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We have received a number of queries around the Early Years Expansion Grant, which we have passed on to providers as an hourly rate increase.
To reiterate, this is a grant only and there is currently no notification from the DfE that this will continue and is only a one off.
Please note: We had already increased our hourly rates for the Summer term, but then increased them further on receipt of this grant.
The new hourly rates that came into effect from the start of April 2025, are as follows...
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Funding Type
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Hourly Rate
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9M – 2YO
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£9.52 (includes an additional 10p base uplift, plus 17p grant uplift)
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2YO
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£7.28 (includes 13p grant uplift)
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3&4YO
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£5.42*
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Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)
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£1
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Disability Access Fund (DAF)
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£938 (per annum)
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*It's hoped that there will be an increase to the 3&4YO hourly funding rate from the start of September 2025, however we don't have any further details to share on this at the moment.
Just a reminder that the Summer Actual headcount window closes at the end of this week (11th) 
Please ensure that you submit your claim ahead of this date to avoid any delays in your funding being released.
Please find below a copy of the new Parent Declaration Form template for the 2025/26 academic year.
Parent Declaration Form
 Early Years Support | Shropshire Learning Gateway
 Links to the Early Years Blogs from Ofsted can be found at: Ofsted | Shropshire Learning Gateway
The Department for Education is committed to ensuring that all children in early years settings have the best possible start in life. As part of this, we are introducing new nutrition guidance in the EYFS statutory framework, which will replace the ‘Examples menus for early years settings in England’ guidance from September 2025.
The new guidance has been developed with nutrition and sector experts. It will help early years providers understand how to meet the existing EYFS requirement: ‘Where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, these must be healthy, balanced and nutritious’.
Good nutrition in the early years is crucial for setting the foundations for a lifetime of good health. From September 2025, providers will be required to have regard to the new nutrition guidance, meaning they must take it into account and should follow it unless there is good reason not to.
To read the new nutrition guidance, visit Early Years Foundation Stage Nutrition
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We are delighted to announce publication of the Experts and Mentors Programme evaluation report!
There were over 4,900 registrations for the programme, which supported early years settings and childminders to overcome the challenges posed by COVID-19 and provide high-quality provision for all children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. It provided personalised coaching for leaders, guidance on best practices and teaching strategies and support to implement the 2021 EYFS framework. Additionally, the programme helped practitioners access the Early Years Child Development Training and offered advice and guidance on meeting the needs of children with English as an Additional Language or Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Key Evaluation Findings:
· A positive, statistically significant impact of the programme on practitioners’ confidence in supporting children’s personal, social and emotional development
· Strong evidence that the programme had a positive impact on practitioners’ confidence in supporting children’s communication and language development, but this was not wholly conclusive.
· The positive impact on both primary outcomes was larger among practitioners working in settings with higher levels of disadvantage.
· Experts, mentors and area leads reported a range of improved outcomes including enhanced professional development and creating new networks.
· Setting leaders and staff reported improved skills and knowledge and greater confidence.
Please see the full report here – Early years experts and mentors programme evaluation - GOV.UK.
Read more
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The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has added two new approaches – interactive writing and self-care – to their Early Years Evidence Store.
Interactive writing is an approach which can help develop children’s early literacy skills whilst supporting children to develop positive self-care routines helps their wellbeing, health and safety.
EEF’s Evidence Store brings together a number of evidence-informed approaches to help educators to understand and reflect on their practice. Each approach includes a summary of current evidence, practical examples of how the approach could be implemented in your setting and videos of the approach in action.
Visits the Early Years Evidence Store here to learn more about the different approaches.
Visit here
 Are you looking for food themed resources for early years? Take a look at the FREE, Six early years packs from Food – a fact of life!
Each pack is based on a food theme, combining learning about healthy eating (and activity), cooking or where food comes from, with an early years’ curriculum area, such as numeracy, literacy or physical development.
