 Sent on behalf of Victoria Parker - Chair of the Early Years Panel
The New Notification for SEND children to Early Years Panel and the request for SENDIF+ funding are now two separate forms.
SENDIF+ payments will be agreed through the Early Years Panel at a separate monthly SENDIF+ meeting which will be 2 weeks after the general monthly EYP meetings.
A new notification must be made to panel before they can be considered for SENDIF+ funding. But these can be sent to EYP at the same time where appropriate.
Please find below the new versions of the Early Years Panel New Notification Form and the application form for SENDIF+ funding. Also attached is a guide to refer to when completing an application for SENDIF+ funding. The notification must still be made in partnership with the health visiting service and an ASQ or Community Paediatrician report should be available or have been requested. Also attached is a guide to refer to when completing an application for SENDIF+ funding.
The new forms will be available to download from the Local Offer website.
The EYP update form will no longer be used for requesting SENDIF+ but will still be available to inform EYP of any changes.
 Employment Allowance is being increased to protect businesses by providing relief of up to £10,500 per annum on their employer Class 1 NICs liabilities from 6 April 2025. Early Years Childcare Providers are entitled to claim the Employment Allowance if they are private businesses or charities. The document at the button below provides further guidance on the relief available and eligibility rules.
 In January, the DfE announced the Check an Early Years Qualification (CEYQ) service to help Early Years (EY) managers verify whether qualifications meet ratio requirements. Following final testing, they are pleased to announce that this free service is now live on GOV.UK.
CEYQ service allows managers to check staff qualifications quickly and easily by entering key details such as the qualification name, awarding organisation, and course start date. A clear outcome is provided, which can be printed for records. This tool saves managers valuable time during recruitment and HR processes, ensuring they have appropriately qualified staff in place ahead of the expansion of funded childcare entitlements in September 2025.
CEYQ is currently available for EY managers only. Practitioners should continue using the Early Years Qualifications List (EYQL) to check their qualifications and, if further clarification is needed, can contact Ecctis.
 Ofsted are proposing to make changes to the way in which they inspect Early Years, Out of school provision as well as all government funded schools and colleges.
You can find a summary of the proposed changes here. And there is a useful webinar from Ofsted regarding the changes and what that will mean for Early Years settings here.
We would highly recommend making yourself familiar with the proposed changes which are likely to come into effect from the Autumn term 2025. You can have your say by completing this consultation which is open until 28 April 2025.
 Across Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton colleagues with expertise in supporting children who have been exploited have been working together to update the Child Exploitation Risk Assessment Framework (CERAF). This tool is for use by all professionals from all agencies across HIPS and should be completed as soon as potential concerns regarding any form of child exploitation are identified. The accompanying guidance has also been updated. You can find these on the HIPS Procedures website.
Portsmouth Safeguarding Children's Partnership (PSCP) also offer a range of child exploitation training. For more information on the courses listed below, including booking details, please follow this link.
- Child Exploitation
- Preventing online sexual abuse and exploitation (CEOP)
- NRM (National Referral Mechanism)
- CERAF (Child Exploitation Risk Assessment Framework)
- Consider your language (Victim blaming)
- Knife crime awareness
- CPI (Community Partnership Information sharing)
Please see flyer below for details of a one day event on raising awareness of child sexual exploitation on 31 March 2025.
 Solihull newsletter
Take a look at the Solihull newsletter at the button below.
Solihull Approach Evidence Based Courses for Professionals
The three courses below are for professionals and can be accessed for free on the Solihull 'In Our Place' website. Use the access code PARENTSUPPORT_PRF and a Portsmouth Postcode.
 We live in a world awash with misinformation. That’s why, for Child Safety Week 2025, Child Accident Prevention Trust's (CAPT) theme is Safety is for sharing. And, they’re making it easier than ever for you to share their expert safety advice in your communities. We’ll send you more information soon.
For now you can:
If you want to get a head start, CAPTs resource centre makes it simple to find free accident prevention resources all in one place. You can search by safety topic or type of resource to find fact sheets to give out to families, activity sheets to keep children engaged or videos and session plans to help you run a mini workshop.
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