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Wednesday 22 March 2017
1. Indicative Budgets 2017/2018 are in the post –
existing FE providers only
Now the new
Free Entitlement (FE) rate has been signed off by the Cabinet Member for
Children – Start of Life – Lead Member for Children, the FE Indicative Budgets
2017/2018 have been posted to you. If you don’t receive these by end of this
week, please contact us.
Should
you have any queries please contact the Family Information Service on 01243
777807 or email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk
2. Extension to existing Provider Declaration 2016/2017 –
Action required by all existing FE providers, otherwise Summer term payments
will be affected.
A final reminder
that the Online Provider Portal is open for all existing Free Entitlement (FE) providers to complete the FE
Provider Declaration which has been extended to end of August 2017.
Please
refer to the previous broadcast dated 8 March 2017 for the important
information and guidance.
Deadline
for submission is 28 March 2017. Failure
to return this form by the due date will stop your summer term payments and
your ‘FE’ Online Provider Portal account will be suspended.
Any
providers wishing to sign up to deliver Free Entitlement for 2, 3 and 4 year
olds for the first time, please contact the Family Information Service on
01243 777807 or email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk for a separate form and do not complete the online form.
3. Tax-Free Childcare – charity run childcare providers
A reminder that the government is gradually
introducing Tax-Free Childcare as part of a package to support working
families. This bulletin tells you more about Tax-Free Childcare
This scheme will be available to working parents of children aged under 12, or
under 17 for children with a disability. It will provide support of up to
£2,000 per child per year (or £4,000 for children with a disability) towards
childcare costs.
Parents will be able to open an online Childcare Account, pay money into it and
get a top-up from the government. For every £8 that a parent pays into the
account, the government will pay in an additional £2.
As a charity-run childcare provider, it’s in your
interest to sign up, as parents can only use Tax-Free Childcare to pay
childcare providers who have signed up to the scheme.
To sign up to Tax-Free Childcare you will need your Unique Taxpayer
Reference number. As a
charity, you may not be aware of your UTR, or you may not already have one. If
this is the case, please call the childcare service helpline on 0300 123 4097,
who will take your address information. You will then receive a letter within
the next few weeks, confirming your UTR.
Once
you have received your UTR, you can sign up for Tax-Free Childcare here: https://www.childcare.tax.service.gov.uk.
You will also need your unique user ID (which you can find on your original
invitiation to sign up) and your bank account details (for the account which
you want childcare payments to be made to).
4. We want your views on the Online Provider Portal (OPP)
The OPP was first
introduced back in 2012, and over the years we have added further functionality
to the system. We would like to take this opportunity to obtain feedback from
portal users to find out if there are any barriers to using the OPP and what
guidance or support you have utilised to access the OPP.
In order to capture
your feedback, please complete the survey available here.
The survey closes 21 April 2017.
Your feedback will
allow us to look at possible improvements that would make the most impact to
you on using the OPP.
5. Makaton Foundation Workshop for Professionals
Makaton Foundation Workshop for
the Professionals (Stage 1 – 4 and Additional
Vocabulary)
Duration: This is a TWO FULL DAY course and will take place over
two weeks
Date: 12th & 19th May 2017
Time: 09.00 – 16.00
Venue: Bognor Regis Nursery School & Children’s Centre
85 Victoria Drive, Bognor
Regis, West Sussex, PO21 2TB
Tel: 01243 642924
Cost: The cost of the course is £150 for the 4 modules which
includes materials, but lunch is not included.
Tutor: Noriko Bayes (SSC nursery nurse at
BRNS&CC and Makaton Regional Tutor)
Entry criteria: Participants
need to have an understanding of early communication skills but no signing
experience/knowledge required.
To book: Please ring the School Office on 01243 642924 or email booking form
to office@bognorregis-nursery.w-sussex.sch.uk
Attachments:
1.Makaton+Booking+Form.doc
2.Makaton+Foundation+course+outline.doc
6. Citizens Advice services in Central and South
Sussex
There
are some changes coming up to some of the Citizens Advice services in Central
and South Sussex. The charity, which helps thousands of local people every
year, is making changes to some of its opening hours. The team can give
information on a huge range of issues, including benefits, debt, housing,
employment, domestic violence, relationship breakdown, and much more. All
services are free, confidential, independent and impartial.
From
April 2017, the Citizens Advice service in Lancing is moving from the Parish
Hall, to a new location at Lancing Library. The Citizens Advice team is
available at Lancing Library every Tuesday, 10am-4pm. It’s a drop-in service,
and no appointment is necessary.
Services
in East Grinstead and Burgess Hill from April will be operating on Tuesdays and
Thursdays – 9.30am-4pm.
All
other centres run by Central and South Sussex Citizens Advice – Horsham,
Crawley, Shoreham-by-Sea, Haywards Heath and Worthing – run Monday-Friday,
9.30am-4pm.
There
are other ways to contact CAB for advice – you can phone their advice line on
0344 477 1171 (Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm), or get in touch via our website using
web chat or email.
For full
details and locations, please visit www.cassca.org.uk
Upcoming Key Dates
Date What's Happening?
22/03/2017 Business
and Welfare Event (Bognor Regis Nursery School and CFC)
30/03/2017
Inclusion Funding Panel
01/04/2017
Childminder Event (Bognor Regis Nursery School and CFC)
01/04/2017
Childminder Event (Roffey CFC)
Previously on the Weekly Broadcast
Forgotten to action a broadcast item? You can’t remember which Broadcast the information was in? Below is a list of headlines from the previous 4 weeks' Weekly Broadcasts. If you would like a copy of a previous broadcast please click on the hyperlinks below.
Wednesday 15 March 2017
- Free Entitlement Summer Term Estimates – last call (FE Providers Only)
- Extension to existing Provider Declaration 2016/2017 (Existing FE
Providers Only)
- FREE training – happening NOW!
- Online Portal Workshop
- Reminder: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
- Neglect Training Needs Analysis – Have your Say Survey
- Thinking of becoming an Early Years Teacher?
Wednesday 8 March 2017
- Indicative Budgets Advance Notice – existing FE providers only
- Extension to existing Provider Declaration 2016/2017 – existing FE
providers only
- Inclusion Funding – Spring Term Claims
- Free Entitlement Summer Term Estimates – reminder now open
- Department for Education releases Frequently Asked Questions on 30 Hours Childcare Entitlement
- You asked, we listened: New vacancy form opens this week
- Update your staff list now and avoid the rush
- Safer Sleep Week 13-19 March
Wednesday 1st March 2017
- Additional 'Introduction to Child Protection' Courses
- Makaton Foundation Workshop for Professionals
- Proposal for Tooth brushing in Early Years Settings in West Sussex
Wednesday 22 February 2017
- Free Entitlement Spring term actuals payments – advance notice
- Free Entitlement Summer Term Estimates – now open
- Inclusion Funding - Spring Term claims
- Staff Module – Frequently Asked Questions
- Additional Child Protection Refresher Courses
- Scheduled Expression of Interest Courses
- Child Protection and Safeguarding Training Pathways
- Purchase Left at Business Conference
- West Sussex Safeguarding Children's Board Survey
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