew older, I started to lead a music group for parents and young children and sometimes I would use this book as a stimulus for the music, it became a firm favourite here too.
The simple but sensitive illustrations in this book give a real feel of what it’s like to live in a forest, high up in the trees. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a love of reading with young children.
Jo Utting - Early Years Improvement Officer
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Peace at Last
Author and illustrator - Jill Murphy
There are books on my shelf that are firm family favourites – this is one those books! I remember reading this in school with my teacher, Mrs Stocks, and loving all the noises she used to make. I remember nagging my Mum to buy me my very own copy and asking her to read it again and again (and again…sorry Mum!). At the time, my very own ‘Daddy Bear’ was sat on the sofa snoring so loudly that I totally sympathised with both my Mum and the exhausted bear! Funny…my Dad soon adopted the name Poppa Bear and this is where that nickname came from! To own my very own copy of a book Mrs Stocks had at school made it even more special.
When I sat in front of my very first class as a newly qualified teacher, this was the book I read – the faces of delight reminded me of all the reasons why I fell in love with the story…the laughter at poor Daddy Bear who just wanted to get some sleep, and the faces the children made as they attempted to copy the sound of the noisy refrigerator or the snuffles of the hedgehog!
The best moment for me however, then came years later when I shared this with my two children. The chuckles were infectious as they pointed and laughed at their Dad who…yes you’ve guessed it, was snoring on the sofa after a long day at work.
A story first published in 1980 and it still has that ability to make me smile as I read it, and take me back to being that little girl saying “once more Mum…please”. I am now that tired Bear – and when the neighbour’s cats are hissing outside, or the tap is dripping (I am now nagging my husband to get that fixed) or the clunk of the washing machine keeps me awake…I sigh and smile as I roll over and think…Peace at Last!
Sarah Taylor - Early Years Improvement Coordinator
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Come find the ‘booknic’ and other reading for pleasure activities at our EY conference ‘Being Active, Brave, and Connected in the Early Years’ on Nov 22nd and Nov 23rd. You can also volunteer for the mystery book drop – a chance to receive a new book to keep in return for your book blether and comments. Reading is a joy to share. |
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DfE’s PDP programme has been running for several years – and Derbyshire practitioners are saying:
- Wonderful opportunity - always learning something new.
- The training spanned months, so we really got to know each other in the groups and made you think – what could be better for the children?
- Group discussions involved people from Scotland to London, the mixed groups meant richer conversations, recognition of how complex different roles are, valued as a childminder, and most powerfully – experience trumped location!
- Weekly glossary was a gift – the terminology could be challenging “I’ve never heard of these words” especially in Maths, the glossary gave you confidence in the learning.
- Impact on children has been increased focus, engagement with broader learning, using new words, copying and more expression.
- Impact on parents has been more quality face to face problem solving, ‘catch up with keyworkers’ moments accessed by parents usually not coming forward, parents receive information about how the setting is supporting skills rather than sharing ‘norms’ that had triggered concern or guilt feelings, parents increased in confidence to discuss and accept guidance to review and deepen their child’s experiences rather than adding the next step too soon.
Advice from PDP learners about engaging with DfE and other projects:
- Keep going, don’t give up early. It’s worth the effort.
- Embrace the opportunity to discuss and reflect with others rather than worry about ‘newness’ of learning.
- Let yourself feel positive about what you do well. Set yourself small goals along the way.
Ofsted has published part 3 of their Best start in life: a research review for early years - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The research review explores literature that relates to early years education and draws on a range of sources, including academic and policy literature. The review focuses on the pre-school age range, from birth to 4 years and has been produced to support early years practitioners to raise the quality of early years education.
