Action for early years settings: Encourage parents to apply for support with childcare costs
From 2 January 2024, eligible working parents can apply for 15 hours of childcare for their two-year-old. Parents have until 31 March 2024 to apply for a code, with mid-January to the end of February being the optimum time to apply in case they need to provide further information to support their application.
To apply for a childcare code each parent needs to be working and earning the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum/living wage and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year. This means that each parent needs to earn from just over £8,600 per year to be eligible for 15 hours a week of childcare during term time.
There is more information on the childcare support available to parents on the Childcare Choices website, where they can explore the early education entitlements and other government help with childcare costs.
Action for early years settings: Support our Early Years Educator apprenticeships campaign
We are continuing our digital campaign to raise awareness of Early Years (EY) Educator apprenticeships, showcase how rewarding a career in EY and childcare can be, and highlight benefits of the Level 3 apprenticeship.
We would be grateful for your support with the campaign and have produced a toolkit with resources for your promotional and recruitment needs. It will help you to:
- Support the campaign on social media - social media graphics can be downloaded from the toolkit for you to post organically, or you can amplify our posts via our social media channels. (Assets can also be printed and used locally).
- Share this toolkit with your stakeholders - please share this toolkit with your relevant contacts who may like to use the creative assets in their own recruitment activity.
If you have any questions, please contact external.affairs@service.education.gov.uk.
Action for early years settings: Applications open for the Childminder Start-up Grant Scheme
On 30 November 2023, the Childminder Start-up Grant Scheme opened for applications. The scheme will support new childminders by providing them with grant funding worth up to £7.2million over the next two financial years, helping with the cost of setting up their own businesses.
The scheme will be available to all new childminders who have completed their registration on or after 15 March 2023. Individuals who have previously been registered as childminders and wish to re-register may also apply for the scheme. There must be at least a 12-month gap between the date of their previous registration being cancelled and their new registration being finalised.
We are providing £600 to new childminders registering with Ofsted, and £1,200 to new childminders registering with a childminder agency. Childminders must apply for the grant within two months of registering as a childminder, or within two months of the scheme launching.
Action for schools and further education settings: Apply for DfE funding for Mental Health lead training
Good mental health is associated with better academic outcomes and is key to improving attendance and engagement in learning. This training develops your mental health lead’s knowledge and practical skills to help embed an effective whole school/college approach to mental health and wellbeing.
We offer flexibility to choose the right course for you, tailored to your needs and experience at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.
If you haven’t already applied, start your application to secure your £1,200 grant, and join more than 14,000 schools and colleges that have already benefitted.
If you previously claimed a grant and your trained mental health lead left your setting before fully embedding your approach, apply for a second grant.
Find trusted practical resources and tools to help you implement a whole school/college approach to mental health & wellbeing.
Action for schools: Last chance to be involved in a ground-breaking study on trauma-informed practice
The Youth Endowment Fund are funding an extensive trauma-informed practice training and support package over 19 months, for secondary schools, which will be robustly evaluated by the Anna Freud Centre.
This is a final call for schools across England to say they would like to be part of the study - if you are interested, please contact contact@kca.training before 11 December 2023.
Find out more about the project and evaluation.
Action for schools: Request an academic mentor for your school by 21 December 2023
The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) provides funding for schools to subsidise 50% of tutoring costs, up to your funding allocation. Our delivery partner, Cognition Education, can help you recruit an academic mentor who will join your staff as a dedicated tutoring resource, working alongside teachers to provide one-to-one and small group tutoring.
Use our free recruitment service to request an academic mentor. The deadline to express interest for an academic mentor is 21 December 2023. The final date to place an order is 12 January 2024.
Academic mentors can:
- reach a large number of pupils and embed tutoring within your school
- provide tutoring before or after school, and during holidays, if required
- work full or part time, and may be shared with a neighbouring school
For more information read the NTP guidance for schools or view our Guide to academic mentors.
Action for schools: Applications open for multi-academy trust CEO development programme
We are pleased to announce that applications have opened for the multi-academy trust CEO development programme being delivered by the National Institute of Teaching from February 2024.
This programme will boost the pipeline of outstanding leaders, focusing on the step-up to leading large multi-academy trusts effectively.
Participants will have access to tailored immersion opportunities with current CEOs as well as self-study materials, coaching, and conferences.
Prospective applicants can register an Expression of Interest.
Action for schools: Join a new wave of Attendance Hubs
This article will be of interest to senior leaders and attendance leads
From 4 December 2023, we are inviting more schools to register an interest in being supported by a school attendance hub.
