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Newsletter for
Holiday Activities and Food Programme Providers
Out of School Settings
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This newsletter contains the following items:
- Out of School Qualification requirements
- Hounslow safeguarding key contacts
- OOSS Activity Booklet
- Are you a sun safe provider?
- HAF monitoring visits Easter 2023
- Food Safety Management
- Ramadan
- Tax free childcare take up grows again
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Confused by Out of School Qualification Requirements?
Regulation and inspection for Out of School childcare is often more complex than it needs to be – the Out of School Alliance have created a straightforward guidance to understanding qualifications requirements you should operate under here
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The advisory team has created a key contacts document reflecting the Hounslow reporting channels. These include:
- Children’s Services Front Door for if you are worried a child is being abused or you need to make a referral
- LADO contacts for allegations against staff or volunteers
- Prevent team if you are concerned that a child, young person or an adult may be vulnerable to extremism and/or radicalisation.
We recommend displaying the document or having it accessible on a folder on site.
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Hounslow have created a booklet with a range of enriching ideas to enhance your activity programmes. It includes everything from den making to construction, home made Twister, as well as sensory play ideas.
Why not try out some new ways to have fun during the holidays!
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The Melanoma Fund Outdoor Kids Sun Safety Code is a FREE on-line resource designed for outdoor activity providers, to make sun protection fun, effective, and easy to implement. This is used by thousands of providers and offers guidelines, educational quizzes, projects and display materials to make learning fun, as well as effective. Simply sign up and pledge to put some key actions in place to become a ‘Sun Protection Accredited’ provider.
As part of their support, the Melanoma Fund offers sunscreen dispensers and SPF30 refills, as well as 100ml tubes to interested providers. Prices are competitive and can be ordered through the Melanoma Fund website. You could even consider creating a “sunscreen station”, displaying posters, sunglasses and sunscreen and creating a positive association with sun protection.
WIN! The Melanoma Fund is offering a branded sunboard and dispenser, complete with a SPF30 1Ltr refill to five lucky providers becoming accredited to the Outdoor Kids Sun Safety Code. The sunboard is a specially designed interactive board, that can be personalised, and comes with 1 Litre dispenser and has information regarding being UV Aware (Size: 600mm x 450mm).
Simply sign up, names will be drawn, and notified by 10th May. For further details visit their website
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Advisors will be focusing on site security. Providers should ensure that children cannot leave the site unaccompanied, nor can unauthorised persons enter your premises, including outdoor areas. You might take this opportunity to refresh your site security and evacuation plan, as well as your premises risk assessment.
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Key Considerations
Have you put food safety management procedures in place and are you keeping up-to-date records of these?
Do you and your staff understand the principles of good food hygiene?
Have you considered deployment of staff to ensure adequate supervision is provided at mealtimes to reduce the risk of choking?
How are you meeting the legal duty to provide information to consumers if any of 14 specified allergenic ingredients are contained in their food?
Useful Guidance
The Eatwell Guide - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Safer food, better business (SFBB) | Food Standards Agency
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This Easter holidays coincides with Ramadan. This means that a lot of Muslim families in Hounslow will be fasting during the day. The Guide you will find below is produced by Portsmouth city council and can be used as a reference by staff to aid their planning and preparation of activities during the month of Ramadan. The aim of the guide is to empower staff with the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to improve Muslim children & young people's engagement with the HAF programme so that they are supported appropriately.
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Over a million families in the UK are entitled to support with the costs of childcare from the government, but many are missing out because they do not realise, they are eligible or the childcare providers in their area haven’t signed up to accept the various offers.
This also means that many childcare providers are missing out on boosting their businesses by increasing demand as they aren’t accessible to families who use government childcare offers. You can unlock support for more parents and carers, and boost your business at the same time, by registering with your childcare regulator.
The Department for Education has developed a provider toolkit which contains a step-by-step guide on how to register and promote government funded childcare support to families using your service.
You can also use their parent toolkit to raise awareness of the campaign and direct your parents and carers to the Childcare Choices website which has all the information they need.
Need help signing up for Tax-Free Childcare?
Can I sign up for Tax-Free Childcare if I'm a childcare provider? – A 2 minute YouTube video
Childcare provider sign up guide – An online guide featured on the Childcare Choices website.
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Thank you for subscribing to our Holiday Activities and Food Programme newsletter. If you'd like to subscribe to more newsletters on a variety of topics from Hounslow Council, please click here. For a full list of current job opportunities please visit our website. |
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