A guide to running the session and a presentation containing colourful images, games and an activity to try at home, is available for each of the six packs:
- Amazing allotments
- Awesome activity
- Beautiful bread
- Delicious dairy
- Marvellous meals
- Perfect picnic
Take a look now!
https://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/3-5-years/activity-packs-3-5-years/six-early-years-activity-packs/
Visit here
The Early Years Alliance's has announced the line-up for its 2025 virtual annual conference, which will be taking place via Zoom on Thursday 26 June from 6.15pm - 8.45pm.
The event, entitled No child left behind, will explore what it really means to put the needs of the child at the heart of early years provision, and look at the practical steps that those working in the early years can take to all children are able to access quality early education and care, regardless of background, circumstance or level of need.
This year's conference will include keynote speeches from Waterstone's Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, educational psychologist Dr Melernie Meheux and Alliance CEO Neil Leitch. Attendees will also get the opportunity to attend one of three practical seminars (and will receive recordings of the other two sessions).
- Alice Sharp, early years specialist and trainer, on early communication and language
- Suzy Rowland, founder and CEO of the Happy in School Project, on supporting children with SEND and building inclusive early years environments
- Jo Sharpen, consultant, on supporting children and families experiencing domestic abuse in the early years
In light of the ongoing financial pressures facing the early years sector, the Alliance is once again offering tickets to free to all Alliance members and their teams, and for just £15 for non-members.
Book your place at bit.ly/AllianceConference2025.
Suspected poisoning is one of the most common reasons that young children get taken to A+E. Often items we have in the home can look very tempting to children whether it is cleaning products and washing items being pretty bright colours or painkillers in shiny packets, children (and sometimes adults) don’t realise the risk that they pose. This link to Free resources on poisoning prevention | Child Accident Prevention provides information, posters and safety sessions plans to deliver to staff or parents.
Child Safety Week runs from Monday 2 to Sunday 8 June, with the theme Safety is for sharing. There are lots of resources on Child Safety Week Resources | Child Accident Prevention Trust.
Early Years information | Shropshire Learning Gateway
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Links to online resources supporting learning and development within the EYFS
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Links to online documents supporting assessment
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Useful information for EY providers, supporting the children's care and well-being (including link to recently published EYFS nutrition guidance April 2025)
Message from the EHCP Team
The Statutory Assessment Panel (SAP) considers new requests for education, health and care needs assessments and reviews advice collected during an assessment to decide whether a plan should be issued. The panel has representatives from the EHCP Team, health and social care. We also invite SENDCOs to SAP every week which takes place on a Tuesday morning between 9am and 12pm. We have commitment from SENDCOs to attend panels up to the end of April 2025, and we would now like to invite any SENDCOs who have an interest in attending to email us (EHCPTeam@shropshire.gov.uk) and we will extend a meeting invite to you for the summer term. If you have attended before and would like to attend again you are more than welcome.
Annie Williams, EHCP Team Manager
SEND and Inclusion updates, reminders and news
In order to improve the timeliness in which we can share information with you and to keep information for schools in one place, we are further developing the Shropshire Learning Gateway (SLG).
- All information for SENCOs and schools that relates to inclusive practice, training and resources is moving over to the SLG.
- CPD opportunities are now all together on a dedicated CPD page—click HERE.
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Inclusive Practice information for practitioners, including newsletters, slides from network meetings, resources and GSP paperwork can be found in a new Inclusive Practice section—click HERE
- All information relating to statutory SEND processes (ECHNAs, EHCPs and Annual Reviews) will remain on the Local Offer so that it can be easily accessed by parent carers.
- The Local Offer will remain as a central point of information for all things SEND and you will be able to link to all information from both the Local Offer but for ease of updating, the SLG will host the main content for practitioners.
If you have any suggestions for online content you would like to see made available for practitioners or for parent carers, please e-mail us: EQA@shropshire.gov.uk
SEND and Inclusion Comms
In order to improve the timeliness in which we can share information with you and to keep information for settings and schools in one place, we are further developing the Shropshire Learning Gateway (SLG).
