  Join us at our FREE Early Years Conference to celebrate early years practitioners who are working to improve outcomes for children in Staffordshire.
You will gain insight from early years experts and settings about supporting individual children and the significance of early years practitioners on children’s wellbeing and development.
Hear from:
Darrell Woodman - The Art of Being Brilliant - workshop based on the UK’s first big piece of research in Positive Psychology focusing on learning new habits of thinking and behaviour that will sustain personal ‘brilliance’.
Greg Bottrill - author of the bestselling ’Can I Go And Play Now?’, ‘School of the Magic of Children’ and ‘Love Letters To Play’.
Laura Henri-Allain MBE - international award-winning producer, storyteller, educationalist, keynote speaker and consultant. She is the creator of the well-loved, award-winning first Black British animation, JoJo and Gran Gran.
Catherine McLeod MBE - Chief Executive of Dingley’s Promise since 2015, growing the organisation from a small local charity to a national one that delivers training and influences policy.
This conference will support you to:
- celebrate early years practice across Staffordshire.
- respond in innovative ways to nurture the unique child.
- recognise the commitment practitioners have made to their own professional development, including through the Early Years Professional Development Programme and Dingley’s Promise.
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develop knowledge and skills to support personal wellbeing both in and out of work.
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stimulate your professional learning and understanding of young children.
- network with other early years practitioners and learn more about services in Staffordshire
For further details and to book your place on the EY Practitioner Hub, click the link below. Maximum 2 delegates per setting. We look forward to welcoming you.
Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2023-24
In issue 53 we shared that the latest Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2023-24 is now available. The data has been gathered and analysed from the twice yearly Sufficiency surveys.
To view the report, click the link below. It can now also be found on our website here.
Childcare Works free webinars
For EY settings and schools
These informal sessions are aimed at EY Managers, leaders and owners, Childminders, school leaders who have, or are considering developing their provision and everyone who wants to learn more about how to start, grow and sustain a setting.
Find out more about the new Early Years Toolkit, created specifically for providers. The session will cover:
- free resources and information available to make sure your setting is ready for the roll-out of expanded entitlements in September 2025
- advice tailored to your needs at every stage - whether you are just setting out, sustaining your existing provision or are looking to grow
- practical support and fast access to information on a range of topics including business planning and meeting the needs of children with SEND.
Click the link below to register for one of the free webinars for early years settings and schools (they are duplicate sessions so you only need to register for one):
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For Wraparound childcare providers
These informal sessions are aimed at childminders, school leaders who have, or are considering developing their wraparound provision, wraparound childcare business owners, managers and leaders and everyone who wants to learn more about how to start, grow and sustain a wraparound childcare business.
Find out more about the new Wraparound Toolkit, packed with resources specifically for wraparound providers. The webinar will cover:
- practical support and fast access to information tailored for all kinds of wraparound childcare providers - whatever the size of wraparound provision or setting
- a collection of free resources to support your business planning and the sustainability of your provision or club
- free resources on a broad range of topics including activity planning, providing food for children and meeting the needs of children with SEND.
Click the link below to register for one of the free webinars for Wraparound childcare providers (they are duplicate sessions so you only need to register for one):
Click the link below for more details on the Childcare Works HUB for providers and schools.
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Safeguarding news
Early years foundation stage statutory framework - the safeguarding and welfare requirements
Safety and suitability of premises, environment and equipment: this section covers a wide range of health and safety considerations for all early year’s providers. Pg 35- 38.
Providers must comply with requirements of health and safety legislation, including fire safety and hygiene requirements.
3.71 - Group and school-based provision
3.70 - Childminder
Toilets and intimate hygiene
There are suitable hygienic changing facilities for changing any children who are in nappies.
Points to consider:
• Wipe changing mats with soapy water or a mild detergent wipe after each use and at the end of each day, including down the side creases and along the bottom crease, clean the sides and backs of the changing mats and changing unit.
