Early Years Bulletin 12.03.2018

12 March 2018

Sharing Good Practice: Inclusion

The EYAT/Area INCOs are seeing a range of settings who are fully embracing their duty to be inclusive providers. These settings are effectively supporting children with SEND to make progress and are tirelessly working to ensure positive outcomes for children with additional needs.

We have settings who have taken full responsibility for delivering Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) by writing successful requests, providing high quality support and interventions named in the EHCPs, attending training and running the annual review process.

We have other settings who have gone the extra mile to meet a child and families educational needs by providing home visits to maintain a strong level of continuity, interaction and development of key skills, when a child is away from the nursery due to long term illness.

Such positive work going on to support inclusion in the city and meet the needs of children with SEND!

GDPR - What do the new Data Protection Rules mean?

There are many rumours circulating which are causing understandable worry about the new Data Protection laws which come into effect from 25 May 2018. Can I still take photos of children? Do I have to take their names off work when it's on display? Can I put children's names on coat pegs? Can I still have a Facebook Page? Do I need to rewrite all my forms and policies?

There are lots of sources of advice and information to help you make sense of the new laws. Whilst there is a requirement for a more robust and evidenced approach to keeping data secure and securing consent to hold it, the new rules shouldn’t stop you running your business as you do now.

Here are some useful links which should help you understand what the GDPR means in practice:

Aimed at Childminders, covers lots of common queries and provides useful practical advice on a range of aspects relevant to all early years settings:

https://independentchildminders.weebly.com/gdpr

Practical advice for all early years providers with links to templates and further information - some requires a subscription but the majority of the guidance is available for free:

https://app.croneri.co.uk/feature-articles/what-general-data-protection-regulation-means-early-years-providers

Guidance from the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) aimed at small businesses:

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/business/

We will be issuing a revised Parent Declaration Form to comply with the new laws and will post more information in future newsletters to enable you to prepare fully for the 25th May 2018. Please email us if you have any specific queries at eydelivery@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Healthy Infant Feeding Booklet

The NHS has put together a Healthy Infant Feeding booklet following discussions with local parents. It contains information they said would help them with their decisions about feeding their babies. This booklet is an excellent source of information that also supports messages about healthy weight and makes good reference to the issues of obesity in children.

View the booklet here

Solent Children's Services

Solent Children's Services are based in Southampton City, Portsmouth City and parts of Hampshire. They see children, young people and their families from 0-19 years (up to 25 years for young people with special educational needs or disability). They visit children and young people in their homes and the community e.g. Family Hub, school or college. Staff within their specialist services will often see children and young people at our clinics.

Visit their new website for further information

National living wage and minimum wage - changes from April 2018

The national living wage (minimum hourly gross pay rate for workers aged 25 and over) and national minimum wage (minimum hourly gross pay rate for workers in the categories listed below) are set to increase from the start of April. The current and future rates are listed in the table below. If you employ any staff, please review your pay rates and amend your hourly rate(s)/ contract(s) if necessary in light of these changes to ensure that you are meeting/exceeding the following statutory minimum pay rates for any staff you employ (if applicable).

Further information about these minimum statutory payment rates can be found here.

Safe Recruitment Reminder

Safe Recruitment procedures are a vital part of your safeguarding practice and can sometimes be an area people are unsure about. It is vital that managers and others involved in recruitment are confident in following robust procedures. Here is a quick list of 7 things to remember to ensure you are applying safe practice in your setting.

State in the job advert that you are a Safe Employer and that thorough checks will be carried out as part of your Safe Recruitment Policy. This is known to be a deterrent for potentially unsuitable people, who are more likely to apply for jobs where they think policies are not applied robustly.
Always insist on an application form rather than a CV. This is an opportunity to find out what the person brings to your setting and to the specific role they are applying for. Ask questions about their experience in working with a particular age range, or particular needs, or their understanding of the EYFS and how to observe and assess children.
Challenge gaps in employment - you should ask as many questions to assure yourself that any gaps are fully justified. If in doubt, ask more questions.
Never accept hand-delivered references. Always seek references directly from the named referees - one of which must be the previous employer, or a person in a position of authority from their college etc.
Always verify references and record that you have done so. When you receive a reference, it should be followed up by a telephone call to check the named person provided it. This avoids you potentially receiving fake references. Record when you verified it, who you spoke to and your name as evidence.
If a referee does not provide a reference within the required time frame (e.g. 1 week after requesting it) follow up with a telephone call to the organisation and speak to the referee. There may be a reason why they have not provided a reference which could give you justifiable concerns over proceeding with the recruitment.
Trust your instinct. If you have any doubt about the suitability of an applicant, trust your instinct. Do not feel obliged to offer somebody a job just because they interviewed well.

If you need any support, contact the team via 023 9268 1974 or email eydelivery@portmsouthcc.gov.uk. If you become aware of somebody unsuitable to work with children who has applied for a job with you, you should contact the LADO phone on 023 9288 2500 email lado@portsmouthcc.gcsx.gov.uk