Early Years Bulletin 8 May 2018

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Early years bulletin

8 May 2018

Portsmouth Transfer Record

The Transfer Record document will be available from the end of May on the Portsmouth City Council website and also on the Portsmouth Services Network website under 'universal tools'. We will also be sending out a link to the document in the Early Years Bulletin on 28 May.

Please complete the Transfer Record as close to the point of transfer as possible so that Year R teachers can see the most accurate assessment of the child's learning and development. Please send to schools by Friday 13 July, so that they have opportunity to look at each child and plan provision in Year R accordingly. 

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Also, don't forget to book onto the Annual Citywide Transition Meeting...

Date: 17 May 2018

Time: 4.00pm - 6.00pm

Venue: The Training and Learning Centre, Portsmouth Academy

This is a great opportunity to catch a range of schools and settings to share information about children transferring to school in September.

The list below shows the schools who are currently booked on to attend. If you do not see the school you need to speak to, please contact them to either make private arrangements for transition conversations or to ask if they are intending to book onto the transition meeting.

  • Ark Ayrton Primary Academy
  • Arundel Court Primary Academy
  • Bramble Infant School
  • College Park Infant School
  • Copnor Primary School
  • Devonshire Infant School
  • Langstone Infant School
  • Mayfield School
  • Medina Primary School
  • Meon Infant School
  • Meredith Infant School
  • Moorings Way Infant School
  • Northern Parade Infant School
  • Penhale Infant School
  • Portsdown Primary School
  • Southsea Infant School
  • St Georges Beneficial Primary School
  • St John's Catholic Primary School
  • St Jude's Primary School
  • St Paul's Catholic Primary School
  • St Swithun's Catholic Primary School
  • Westover Primary School
  • Wimborne Infant School

Book now to secure your place!

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We do urge you to make links with school SENCO's and Year R class teachers/EYFS leads if you have a child with additional needs transferring to school. Starting the transition process early will enable ample time to make plans for a smooth transition.

Please consider how children in your setting will cope with transition to school. Remember to take into account that schools have:

  • Lower ratios - there will be 1-2 adults for 30 children
  • A more structured day, including playtimes, lunchtimes, assemblies
  • Higher expectations in terms of attention and concentration - e.g. daily phonics session of up to 20 minutes
  • New and unfamiliar adults and children
  • New and unfamiliar environment
  • Expectations that children will manage their own toileting, personal care, belongings etc.
  • A staggered intake which can be confusing for children

Strategies to support a smooth transition include:

  • Photobooks
  • School uniform in the role play
  • Visits to school
  • Inviting teachers to visit your setting
  • Lend parents 'transition bags' so they can share these strategies over the summer
  • Sharing information with the school and teachers

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Early Years Seminar - Promoting Emotional Health and Wellbeing

The highly acclaimed Jenny Mosley is back in Portsmouth!

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Two identical sessions to choose from;

Date: Friday 25 May 2018

Time: 9.30am - 11.30am or 1.30pm - 3.30pm

Venue: The Training and Learning Centre, Portsmouth Academy

Cost: £55 members, £60 non-members

Please visit the Portsmouth Services Network Website for further information and to book your place. Enquiries to eyworkforce@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

View examples of Jenny's work here


GDPR - are you ready?

With 25 May only a few weeks away it is essential that you are ready for the changes that the GDPR requires. 

Think... 

  • What information do we hold about people? Think about information which is personal and leads to people being identifiable. Not names on work on displays/coat pegs... but do you have grids on the wall identifying children with particular needs?
  • Why do we hold it? Do you need the information? Just think about why you gather it and the business reasons for doing so.
  • What do we do with it? Linked to the question above. How is the information used? Do you only gather what you need?
  • How do we keep it safe? What systems are in place to keep the information secure as long as you are required to hold it? Do you have secure storage, retention and disposal procedures? Will you share any information with other parties? Under what circumstances? Who has access to the data on a day to day basis and why?
  • Do we need all of the information? Consider if you need it all. Only keep what you need.
  • Do ‘customers’ (service users, families, staff) know what we hold and why... and can they opt out if they wish to do so? All information should be given with consent – not asking is not assumed consent. Issue a simple statement outlining what information you hold, why, what you do with it, how it is kept safe…

Carry out an audit, brief staff and keep a record of how you comply. 

Templates and guides are available online:

PACEY Guidance - Briefings, top tips and templates

Educare - online training

Childminder-focussed advice - Covers lots of common queries and provides useful practical advice on a range of aspects relevant to all early years settings

Free Childcare Templates - aimed at childminders but suitable for all

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

Please email us if you have any specific queries at eydelivery@portsmouthcc.gov.uk


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Funding tasks

The Local Provider Agreement (LPA) has been amended and updated with the dates for the funding tasks for 2018-19. We have also put these dates into a summary sheet and both can be found here. There is some additional information regarding Early Years Pupil Premium for looked after children. Please take some time to review the amended LPA and contact us if you have any queries.

The next task will be the headcount (forecast) task to claim funding for those children you expect to be claiming funding for from 1 September. This task will be issued by 2 July and needs to be submitted by 6 July. For late claims and adjustments that need to be made for the summer term, (for children who started/left/changed hours after headcount (actual) submission) please request an amendment task from eyfunding@portsmouthcc.gov.uk. The headcount (amendment) task will be issued after the forecast task has closed and only to those who have requested one. The deadline for submitting this amendment task is 10 August and generally any new funded children will not be able to start their funding until 1 September. There may be individual circumstances where exceptions may be made.


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Early Education Funding

30 Hour Codes - Remind parents to re-confirm

It is essential that you use the Expiration Dashboard on the Provider Portal to check when 30 hour codes are approaching the grace period (amber) or have gone into grace (red) and that you remind parents that they must log onto www.childcarechoices.gov.uk and reconfirm their eligibility every three months. 

  • Parents with queries/issues with their childcare service application should continue to be encouraged to contact the Childcare Service Customer Interaction Centre on 0300 123 4097
  • Parents can raise a formal complaint with HMRC here
  • Parents with 30 hours free childcare queries should contact the DfE Helpline or DfE Contact Form 

If you have any issues with 30 hour codes, checking eligibility, or queries about the portal, please download the Portal User Guide or email eyfunding@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.


Two year old funding eligibility codes.

Please remember that it is your responsibility to verify eligibility for two year old funding before making a claim for funding via the portal. The parent will have a confirmation message which will contain their eligibility code, if they have applied and been awarded via the citizen portal in Portsmouth the codes will be in the following format: TYF851 - 4 numbers - 8 letters/numbers. In the portal the child will have a 2 in the funding column and if you hover over this it will give you more information. If a parent has applied and been awarded in a different local authority, you should contact the funding team to give them the code before adding the child to your funding claim. The parent declaration form states 'I am not claiming more than the funded hours my child is entitled to (two year old funding, universal 15 or extended 30 with a valid eligibility code)', 'I understand that I will be liable to repay, in full, any grant paid by the council if hours claimed exceed more than the maximum entitlement for the term, or I claim funded hours after my grace period ends'. It is important that you take the time to make sure that a parent understands this when signing the form. 


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Contact us...

The Early Years and Childcare Service have a dedicated telephone number to be used if you need to speak to a member of the team.

The number is 023 9284 1974.

Any questions about the content of this email? Get in touch