This will be the last Early Years Newsletter for 2021 so we wanted to take the opportunity to say that we cannot thank you enough for the all the hard work that you and your teams do. You make such a difference to the lives of children and their families, now even more so than ever. We hope you take some time over the Christmas period to rest, relax and hopefully have some fun. However, please also remember to keep safe and look after yourselves and your loved ones.
With very best Christmas and New Year wishes from
The Early Years and Childcare Service
This newsletter contains the following items:
Use of personal devices for taking photographs during Christmas events
Covid-19 update from the Department for Education - Omicron variant
Get your free rapid test
Learn Explore Debate Events - November 2021
Message from the Hounslow LADO service
Key Guidance
Reminder about use of personal devices for taking photographs
If you are having Christmas events in your settings please ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act where photographs or videos are taken.
Follow your own policies and procedures. If parents are permitted to take photos, you may want to reinforce that it is for personal use and not to be shared on social media.
Covid-19 update from the Department for Education - Omicron variant
As you will now be aware, there is a new variant of COVID-19 - Omicron - which the latest data suggests is extremely transmissible and spreading fast
The government have now launched an urgent national appeal calling for people to get jabbed. The latest data suggests that two doses of the vaccine are not as effective against symptomatic infection with Omicron, however a third dose gives the best possible protection against the virus and should significantly reduce risk of serious illness and hospitalisation.
You can book your COVID-19 vaccine, including a booster jab, today by visiting nhs.uk/covidvaccination.
Get your free rapid test
If you don’t have COVID-19 symptoms, get your FREE rapid test twice a week by:
REMEMBER: If you HAVE got COVID-19 symptoms, make sure you get a PCR test – even if your rapid test shows a negative result. To book a PCR test and for more information on testing, visit our COVID-19 hub.
See videos of Learn Explore Debate Events held in November 2021
NCB recently worked with the Department for Education (DfE) to deliver the latest round of our Learn - Explore - Debate events
Over 600 early years practitioners signed up, over three days, to hear speakers discuss a range of topics and to connect with their colleagues from across the country. These events were planned with feedback from the Foundation Years community at the forefront of our thinking, and they focused on COVID-19 recovery, Ofsted inspections under the revised EYFS and supporting children with SEND.
The Hounslow LADO Service would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2022.
The LADO service is closed from 4.45pm on Friday 24th December 2021- Tuesday 4th January 2022. However there will be a duty system provided on 28th,29th and 30th and 31st December 2021.
If you have concerns regarding the welfare or safety of a child please contact Hounslow Front Door Service on 0208 583 6600, if you wish to speak to someone outside of these hours please contact EDT on 0208 583 2222.
This data is published fortnightly. It gives the number of registered early years and childcare providers reporting one or more confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) by week.
Guidance has been updated to reflect the withdrawal of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self Employment Income Support Scheme on 30 September 2021.
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