Part 3 is part of their series of curriculum research reviews and considers the 4 specific areas of learning and which principles of curriculum design and delivery ensure that all children, including disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn what they need to succeed in life:
Best start in life part 3: the 4 specific areas of learning - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Strong foundations in the first years of school
Ofsted has also published a report 'Strong foundations in the first years of school'. The report focuses on the aspects of the Reception and key stage 1 curriculum that, their evidence suggests, make the biggest difference to children learning what they need by the end of key stage 1.
Strong foundations in the first years of school - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Recommendations from the report to schools are to:
- make sure that the curriculum clearly identifies the foundational knowledge and skills, as outlined in the EYFS and national curriculum, that children will need for later learning
- give children sufficient high-quality opportunities to practise using foundational knowledge and skills so that they become fluent
- choose teaching methods that are suited to what is being taught and what children already know
- make sure that assessment picks up children’s misunderstandings quickly and gives teachers early opportunities to help children who need extra teaching and practice
- make sure that end of key stage 1 assessments do not disproportionately influence decisions about curriculum and teaching methods
As a result of the findings, Ofsted will be reviewing and updating their guidance for inspectors to help them focus more on how well curriculum, teaching and assessment lead to all children in Reception and key stage 1 learning foundational knowledge.
Well, what a fabulous start to the Autumn Term! Life in Early Years is buzzing, and to keep up this momentum, we have some fabulous courses to show you.
The courses below and others can be delivered bespoke for your team or cluster - please email us with your training needs for more information:
CS.EYS@derbyshire.gov.uk
Some feedback from our Brilliant Babies training:
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NEW! This term are our Collections. These are our training sessions organised into themes to help you plan your development and learning for the year. Take a look and we hope to see you there:
Derbyshire Early Years Service Events - Upcoming Activities and Tickets | Eventbrite
On Eventbrite
If you'd like a beginner's guide to PSED, please join us on this course. It is well suited to all but especially for new starters, or if you're a new business wanting to get all things PSED right from the start:
Introduction to PSED in the EYFS, Mon 4 Nov 2024, 6.30pm - 8pm | Eventbrite
Are you new to leading in the Early Years, or do you just want a refresher? This brand new course is the one for you. It will support you in your journey to leading in the Early Years whether you run a day nursery or a child-minding business from home:
New to Leadership in the Early Years, Mon 11 Nov 2024, 1pm - 3pm | Eventbrite
New to Leadership in the Early Years, Tue 12 Nov 2024, 6.30pm - 8.30pm | Eventbrite
Always popular, Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Refresher, Wed 20 Nov, 6.00pm – 8.00pm | Eventbrite
Early Years Conference
Back by popular demand! An in-person conference just for you. It’s all about how raising awareness of the impact of being more active, developing a sense of safe risk and challenge, and connecting has on young children's holistic development in their early years!
Our Friday session of the conference at Casa Hotel in Chesterfield is all sold out, but we still have places on Saturday 23rd Nov - come take advantage of the highly subsidised price.
It includes lunch too 😊
Being Active, Brave & Connected in the Early Years (Derby Mickleover Hotel) Registration, Sat 23 Nov 2024 at 09:00 | Eventbrite
Being Active, Brave, and Connected in the Early Years - 23 Nov 2024 | Services for Schools
Details of other courses can be found on Eventbrite or S4S:
Derbyshire Early Years on Eventbrite - 'Follow us' to be the first to hear when courses become available to book.
Derbyshire S4S Early Years Improvement Service
Derbyshire S4S/Training (Filter using 'Early Years' as the key word)
Further to the launch of our revised self-evaluation process for Early Years settings at the last leaders and managers briefing we are pleased to share some setting feedback:
For those of you that missed leaders and managers, the SSED focuses on the effectiveness of leadership and management to ensure children are safe, happy and making progress, and will enable you (and your staff if applicable), to evaluate your provision and practices which will strengthen your role.
It is an opportunity for a professional and open discussion focused on the quality of provision, reflecting on practice and the journey for a child in the setting with an emphasis on improvement, impact and reducing the difference in outcomes between groups of children.
