|
At the end of another very busy term, we’d like to thank you for your ongoing commitment to the children of Milton Keynes. Your hard work is recognised and appreciated. We hope you had a restful Easter break.
News and Updates
It’s official - we’re one of the best places to live and learn
The Sunday Times’ Best Places to Live guide is very well regarded, so it’s great to see Milton Keynes in it this year.
Judges visit each place to make sure they’re worthy of inclusion, and they were impressed by our schools, transport links, broadband speeds, affordable homes and much more. Easy access to green spaces was singled out: “swathes of parkland, contemplative canal walks and oodles of traffic-free strolling and cycling on the Redways.”
It's maybe worth mentioning we’re a ‘best place to live’ to any job candidates you meet who are considering a move to the area.
|
The MK Lit Fest
MK Lit Fest is a ‘fabulous festival of books, words, writers and ideas.’ The Spring 2024 event runs from 3 – 6 April 2024.
The CMK Children’s Library (within Central Library) are hosting the Children’s Lit Fest on Saturday 6 April.
You can find out more on the MK Lit Fest website – where you can also download a programme of events.
MKCC services
SEND Update:
The Specialist Teaching Team are busy planning our transition support for those children with the most complex needs who are starting school in September - team members will be getting in touch with you. Once school places are allocated, early years providers should reach out to new schools and start planning for a smooth transition - this could involve inviting the school for a visit to meet the child, as well as sharing information about key strategies to support. Remember - there is a range of information on the SEND Local Offer here to support.
Messages from Public Health
Providers may want to share this information with families.
Start for Life programme
Start for Life includes information from the NHS about pregnancy, baby and parenting.
Immunisations
A helpful resource to share with families.
Immunisation throughout life:
DfE
Messages the from DfE:
Early years leadership national qualification
A course to help current or aspiring managers of nurseries develop expertise in leading early years education and staff and organisational management. Due to start in autumn 2024.
Early years leadership national professional qualification
DfE roadshows – extended entitlements
DfE are running roadshows for providers. The roadshows are being run as part of a series of events throughout 2024 for setting managers to hear from DfE directly on our ambitions for the sector, our EY and Childcare expansion rollout plans and our progress so far. The roadshows also give opportunity to hear from setting leaders to help shape and manage implementation. The next roadshow will be on 9 May – for more details, please contact the markets and strategy unit by clicking here.
Wraparound Childcare Programme Events
DfE will be holding two events to support the involvement of PVI providers in the new national wraparound childcare programme. This includes small or large private wraparound providers as well as early years providers and nurseries who offer, or would like to offer, wraparound care for primary school age children. These events will take place on the following dates;
- Wednesday 24 April – Mercure St Pauls Hotel and Spa, 119 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 2JE.
- Wednesday 1 May - De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, 61-65 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5DA.
The events will provide an opportunity to share best practice, with case studies and discussions around different delivery models. Childcare Works will be outlining the support on offer to providers. Speakers from DfE and other departments will also be in attendance.
To register, please click here.
Childminder consultation
Our childminder consultation marks an important part of our cross-sector efforts to do more to recruit and retain more childminders, recognising the important role they play in the childcare sector providing high quality, flexible, entitlements and wraparound childcare.
The consultation seeks your views on three proposals which aim to address the issues that childminders have told us are important to them:
- simplifying the registration process for new childminders by allowing a wider range of regulated healthcare professionals within a GP surgery to complete new childminder health declarations;
- ensuring local authorities pay entitlements funding monthly where this is the provider’s preference;
- offering flexibilities to childminder agencies to enable them to thrive and grow.
The consultation also seeks to gather evidence on a range of other issues that impact childminder recruitment and retention such as property barriers, and support for childminders to remain in the profession. This forms just part of our ongoing work to support childminders to continue delivering a fantastic standard of childcare and soon our transformative entitlements expansion and wraparound programmes.
The consultation will be open for 8-weeks running from 9am on 15 March until 11.59pm on 10 May.
Do something big campaign
This campaign is aimed at encouraging the public to consider working in the early years sector.
Here is the link to the job vacancies website.
|