• Check mats weekly for tears and discard if the cover is damaged.
• Do staff /assistants fully understand the importance of good hygiene practices in keeping changing mats clean to prevent cross infection?
• What training has been implemented to maintain this basic good practice?
• How do staff keep the children safe on changing units? Are they prepared with all the necessary equipment needed i.e. nappies, creams, clean clothes, beforehand?
• Is there a nappy changing risk assessment in place?
• Is there a cleaning schedule in place?
• How is children’s privacy considered and balanced with safeguarding and support needs when changing nappies and toileting?
Use of potties:
• Designate a sink for cleaning potties (not a hand wash basin). This should be in the area where potties are used.
• Wear disposable gloves to flush contents down the toilet.
• Wash the potty in hot soapy water and dry.
• Store potties upside down. Do not stack potties inside each other.
New Communicating with children guide
The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse have published a new edition of Communicating with children guide.
Children face many barriers in communicating about sexual abuse, such as feelings of fear, shame, guilt and responsibility, not having the language to communicate their concerns, or not recognising what has happened to them as abuse. It is the job of the adults around them to learn how to listen, understand and support them.
The Communicating with children guide has been updated to give anyone working with children accessible guidance in talking about concerns of child sexual abuse, including where children are unable to verbally communicate their experiences. It shows professionals how to speak with children who use a variety of communication styles, including neuro-divergent children, disabled children, and children whose first language is not English.
Click the link below to view the guide.
EYFS nutrition guidance changes from September 2025
The DfE has introduced new nutrition guidance in the EYFS statutory framework, which will replace the ‘Examples menus for early years settings in England’ guidance from September 2025 for providers who are caring for early years children aged 0 to 5 years.
The new guidance has been developed with nutrition and sector experts. It will help EY 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’.
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.
Click the link below to view the guidance.
Free training opportunities
Wraparound Inclusive Practice Pathway - raising the attainment of our disadvantaged youngsters (RADY) and Wraparound care
This session aims to encourage wraparound care providers to consider the untapped potential of our disadvantaged learners and how their work can support better attainment in regular school time through target and attainment uplifts and equity in teaching and learning, ensuring the attainment of our disadvantaged learners is a golden thread throughout school policies and focusing on the proportional representations of our disadvantaged learners in all aspects of school life.
The session will:
- consider the impacts of disadvantage on targets, attainment and participation
- review the main principles of RADY
- understand how these principles can apply to our work with disadvantaged children.
- consider how we can link in the colleagues who teach these children in the day to encourage the best possible attainment.
Tuesday 27 May 2025 9am to 11am via MS Teams
All places must be booked through the EY Practitioner Hub. Click the link below to book your place on the EY Practitioner Hub.
Wraparound Inclusive Practice Pathway - autism and sensory differences
This session will explore how Autistic individuals experience sensory difference. You will learn about the characteristics and differences in sensory processing for autistic children and young people, and look at helpful, practical strategies to create sensory friendly environments for all children and young people not just autistic pupils.
You will:
- understand what our senses are and how they affect us
- know that Autistic individuals will all experience sensory differences
- know that someone could be hyper or hypo sensitive to any or all of their senses
- be aware of some useful strategies when supporting children with sensory differences.
Tuesday 27 May 2025 6pm to 7:30pm via MS Teams
More funding for before and after school clubs
Staffordshire County Council have secured more DfE funding for 2025/26 to create additional wraparound childcare for families in Staffordshire.
What would you do with £20,000?* (* Average funding awarded)
- Could you create new provision?
- Could you partner with a local school or provider?
- Could you open for longer?
- Could you employ more staff?
- Could you create more places?
The funding will remove any financial risk to providers of offering additional places for 12 months before demand is guaranteed.
Click the link below to visit our webpage for more details.
Email sarah.atkins@staffordshire.gov.uk to arrange an initial conversation.
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