 Our Early Years Level 3 SENCO Accredited training course is starting in September. Email eyworkforce@portsmouthcc.gov.uk if you have any questions.
 Home-Start Portsmouth have released the following Understanding Your Baby course dates:
- Friday 9 October at Buckland Family Hub from 12:30pm to 2:30pm (*6-week course)
- Monday 9 November at Paulsgrove Family Hub from 9:30am to 11:30am (*6-week course)
Further information about the Home-Start Portsmouth courses can be found on the Home-Start Portsmouth Parenting Courses & Stay and Play Groups page.
 After 26 years as a childminder in Portsmouth, Pennie Huntley is retiring and looking forward to a new chapter. Over the years, Pennie worked alongside her husband Brian, who sadly passed away in 2024, together they supported so many local children and families. More recently, she has been helped by her assistant, Trish, who will now be moving on to new opportunities of her own. Pennie has been a familiar figure in the local childcare community for many years. As she steps away from childminding, she is looking forward to a new lease of life, with plenty of holidays and more time to enjoy with her family. Thank you, Pennie. Good Luck and enjoy your retirement!
 This summer, children can dive into an exciting adventure with the Pompey Monsters! Stomp for Stamps FREE annual children's treasure hunt helps children be active, develop essential skills and have fun while discovering the natural world. It's easy to take part. Simply pick up a map book, pencils and paper from any Portsmouth library from 24 July. Walk, wheel and cycle the Pompey Monster routes, collecting rubbings to swap for stickers. Exchange for a unique Portsmouth 100 baseball cap! Plus, children will have a roarsome time tracking down colourful lions for the chance to win an exclusive Pride of Portsmouth lions trail toy.
 Families can access a free Kellogg’s breakfast every day throughout the summer holidays at Morrisons Cafés nationwide. Available until 6 September, the offer includes a bowl of cereal and a piece of fruit, with both children and adults eligible. The initiative aims to help families manage increased costs during the school holidays.
Please consider sharing this information with parents and carers who may benefit from extra support over the summer.
 Good oral health starts early, and childcare providers play an important role in helping children develop healthy habits that last a lifetime. The Best Start in Life Children's Oral Health campaign provides a range of free resources designed to support conversations with parents and carers about brushing teeth, reducing sugar intake, and promoting positive oral health habits from an early age. Resources include leaflets, posters, social media content and practical advice that can be shared with families. The campaign highlights key messages including the importance of brushing twice a day, attending regular dental check-ups and cutting down on sugary foods and drinks to help keep children's teeth healthy.
 Digital screens are a normal part of family life, but the early years are a critical period of development. New evidence-informed guidance from the Government aims to help parents and carers of children under five develop healthy screen habits and make informed choices about screen use. Best Start in Life - Screen Time explains that 90% of a child's brain development occurs by age five, making early interactions, play and communication especially important.
Childcare providers can help by sharing key messages with families, including:
- Limiting screen time where possible
- Choosing slow-paced, age-appropriate content
- Keeping mealtimes and bedrooms screen-free
- Encouraging play, conversation, reading and other screen-free activities
A range of free resources, including posters, infographics and family-friendly guidance, is available to support conversations with parents and carers.
 As the summer holidays continue, the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) has refreshed its Summer Safety Display Pack to help settings share important safety messages with families. The pack contains colourful, ready-to-display posters covering a range of seasonal risks and practical tips to help keep children safe during the summer months.
Topics include water safety, holiday safety, garden hazards, keeping babies cool and other common summer risks. The resources are designed to be displayed in your setting and shared with parents and carers to support important safety conversations.
 The poster explains health and safety laws while listing what employers and their workers should do.
If you employ anyone, you must either:
- display the health and safety law poster where your workers can easily read it
- provide each worker with the equivalent health and safety law downloadable leaflet
There are various versions of the health and safety law poster, so you can select the most appropriate one for your business. You can:
HSE also provides health and safety law pocket cards. These are a legal alternative to the law poster and are easy to distribute for your workers to carry with them.
 The NSPCC and Department for Education have created a practical poster for early years providers, offering simple tips to help embed safeguarding into everyday practice and strengthen your setting's safeguarding culture.
 The Department for Education has launched an online early years safeguarding training package, developed in collaboration with the NSPCC. This training covers sections 1 and 2 of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework’s safeguarding training annex, which all early years educators must be trained in line with every two years. The training is free to access for all early years educators including childminders and reception staff.
A link to the training can be found on the landing page of the EYFS or accessed at the following link - Department for Education EY safeguarding training
 The DfE has published new safeguarding guidance for early years providers to help practitioners, managers and childminders understand and apply the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the EYFS.
The new content provides practical information and advice on creating a strong safeguarding culture, recognising concerns early, responding appropriately, and ensuring children are safe, healthy and supported to thrive.
The guidance includes information on:
- the safeguarding responsibilities of early years providers and practitioners
- the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
- creating and maintaining a strong safeguarding culture
- recognising signs of possible abuse, neglect and harm
- raising, recording and reporting safeguarding concerns
- whistleblowing procedures and when to use them
- safer recruitment and vetting requirements
- working in partnership with parents and carers to keep children safe
- staff training, supervision and ongoing safeguarding practice
- attendance, absence monitoring and information sharing
- resources, posters and links to further guidance and support
By using this guidance and supporting resources, you can strengthen safeguarding practice in your setting, support staff confidence and help ensure every child grows up in a safe, nurturing and protective environment.
 The Department for Education and Ofsted have recently published a joint vodcast on safer sleep in early years settings. This includes an overview of the updated wording in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and then a Q&A with Ofsted colleagues on what this means for inspections.
 Safer sleep is an important part of keeping babies safe in early years settings. Childcare providers are encouraged to review and use the safer sleep checklist to support safe sleep practices and ensure staff remain confident in meeting current requirements.
 The Early Years Stronger Practice Advisor (EYSPA) Programme offers targeted support for eligible early years settings and childminders to strengthen leadership, improve practice and enhance outcomes for children. Successful applicants will receive tailored coaching and support from an experienced Early Years Stronger Practice Advisor.
 The latest Thames Valley and South Central Early Years Stronger Practice Hub newsletter is now available, featuring upcoming training, webinars, network meetings, evidence-informed resources and updates on support available.
 Childminders are invited to attend this Understanding Schemas session, which supports practitioners in recognising and understanding schematic play and how it can support children's learning and development.
 Childminders are invited to attend this childminder network session focusing on updates to the inspection toolkit. The session will provide an opportunity to hear about recent updates and support childminders in preparing for inspection.
 A new post, “Paying your annual fee: what you need to know” has just been published on the Ofsted: early years blog.
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