For more information please watch our video:
The supportive self evaluation discussion 2024 - YouTube
Being relationship aware - the importance of love, connection and co-regulation to support behaviour and improve outcomes.
Our new Nurturing Relationships in the Early Years Programme is about to be launched this term. Building on our very successful Relationship Aware Programme, the new programme still focuses on supporting transition and parental engagement. It also has an additional focus on behaviour and strategies to help children develop those key self-regulation skills that will enable them to succeed not just in the early years but throughout their life.
The new programme is funded through a Derbyshire Public Health grant and includes free training, consultancy and some funding for each participating school and setting to help them implement the programme.
Have a look at our information video here:
Nurturing Relationships in the Early Years Information Video
More information including how to apply to be part of the programme will be sent out after our November Leaders and Managers Briefings.
We look forward to working with you on this exciting new programme 😊
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Special occasions - supporting children with SEN
This term brings lots of different special occasions which impact our routines and activities. This can have a significant impact on children in your setting for whom routine and predictability are really important to their feelings of safety and security.
Different activities and resources, visitors, rehearsals for Harvest or Christmas presentations, parties and dressing up days can be very difficult for some of our children with SEN to cope with and stay regulated.
How can you support children to feel safe, secure and well-regulated when things are different from what they expect?
Here are our top tips:
- Plan and prepare in advance so that children can be prepared for changes.
- Use visual supports to prepare and cue children into new activities.
Wherever possible, plan your events in advance and give your families lots of advance notice. You could share visuals such as pictures of reference with them to use at home which are the same as the ones you use in setting. For children who can access pictures you could create social stories of the event activities using photos from previous year’s activities.
Don’t just plan for the day of the event – plan for all the changes involved in the run up.
Make sure all plans are shared with the staff team, and you know what you will be doing and when, and who else will be there. Make sure that all the staff know which children might need some additional support and what that support might look like.
- Think about what could be provided to enable a child to participate in a different way, or not participate at all.
Think about ways you can celebrate so that all your children can enjoy the occasions – don’t feel that you should do something because you always have or because the setting down the road does it – make the decisions which are most suited to the needs of your children.
Think about these questions: does the child need to take part? What will they gain from it? Will it be an enjoyable experience for them? Prepare alternatives or, better still, plan your activities so that they are accessible, enjoyable and beneficial for all the children, making reasonable adjustments and differentiating as needed. Plan for small group as well as whole group activities.
Think about and plan around sensory needs - consider ear defenders or provision of quieter spaces, avoid flashing lights and think carefully about decorations which really change the visual distractions in the room. Remember that some activities might involve resources which a child who is over-responsive to their tactile sense might find very challenging and anxiety inducing to engage with. Christmas scents can also be overwhelming. Increase your proactive sensory regulation strategies – more movement breaks, more quiet times, more calming proprioceptive input – whatever works for a particular child.
Create or find a quiet space where children can take a break if they get overwhelmed. This should be a calm and distraction free area.
For children for whom the routine is very important for their regulation try to keep your overall routine as ‘normal’ as possible.
Gradually introduce the special activities into your daily routine – for example – put up decorations a few at a time at a regular point during each session rather than the children suddenly coming in and finding that the whole room looks completely different.
For many of us, in 2 months' time you may find yourself knee-deep in (hopefully recyclable) wrapping paper and overexcited children. But do we know what may be lurking below the sea of paper that could cause more misery than cheer this Christmas? Are you aware of the safety messages as you prepare to deck-the-halls of your early years provision?
The Child Accident Prevention Trust have released two articles which outline the safety considerations around dangerous toys and ways you can prepare for a safer Christmas period:
Watch out for dangerous toys this Christmas | Child Accident Prevention Trust (capt.org.uk)
Christmas unwrapped ... safely | Child Accident Prevention Trust (capt.org.uk)
In particular these articles highlight:
- The number of dangerous toys sold online and the importance of being cautious
- The third-party sellers of toys and toys not meeting UK safety standards (this includes Christmas decorations which you may use in your setting).
