|
Whilst I am still officially employed until June 5th, Friday May 17th will be, to all intent and purpose, my final day in the office.
This is one final message to say thank you to you all for your amazing kindness, generosity, and support over the past 23 years and especially during the past few weeks since I announced my departure.
It has dawned on me how much I will miss the people and how much I have enjoyed being able to help and support you. I have valued the relationships that I have developed with many of you and the sense of responsibility that has come with my role has never been a burden thanks to you all. Thank you for tolerating my occasional self indulgences and for your wit, wisdom, and understanding all of which have made some challenging times much easier to bear.
Good luck to you all for whatever the future brings. Remember how lucky you are to have such a knowledgeable and committed group of people to call upon from the local authority for support. Rest assured that Shropshire will never be far from my mind when I take all I have learned from you into my new role.
Finally, if anyone is wondering, because of the very generous leaving present which many of you will have contributed to, Maureen and I have upgraded our B&B in Greece to full board luxury hotel! It’s our treat to ourselves and thank you for making it happen. Hopefully I can talk her into sharing a room but, as it stands, its two singles!
Neville
As you will be already aware, the application window for the new expanded hours codes for children of 9 months+ opened on the 12th May, so you will no doubt start receiving codes from parents wanting to secure a place for their child at your setting in the Autumn term.
Please can we ask that you validate any expanded hours codes that are passed to you by parents as promptly as you can, as the DfE will be monitoring the percentage of codes that have been validated on a regular basis at individual LA level. You can validate an expanded hours code simply by running an eligibility check via the Portal.
To share some good news with you all, for the new 2YO expanded hours codes that were issued ahead of the Summer term, Shropshire has come in the top 10 in the whole country in terms of the percentage of codes that had been validated. Out of 1,511 codes that had been issued, 1,384 had been validated which is a massive 92% compared to only 86% nationally!  So thank you for all of your hard work in validating the codes so quickly, it's much appreciated!
Now let's see if we can beat our score in this next round!   
Following on from the meetings last week regarding wraparound care, all settings including childminders must complete the Wraparound care form, even if you do not wish to expand or create wrap around provision, using this link https://forms.office.com/e/560WjA03h9 The form should only take a few minutes to complete. The form needs to be submitted by 22nd May but where is reasonable for you to do so we would appreciate the form being completed at the earliest opportunity. I apologise for the short notice but the timescales dictated by the DfE have only given us a small window in which to gather all the data required.
If you missed the meeting and would like to view one of the recorded sessions please let me know and I can send this to you. Please find attached the slides form the meeting. A link to the guidance can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wraparound-childcare-guidance-for-schools
If you have any queries regarding the form or the wraparound care grant please contact Rachel.reynolds1@shropshire.gov.uk
A new post, “Maintaining quality early years provision in the face of workforce challenges” has just been published on the Ofsted: early years blog.
We know that many of you in the early years sector continue to face significant challenges, especially around recruiting and keeping well-qualified staff. In this blog, we will highlight: some of the ways these workforce challenges are evident when we are inspecting what providers are doing to mitigate some of these negative impacts the importance of continued good leadership and management in times of high staff turnover. Workforce challenges and issues Some of the main workforce issues include low pay, challenging working conditions, lack of professional development, staff not having the right qualifications, poor leadership and low levels of staff …
Read the new post: https://earlyyears.blog.gov.uk/2024/05/13/maintaining-quality-early-years-provision-in-the-face-of-workforce-challenges/
We are still running the blended learning option for the Paediatric First Aid Training (6 hours theory online (learners do not need to complete the online in one sitting they can go in and out of it until completed) then a 6 hour practical session).
All of our courses are Ofsted approved and run through our awarding body FAIB.
Open course places are £90.00 + VAT per learner (£108.00 inclusive of VAT)
Click on the link below to take you to our website where you can choose your date for the practical session(s) and book in directly (Or just email or call if you prefer).
https://cognetosh.arlo.co/w/
Or...
If you have a group of learners…
Our Private blended learning courses (We send the trainer to you on site) are £595.00 + VAT (£714.00 inclusive of VAT) for up to 12 learners.
We can run the practical session on site with you any day or afternoons/evenings of the week.
If you have less than 12 learners for a closed course please let me know how many you do have, I can then quote you a VERY competitive price J
Either register your interest through the link above or email us directly (or call).
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
We are still offering Elearning courses (please email us or call if you wish to book):
ONLINE ELEARNING COURSES:
(Prices below are per learner)
- Level 2 Food Safety – £20.00 + VAT (£24.00 inclusive of VAT)
- Basic Fire Safety Awareness - £20.00 + VAT (£24.00 inclusive of VAT)
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) - £25.00 + VAT (£30.00 inclusive of VAT)
- Fire Extinguisher - £20.00 + VAT (£24.00 inclusive of VAT)
- Fire Marshal - £25.00 + VAT (£30.00 inclusive of VAT)
- Infection Control - £20.00 + VAT (£24.00 inclusive of VAT)
- Safeguarding Children - £25.00 + VAT (£30.00 inclusive of VAT)
- Workplace Health and Safety - £25.00 + VAT (£30.00 inclusive of VAT)
Either email us info@cognet.training or call us on 01905 745 457 for more info and to book.