The Local Offer will remain as a central point of information for all things SEND and you will be able to link to all information from the Local Offer but for ease of updating, the SLG will host the main content for practitioners.
If you have any suggestions for online content you would like to see made available for practitioners or for parent carers, please e-mail us: EQA@shropshire.gov.uk
Newsletter Delivery — subscribe now!
We are shortly moving to using the GovDelivery system for the SEND and Inclusion newsletter so that it can be delivered direct to your inbox. We therefore need to ensure we have your correct e-mail address.
Please complete the following MS Form as soon as possible so that we can add you to the mailing list:
A link to the newsletter will continue to be added to the Inclusive Practice pages of the SLG so you will be able to view and download it if you don’t receive the e-mail.
Ofcom's research has told us that 84% of 3-4 year olds go online, with 25% owning their own smartphone and 51% going on social media. With digital media use becoming increasingly normal in the early years, it is crucial that parents, early years educators and teachers are all informed and proactive about ensuring children's safety and wellbeing when using devices, the LGFL have added some useful tools and resources to their pages Online Safety in the Early Years | LGFL and Children under 5 | eSafety Commissioner
HAVE YOU APPLIED? - Poster
As part of the changes to the EYFS coming into force on 1st September 2025, there will be new requirements for childminders in relation to the DSL role and training:
⮚In childminding settings, the childminder is the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). The DSL must attend a training course consistent with the criteria set out in Annex C. Childminders should read What to do if you're worried a child is being abused: Advice for practitioners
I will be delivering a Designated Safeguarding Lead Training specifically for Childminders to attend over 3 sessions - 2 evening sessions (3rd and 9th July) and the 3rd on a Saturday morning (12th July). Here is the link to book onto the training: Childminder DSL training .
If you are a childminder and have not completed the Newly appointed and refresher DSL training previously you are advised to complete DSL training before 1st September 2025.
We are delighted to open expressions of interest for wave 2 of ELSEC, commencing September 2025.
ELSEC (Early Language Support for Every Child) is a 2-year pilot project, commissioned by the DfE and NHS England, as part of the SEND and AP Change Programme.
In Wave 1, the ELSEC team has worked to reduce the communication gap by up to 75%, meaning that more children are able to access a full curriculum offer, are more confident socially and have enhanced life chances in the future. Where settings have fully engaged in what ELSEC has to offer, the impact has been both significant and sustainable.
From September 2025 we will be looking to work with a new set of schools and nurseries to expand the skillset for Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN), in both Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin.
As an ELSEC team we can offer:
- A dedicated member of the ELSEC team to work collaboratively with you in your setting, on a weekly basis.
- Regular support from a speech and language therapist and specialist teacher.
- Modelling, coaching and support to deliver quality interventions, currently including Talk Boost, BEST (Building Early Sentence Therapy), Concept Cat and narrative skills.
- Communication friendly classroom audits.
- Parent workshops.
- Two whole school CPD sessions.
In return we ask for:
- A warm welcome to your setting.
- Named staff in each setting as a first point of contact – to include Headteacher and / or SENCo.
- Key staff that are identified for training and delivery of interventions.
- A quiet space to run interventions and parent workshops.
If you would like to express your interest in joining the ELSEC project for September 2025, please email Louise Such, at louise.such@telford.gov.uk, by Friday 9th May, 5pm (ideally), but can extend beyond.
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 Funding for Foster Children
CPD Early Years and Schools | Shropshire Learning Gateway
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:
SEND and Inclusion Newsletter
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:
Dan Steele: Dan.steele@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.
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
Admin Team (funding queries):
Beth Parry-Jones, Brydie Porter & Sarah Jones
Email: NEF@shropshire.gov.uk
Please click the link below to view the slides from the last early years network meeting.
Network Meeting_11.02.2025.pptx
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