Early Years and Childcare Newsletter

23 September 2022

Early Years and Childcare Service Newsletter

This newsletter contains the following items

Introducing our new Early Years Advisor - Rebecca Shevlin
Financial support towards the cost of childcare
Families who may be eligible for free childcare for 2 year olds
Job opportunity
Early Years Sports Fund
Polio Vaccine Information
Reach Children's Hub Early Years Network

Introducing our new Early Years Advisor - Rebecca Shevlin

I have studied and worked within childcare and education for the past 14 years. I am a qualified Primary School teacher and have been teaching for the past 8 years in the Hounslow Borough within the Early Years and Key Stage 1 and have enjoyed every moment.

In my spare time I love spending time with my family, planning and enjoying days out with my two young children and meeting up with friends for dinner.

I am really looking forward to meeting you all and finding out more about you. I will be covering the settings previously supported by Sara Sangtabi.

Financial support towards the cost of childcare

Please support your families by displaying these posters in your setting or by emailing them a copy. It explains several different schemes through which families can get support with their childcare costs. Many parents don’t realise they can apply for Tax Free Childcare and claim back part of their additional childcare costs at the same time as receiving funded childcare.

The poster and further information can all be found in the provider communication toolkit here

Families who may be eligible for free childcare for 2 year olds

September DWP List

The families on the recent DWP list have been sent a letter this week to check their eligibility. If you are approached by a family who may be eligible or who show you the letter for free childcare for their 2 year old, please sign post or support them to complete the application via the online checker www.hounslow.gov.uk/free2

The parents are required to create an account to apply. Please share step by step guide with the parents to show them how to create an account if they do not already have one.

The eligible parents will receive an Early Years voucher code via email or letter.

A full list of the eligibility criteria can also be found here.

Early Years Sports Fund

FREE sports and activity classes for Early Years settings

The £1 million Early Years sport fund is now taking applications for the 22/23 academic year. Apply using the form below to receive a free 45-minute sports and activity session at your setting.

Application Form

Job opportunity

Would you like to work for the Hounslow Portage Service?

As a Portage Home Visitor you will be working as a member of a dynamic and dedicated team who are committed to providing the best education and support service to families across Hounslow with babies and very young children with special education needs and disabilities. Hounslow Portage Service follow the National Portage Association (NPA) guidelines and model of working and are rated a 5 star service by the NPA. We are looking to recruit a part time Portage Home Visitor to join the team.

If you would like to apply, the job will be going live on the Hounslow Jobs Website from 28th September 2022. For any queries please call 07966 157802 or email denise.davidson@hounslow.gov.uk

Job Description

Polio Vaccine Information

Please see the below Polio FAQ sheet, this is a useful resource for you to help share key messages with parents which are:

Parents/carers with children aged between 1 and 9 years of age should have received a letter from the NHS informing them of the Polio booster vaccination programme.
In Hounslow most GPs are vaccinating children 1- 4 years of age, GPs will be contacting patients to make an appointment.
For children aged 5- 9 years, clinics are currently being set up and more information on where these are will be shared with the public once opening times and dates are finalised.

Polio Vaccine FAQ

Reach Children's Hub Early Years Network

Reach Children's Hub are re-launching the Feltham Early Years Network sessions for this academic year and wanted to send you some information about their first topic. As a reminder, all of the Early Years Network sessions are free to join and all take place over Zoom. There are always three sessions on one topic, with a reflective task between each one to allow for the participants to embed what they have learnt.

The first topic will be on 'philosophical play for young children' and will be facilitated by Sara Stanley. Please see the below poster for further information. These sessions are available to any Early Years Practitioners in the borough. Any questions or feedback about the sessions, please do get in touch with katherine.richards-bryant@reachfoundation.org.uk

Poster

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