If you have any other training needs please get in touch.
We have still places available on our Sleep Tight workshop, starting in June. Poster available via this link.
The 5 week Sleep Tight workshop covers:
- Recognising the role of sleep hygiene to improve sleep
- Identifying causes of sleep issues and appropriate practical strategies to try
- Completing sleep diaries and identifying potential sleep issues.
A new post, “Celebrating childminders and welcoming change” has just been published on the Ofsted: early years blog.
It’s Childminding Week, and we want to recognise the excellent work of childminders like you. Thank you for all that you do to give families much-needed flexibility, and children the best start in life. Almost all of you do this incredibly well. 97% of Ofsted-registered childminders were rated good or outstanding at their last inspection. That’s the highest of any type of provision we inspect. Here’s a message from the Chief Inspector: Doing our part We want to make sure you can continue to do this great work. Of course, what is best for children remains at the heart of …
Read the new post: https://earlyyears.blog.gov.uk/2024/05/16/celebrating-childminders-and-welcoming-change/
A new post-September 2024 tab has been added to the Early Years Qualifications List (EYQL), following the publication of the new Level 3 Early Years Educator (EYE) criteria, which is effective from September 2024. The “Guidance” tab of the EYQL has also be updated with information on what the new tab means. In summary, to count as a full & relevant (F&R) qualification, enabling the holder to count within staff:child ratios at level 3 in early years settings in England:
- Qualifications started on or after 1 September 2024 and before 1 September 2025 must be listed on either the post-Sept 2014 tab or the post-Sept 2024 tab.
- Qualifications started on or after 1 September 2025 must be listed on the post-Sept 2024 tab.
No qualifications have been removed.
Please share this communication with others in your networks who this may affect. Any questions, please submit a query via the Contact Us form, FAO Early Years Qualifications Unit.
Early Years Funding Code of Practice
Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework for Childminders
Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework for Group and School-Based Providers
Early Years CPD
Early Years Information Pages on the SLG
Early Years Resource Library
Funding Diary Dates (headcount windows and payments)
Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF)
Parent Declaration Form (Summer 2024 to Summer 2025)
Recruitment:
Shropshire SEND Local Offer
Support Request Form (SEND)
Funding Claims, Free Entitlements, Eligibility Codes, Provider Portal etc.:
Admin Team: NEF@shropshire.gov.uk
Job Vacancies:
Admin Team: NEF@shropshire.gov.uk
Buildings, Premises, Accommodation, and any related issues including schools looking to adopt their local pre-school:
Andy Nicholls: andy.nicholls@shropshire.gov.uk
Wraparound Childcare Programme:
Rachel Reynolds: rachel.reynolds1@shropshire.gov.uk
School Sustainability Funding:
Jo Morris: Jo.morris@shropshire.gov.uk
Qualifications, Ratios, Staffing etc.:
Beverley Jones: beverley.jones@shropshire.gov.uk
Safeguarding and Child Protection:
Charlotte Percival: Charlotte.percival@shropshire.gov.uk
Early Intervention Grant - applications and admin:
Admin Team: NEF@shropshire.gov.uk
Applications for EYPP and 30-Hour Entitlements for Children who are Looked After:
Admin Team: NEF@shropshire.gov.uk
Applications for Disability Access Fund:
Admin Team: NEF@shropshire.gov.uk
Information, advice and guidance in relation to SEND children:
earlyyears@shropshire.gov.uk
Any other queries that don’t fall into the above:
earlyyears@shropshire.gov.uk
Remember – we also have the MS Teams site:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/team/19%3a9e2862aae963406b9ffc01b034aae950%40thread.tacv2/conversations?groupId=dd786852-0af3-4592-b069-7cf66e48df55&tenantId=b6c13011-372d-438b-bc82-67e4c7966e89
If you are not already a member of this group, then please email nef@shropshire.gov.uk and we will get you access.
Neville Ward
Service Manager, Early Years and Childcare
Tel: 01743 254552
Email: neville.ward@shropshire.gov.uk
Alison Rae
School’s Improvement Commissioner Adviser Early Years Foundation Stage
Education Improvement Service
Tel: 01743 254467
Email: alison.rae@shropshire.gov.uk
Beverley Jones
Education Improvement Service
Early Years Consultant
Tel: 01743 254454
Email: beverley.jones@shropshire.gov.uk
Charlotte Percival
Safeguarding Officer
Tel: 01743 254147
Email: charlotte.percival@shropshire.gov.uk
Sue Carroll
SEND Lead Early Years / Severndale case manager
Tel: 01743 254242
Mobile: 07458124424
Email: sue.carroll@shropshire.gov.uk
Judith Pilkington
Early Years Intervention Officer
Tel: 01743 254287
Email: judith.pilkington@shropshire.gov.uk
Admin Team (funding queries):
Beth Parry-Jones, Brydie Porter & Sarah Jones
Email: NEF@shropshire.gov.uk
|