Attendance hubs are led by senior leaders in schools with strong attendance practice from around the country. These schools will share, in-depth, their successful strategies and resources for improving attendance. In return, schools receiving support are expected to revisit and revise their approach to managing attendance, and join half-termly virtual hub meetings to share practice, and discuss progress and challenges.
Primary and secondary school leaders can register an interest in joining an attendance hub by completing this application form by 15 January 2024. Find out more about attendance hubs.
The hubs programme builds on the successful attendance hub pilot led by North Shore Academy, and the 13 additional hubs which launched earlier this year.
News and developments
Information for all settings: Results of the Call for Evidence on Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education
We have published the results of our Call for Evidence on Generative AI in education.
Results show that many respondents recognise the benefits of AI and some are already using AI tools to streamline administrative tasks, create subject-specific resources and provide personalised support for learners with special educational needs and disabilities.
We have also published the Technology in Schools Survey results, which outlines how technology is used in schools and where they need more support.
Information for all settings: Take action now to ensure attendance on Fridays and during the final week of term is strong
This article will be of interest to attendance leads
Attendance is vital for children’s learning, wellbeing and safety. Attendance drop-off towards the end of term, and on Fridays (where there is clear evidence of a pattern of higher absence) is a contributor to the post-Covid challenge.
Richard Prime, Headteacher at Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School, explains 6 steps his school uses to ensure attendance on Fridays and avoid end of term drop off. This includes parental engagement and targeted reward systems.
Information for early years and schools with early years provision: New Early Years Foundation Stage Profile communications page launched
DfE has launched a new page on Foundation Years to support teachers completing the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Profile. This page will be updated throughout the 23/24 academic year.
Each update will cover a new area of the Profile, focusing on topics the sector has asked for more information on.
The first update provides information on completing the Profile for children with SEND, including case-studies and information from the EYFS Profile handbook.
Information for early years settings: Review regional wraparound childcare funding allocations and the National Wraparound Childcare Programme handbook
On 27 October 2023, local authorities received details of their allocation from the £289 million wraparound childcare fund, to make sure families of primary school children can access term-time childcare between 8am and 6pm.
We also published the National Wraparound Childcare Programme handbook and an Education Hub blog, which you may wish to review.
Additionally, we announced £100 million capital funding for local authorities to support delivery of the reforms to the early years’ entitlements and wraparound provision.
Information for early years settings: Updates to hourly funding rates for early years entitlements
On 29 November 2023 we published the local authority hourly funding rates for 2024-25 for the existing and new early years entitlements. These rates reflect the increase in the National Living Wage from April 2024.
We also published the government response to the consultation on funding for 2-year-olds and under in 2024-25. The response sets out further information on how the funding rates have been calculated.
Information for early years settings: Improving flexibilities for Early Years practitioners
On 27 October 2023, DfE set out our official response to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) consultation and will be updating the EYFS to reflect the outcomes.
Subject to parliamentary procedure, we will make several changes from January 2024 to reduce known burdens so that practitioners can focus on delivering high-quality provision. These changes will include the removal of the requirement for Level 3 practitioners to hold a Level 2 maths qualification to count within staff to child ratios.
Information for schools and local authorities: View pupil attendance data with the Monitor Your School Attendance service
This article will be of interest to attendance leads
87% of schools are sharing daily attendance data with DfE and using the Monitor your school attendance service, a free, secure tool that visualises data and helps you monitor pupil attendance. Read about how schools are using it.
We have made some substantial system improvements to improve data accuracy. Changes you make to your management information system (MIS) will now be reflected faster, and we have fixed some issues with data quality.
Information for schools: New Education Endowment Foundation guidance on Improving Primary Science
The Education Endowment Foundation’s new guidance report – ‘Improving Primary Science’ – offers primary school science teachers and leaders six practical, evidence-informed recommendations that can support high-quality science provision for five to eleven year-olds.
Each recommendation includes models, worked examples and suggested strategies to support in translating the evidence into practice in primary school classrooms.
Information for schools: Lesson plans for teaching about Cybercrime
The National Cyber Crime Unit (National Crime Agency) have worked with the PSHE Association to develop ‘Exploring Cybercrime’ lessons for KS3 and 4.
Teachers will find two lesson packs including SEND friendly content. These lessons explore the Computer Misuse Act 1990, awareness of the Act and what happens when something goes wrong.
Lesson plans and further resources can be found at the Cyber Choices site.
Information for schools: Multiplication Table Check results have improved in 2023
The second year of the national Multiplication Table Check results has shown that 29% of eligible pupils scored full marks in 2023, up from 27% in 2022. Overall attainment rose with an average score of 20 out of 25 marks for pupils that took the check.
|