 We have been contacted by a number of parents and providers asking for clarity around the various deadlines for the working families entitlements. We have created an 'Information for parents' sheet that you can use however you choose to and there is also a frequently asked questions page on the Childcare Choices website that parents and colleagues can be signposted to. Please contact us if you have any further questions.
 The deadline for both the childcare provider survey and early years census is Friday 24 January 2025.
Childcare Provider Survey
Last week you were sent an email with the link to the childcare provider survey along with the privacy notice and guidance notes. You can see these at the buttons below. This should be completed by all providers - not just those who deliver early education.
You can complete this on the provider portal. The form will appear on the home screen before the funding tab. View the guidance for completing the EYC.
 The Early Years Quality and Sufficiency Officers would like to thank Little Bears Forest Preschool for hosting our Getting to Good workshop last term. Getting to Good workshops are prioritised for providers who are due routine or first Ofsted inspections. The workshops explore local inspection reports and recommendations and are delivered virtually or at an Outstanding setting. The aim of the Getting to Good workshops is to inspire and motivate providers to prepare for their own upcoming inspections. Little Bears Forest Preschool did a wonderful job of accommodating local managers, childminders and practitioners and delivered an inspiring presentation about their recent Ofsted inspection. Delegates benefitted from hearing about their inspection experience firsthand and took a tour of their wonderful environment.
If you are due an Early Years Ofsted inspection in 2025, please come along to our next Getting to Good workshop on Wednesday 5 March at 7pm. Venue to be confirmed.
 Congratulations to all of our newly qualified Early Years Professional Development Programme students!
 The programme covers PSED, Literacy and Mathematics and aims to give practitioners:
- The skills and knowledge to enhance the quality of adult-child interactions through sustained shared thinking.
- Support to engage with parents and carers to support the home learning environment. The skills to identify children at risk of speech, language and communication needs.
- An understanding of the theory of child development in Early Mathematics, developed by subject experts, and how to support children’s early mathematical learning in everyday practice.
- The skills to support children’s self-confidence and self-awareness, managing feelings and behaviours, and making relationships through expertly developed Personal, Social and Emotional Development training.
 In 2025 we are looking forward to hearing how this CPD has impacted on their practice!
 Early Help and Prevention are pleased to be offering a Triple P Stepping Stones course, for parents of a child with a disability. This course will take place at Buckland Family Hub, starting at the end of January.
Please can you display a copy of the poster and share with parents who you think would be open to the support.
Parents can refer themselves or be referred by sending the following information to the parenting inbox.
- Name and DOB of focus child
- Parent(s) name, contact number, address, and email address
- Of those being referred - do they need any reasonable adjustments in order for them to access support?
- A brief summary of the current situation and what impact the situation is having on the child/children
 Please share the wellbeing news update from the Solihull Approach which you can find at the button below. All of the courses and content is free to local parents using the access code PARENTSUPPORT online.
 Please see below, a selection of online courses for parents and carers which are available on the Family Assist portal. These courses along with many others are free and can be accessed by using the code PARENTSUPPORT. The library also contains a selection of courses in other languages.
Please share and promote to the parents and carers you are working with.
 This course is for people who want to understand more about their own trauma.
Research shows that by making sense of traumatic events, people can process them and effectively manage triggers. This course is designed to support a better understanding of trauma, and it will guide your personal journey. Everyone’s experience of trauma is different and finding the right way to process and manage your experience is personal.
 For parents, carers, and grandparents of children aged up to 19.
Bit sized introduction to understanding your child, their feelings and how to support and nurture their emotional development.
 For everyone
Relationships can be difficult, complicated, fun, satisfying, exciting, annoying, bring out the best in us, bring out the worst in us. We are often in one, but don't often spend much time on them. An introduction to key themes around emotional wellbeing, communicating feelings, and managing conflict or anger with activities to support the relationships that mean the most to you.
 For all parents, carers, and grandparents of teenagers.
The brain develops rapidly in adolescence changing the way we feel, express ourselves and behave. This short course helps explain some changes you might have noticed in your teenager and helps you think about support you may be able to offer.
Triple P Primary
Please see updated Triple P Primary poster at the button below for you to display and share. The course has been re-scheduled to start on 4 February and run until 25 March, from 10.00am - 12.30pm. There are still places available.
Parents can self-refer or be referred by e-mailing the following information to the parenting inbox.
- Name and DOB of focus child
- Parent(s) name, contact number, address, and email address
- Of those being referred - do they need any reasonable adjustments in order for them to access support?
- A brief summary of the current situation and what impact the situation is having on the child/children
 Please see Home-Start's poster at the button below. This includes the dates for the spring term. Please could you share this with families.
 Please see details below of upcoming courses from Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership.
Advanced Level - Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
Wednesday 29 January, 9.30am - 12.30pm, Portsmouth Academy - Book here
Wednesday 21 May, 13.00pm - 4.00pm, Conference Room B, Civic Offices - Book here
Safer Recruitment for Wider Children's Workforce
Wednesday 23 April, 9.00am - 4.30pm, Portsmouth Academy - Book here
Tuesday 10 June, 9.00am - 4.30pm, Conference Room A, Civic Offices - Book here
Early Help Training - Using the Family Support Plan
Friday 14 March, 9.00am - 4.30pm, Portsmouth Academy - Book here
Empowering Professionals to Effectively Safeguarding Children from Pre-birth to 3 Years
Thursday 8 May, 9.00am - 1.30pm, Conference Room B, Civic Offices - Book here
PSCP are pleased to introduce the new Working Together to Resolve Professional Differences (Escalation and Resolution) procedure and guidance across Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton (HIPS). This new procedure, endorsed by all safeguarding partners, replaces the previous protocol for the Escalation and Resolution of Professional Disagreement.