- Magnets, long cords, dangerous chemicals, small parts which pose risks for choking or suffocation and button batteries.
Lots of families will be looking for bargains online this year due to shop closures and financial pressures caused by Covid-19, so we’re sharing tips to help you signpost and buy toys safely.
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We want to make sure that all Early Years settings are aware of the Local Offer website and all the information on it. It is a great resource for you all and for your parents and families.
We would be really grateful if you could publish a link to the Local Offer website on your setting website or Facebook page to help raise awareness amongst families who have children with SEN:
Home - Derbyshire Local Offer
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EYSEN Helpline: EarlyYears.SENhelpline@derbyshire.gov.uk
Targeted level of the graduated response
EYIF: Early Years SEN Inclusion Fund - Derbyshire Local Offer
Outreach team referrals: EYSEN Outreach team - Derbyshire Local Offer
Specialist level of the graduated response
EYIF: Early Years SEN Inclusion Fund - Derbyshire Local Offer
Specialist support referrals: Early Years SEN Panel - Derbyshire Local Offer
Applying for a statutory EHC needs assessment: Apply for an assessment - Derbyshire Local Offer
The referral criteria for the EYSEN Outreach team are that the child:
- has significant or complex SEMH needs, sensory processing needs or a diagnosis which impacts their behaviour in setting.
- attends a Derbyshire EY setting (PVI or maintained)
- has had a graduated response of assess, plan, do, review at targeted level within their setting.
The EYSEN Outreach team offers support at a targeted level of the graduated response. The aim of the Outreach team is to improve inclusion and access for children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, and/or complex needs that present as a barrier. The support will involve assessment of both the child’s needs and provision currently offered and focus upon upskilling of the EY workforce.
Settings will be required to engage in a whole setting approach to accessing training following advice and implementing strategies. Capacity to commit time to these requirements is a pre-requisite to service delivery. This is not a traded service, and no charges will be made for training offered as part of the Outreach Team's work.
Following the support over a period of 8 to 10 weeks, the final review meeting with parents will make decisions about the ongoing support needed for the child. This may involve:
- continuation of targeted support in setting with Early Years Inclusion Funding (EYIF)
- referrals to specialist support services such as the EYSEN specialist teaching service, or the Educational Psychology service.
- request for a statutory EHC Needs Assessment
It is envisaged that settings who have worked alongside the Outreach Team proactively will be well-equipped to meet future needs of children requiring targeted support around SEMH needs without further external support. With this in mind, settings will not be eligible to refer again within a 6-term period, except in extenuating circumstances such as, unusually high staff turnover.
Please see the EYSEN Outreach team page on the Derbyshire Local Offer website to read case studies about Outreach support: EYSEN Outreach team - Derbyshire Local Offer
New members of the EYSEN team
We welcome Michelle Shaw, Senior Portage Home Visitor (based in Chesterfield) and Laura Chadwick, Outreach Team Practitioner (based in Buxton).
 We are thrilled to announce that funding for the hub has been extended for a further 6 months until March 2025! As one of the voices for the Early Years sector, we continue to make your views clear about the important first years of a child's life.
The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Early Years Hub have had a busy month providing FREE CPD opportunities and events for school-based settings, childminders and PVIs within the region.
- Please view our wonderful opportunities and events within our October Newsletter.
- If you would like to sign up to our Hub, please register here.
- Check out our short clips showcasing practical tips from Early Years experts by subscribing to our Hub YouTube Channel.
Early Years Service general enquiries: CS.EYS@derbyshire.gov.uk
Early Years Service - info on Schoolsnet
Funding & contract queries: cs.enquiries.groupcare@derbyshire.gov.uk
OR cs.enquiries.childminders@derbyshire.gov.uk
OR cs.enquiries.schools@derbyshire.gov.uk
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