In most circumstances when there are differences of opinion over an appropriate response to a family or a need to find creative ways forward when there is limited progress, these can be resolved by simply having the right conversation with the right person at the right time. In Portsmouth Re-think can be a helpful strategy to bring professionals together for an in-person reflective meeting to work collaboratively to find ways forward. However, there may be circumstances where professional disagreements cannot be resolved through conversation or Re-think strategies, and this is when the procedure for Working Together to Resolve Professional Differences should be initiated.
 HSE’s annual statistics were recently published and highlight that stress, depression or anxiety account for about half of work-related ill health cases.
That’s an estimated 776,000 cases, with each case meaning an average of 21.1 days being taken off work.
Download the stress statistics booklet to see the work-related stress, depression or anxiety statistics in Great Britain for 2024.
Stepping into 2025, make good mental health at work a priority by tackling stress.
HSE’s Working Minds campaign is there to support that goal. Use their free tools and resources to learn about workplace stress, how to assess the risk and what steps to take:
 Three simple New Year's resolutions that could save a child's life
New Year’s resolutions can be a bit too ambitious, especially when you’re a busy parent. But, these super-simple New Year’s resolutions are easy to adopt and could save a child’s life.
10 baby products that could pose a serious safety risk (and what you can do about it)
It’s scary to think that something you might buy for your baby could harm, or potentially even kill them. CAPT explain some of the big risks to your baby’s safety and the simple things you can do to keep them safe.
Are you using your hot water bottle wrong?
Did you know that using boiling water, overfilling it and even storing it incorrectly can damage your hot water bottle and increase the risk of burns? Please follow the instructions on your hot water bottle and remember to regularly check it for signs of wear and tear.
Where are your button batteries?
If swallowed by a young child, the damage can be life-altering or even fatal. So, it’s important you know where they are. And, now is the perfect time to start your search.
 The Department for Education’s Do Something BIG recruitment campaign ramped up at the end of December. It continues to highlight the huge difference early years educators make to young children and how rewarding working in the sector can be.
On average, there have been over 46,000 visits to the campaign website each week, which directs potential applicants to use DWP’s Find a Job vacancy platform to search for early years roles in their area.
Listing early years vacancies on Find a Job - which is free to use - is a cost-effective way of ensuring they are seen by a large pool of candidates and will help connect more job seekers with the opportunities they’re looking for.
Please use the ‘DWP Find a Job instructions’ at the button below to help you create an account and post any current or upcoming jobs in your setting. Use the term ‘early years’ in the job advert titles and select ‘Education and childcare jobs’ as the job category. You can also advertise your job vacancies on the Portsmouth City Council website.
 Working in education is one of the most rewarding sectors out there. Whether you are teaching children, supporting them in the classroom or maintaining buildings on site - you will have a job filled with purpose.
If you are looking at starting a new career this year, come along to the Teach Portsmouth Jobs and Opportunities Fair at Portsmouth Guildhall on Wednesday 26 February from 10am - 2pm.
Meet schools, academies and colleges who will be showcasing vacancies as well as training providers who will be promoting apprenticeships and short courses to boost your qualifications.
There will also be a series of talks inside the Opportunities Room on trending topics in education.
If you would like to attend the event or know someone who would, please visit www.teachportsmouth.co.uk/jobsfair. The event is free to attend but you will need to register for a ticket.
 Early years and childcare professionals in Portsmouth will be celebrated at the prestigious Teach Portsmouth Awards 2025. Nominations for the early years and childcare category, proudly sponsored by Home-Start, are now open. Teach Portsmouth is inviting early years settings to recognise outstanding staff for this category, along with 10 other award categories where applicable.
This award highlights the exceptional contributions of early years professionals in Portsmouth who consistently go above and beyond in their roles. From childminders to nursery practitioners, the award shines a spotlight on the city’s finest talent in early years and childcare. The shortlisting panel will be looking for clear examples of early years and childcare professionals who have delivered outstanding service for children, beyond just everyday practice.
Nominations close on Wednesday 12 February at 4pm. To streamline the process, the Teach Portsmouth team recommends designating a staff member to manage and coordinate nominations. Please note that members of the public are not eligible to submit nominations.
 Training menu
The team can offer a wide range of training and workshops for staff and parents. Please see training menu at the button below. Please get in touch with the team to discuss your requirements further or to book a place: Neurodiversity0-19Enquiries@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.
New team leaflet
Please feel free to share with families.
Family Hub - Advice Clinics
Advice clinics continue to be popular and well attended. There is a new poster to advertise these clinics - please share with families and ask them to contact the team to book an appointment.
 Childcare Works have recently launched a new ‘Early Years Toolkit’. It has been curated by experts to bring together everything you need to grow, sustain or start, your childcare provision. It is designed for all types of providers at any stage of their journey. Whether you are just starting out, are sustaining your provision, or growing, you will find informative, relevant content.
The volume of information available to support providers can be overwhelming. The purpose of this toolkit is to bring this wealth of knowledge together in one place. It contains information specific to operating childcare provision, plus more general information for businesses, childminders and charities, including expert marketing, HR and leadership and management, partnership working and much, much more.
Content is organised into six ‘topics’:
- Business Planning
- Business Growth
- Running of Your Childcare Provision
- Leadership and Management
- Partnership Working
- SEND and Inclusive Practice
Each topic contains sub-topics to make finding relevant content easy. To support the different needs of providers Childcare Works have included information in a range of formats such as guides, learning, toolkits, templates, articles, case studies and much more. Each resource included in the toolkit is available without cost.
 Take a look at the Spring term events programme from Local Government Association.
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