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Wednesday 12 April 2017
1. Summer term Estimate payments and Provider declaration
2016-17 extension (FE Providers Only)
Please be advised that Summer term
Estimate payments were released w/c 3 April to all Free Entitlement
settings who have claimed and returned the Provider Declaration 2016-17
extension form.
Unfortunately we cannot release
payment until we have received your signed Provider Declaration via the
Online Provider Portal. You
may receive a phone call from us if this form is still outstanding.
The
Provider Declaration confirms you are signed up to deliver Free
Entitlement. We are asking you to return the form as the current one
expired end of March 2017. We have extended it (with no changes) to cover
the period to end of August 2017.
The
Online Provider Portal is still open for all existing Free Entitlement (FE) providers to complete the FE
Provider Declaration. Please refer to the previous broadcast dated 8 March
2017 for the important information and guidance.
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.
2. 30
Hours Childcare Business
Toolkit: live and available now!
Developed
in conjunction with childcare settings across West Sussex to support you to
prepare for the implementation of the 30 hours, the Childcare Business Toolkit is available to access now at: www.westsussex.gov.uk/ecsbusiness
As part of
the toolkit you can read 30 hour project development case studies from the
Early Years Innovator settings. These are a work in progress and case study
updates will be coming as the year goes on.
Subjects covered
in the toolkit are:
- Business
Guidance
- Case
Studies
- Consultation
- HR
- Legal
Structures
- Raising
Finance
- Partnership
working
- Tax
Free Childcare
Get free
tools and advice – click on the toolkit today!
3. Department for Education (DfE) offers childminder
start-up grants for 30 hours
Newly
registered childminders and childminder agencies can apply for grants of up to
£1,000, if they are planning to offer the Government’s funded 30-hour childcare
places.
The DfE has
re-launched its Childcare
Business Grant Scheme,
which is designed to help new childminders and childminder agencies to enter
the childcare market.
To be
eligible, new providers must be planning to offer the 30 hours for three- and
four-year-olds, or be in partnership with a childcare provider that does.
If they are
a childminder agency, they must be directly encouraging and supporting the registered
childminders on their books to offer the 30 hours, either themselves or working
with others.
There are
three types of grants available:
- a £500 grant for an early years
childminder or childcare provider on domestic premises
- a £1,000 grant for an early
years childminder or childcare provider on domestic premises of children
with special educational needs and disability (SEND)
- a £1,000 grant for a
Childminder Agency (CMA)
The
Childcare Business Grants Scheme is funded by the Department for Education. There
is a fixed amount of funding available. The scheme is due to end by 31 March
2018, or earlier if all the funding has been awarded.
The
business grant must be used for costs directly related to setting up the
childminding business, and childminders must retain proof of how they have
spent the grant.
Businesses
cannot apply if they have previously been awarded funding as part of the
previous Childcare Business Grants scheme, unless they are now applying as a
CMA.
Businesses
cannot be a private nursery, after school club or other type of provider.
Further
information about the scheme is available here.
4. New Rates for National Minimum Wage and National
Living Wage
New rates for the National Minimum Wage
(NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) apply from 1 April 2017:
Apprentice: £3.50
Under 18: £4.05
18 to 20: £5.60
21 to 24: £7.05
25 and over: £7.50 (NLW)
Most workers over school leaving age are entitled to NMW or NLW. Apprentices
aged 19 or over are entitled to the usual NMW for their age after the first
year of their apprenticeship.
The new rates apply for pay periods starting on or after 1 April 2017. If you
are an employer, it is important to make sure you are paying the right wage –
if you do not, you could be subject to cash fines up to £20,000 per employee
and other penalties.
For more information about NMW and NLW:
https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
Guide to who should receive NMW and NLW:
https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage/who-gets-the-minimum-wage
5. Nurseries share 'Awards for All' funding
Nurseries
in England can apply for the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All grants of between £300 and £10,000.
Providers must be part of a community or not-for-profit group, parish or town
council, health body, or school.
Awards for
All funding is also available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Award for
All grants are paid out for grassroots and community activities that will
improve lives of local people and neighbourhoods.
There is no
deadline and people can apply at any time. Due to high demand on the programme,
smaller organisations are prioritised over groups with a high income.
Projects
need to fulfill certain criteria in order to receive funding. Projects and
activities must demonstrate how they will benefit the community in their
application.
Funding can
be awarded for:
- the
purchasing of new equipment and materials
- the
running of training courses
- the
setting up of a pilot project, special repairs or conservation work
- the
hosting of an event, activity, or performance
- expenses
for volunteers, pay for workers and professionals, and transport costs.
For more information on how to apply visit: https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/funding/awards-for-all
6. School partnerships with Childminders and
Childminder agencies – forming effective partnership models
Action for Children is
pleased to announce the next round of roadshow events specifically for
schools/maintained nursery schools and childminders/childminder agencies to
offer an opportunity to look at effective and innovative ways to work in
partnership with a particular focus on the 30 hours agenda.
These roadshow events
will look at enabling partnerships to form and develop through effective
systems and information sharing.
The audience for this
event is schools, maintained nursery schools, Childminder Agencies and
childminders who are looking at delivering the 30 hours through a
partnership approach.
Dates and timings:
Tuesday 2 May: 4 – 5.30pm for schools and 6 – 7.30pm for childminders
The Oaks Community
Infant School Gore Court Road, Sittingbourne ME10
1GL
To book your place
at this event please email:
office@northfleet-nur.kent.sch.uk FAO Charlotte Dinning
Monday 8 May: 4 – 5.30pm for schools and 6 –
7.30pm for childminders
Tanglewood Nursery
School, Melbourne Avenue, Chelmsford CM1 2DX
To book your place
at this event please email:
office@northfleet-nur.kent.sch.uk FAO Charlotte Dinning
Tuesday 9 May: 4 – 5.30pm for schools and 6 – 7.30pm for childminders
St Margaret’s Nursery
school, Margaret Road, Barnet EN4 9NT
To book your place
at this event please email:
office@northfleet-nur.kent.sch.uk FAO
Charlotte Dinning
Upcoming Key Dates
Date What's Happening?
26/04/17 FE Summer Actuals Open
11/05/17 FE Summer Headcount Day
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 5 April 2017
- Ofsted Inspections
- Course cancellation confirmation emails starting April
- (FE providers only) Free Entitlement Leaflet – latest version now
available in different languages
Wednesday 22 March 2017
- Indicative Budgets 2017/2018 are in the post - exisiting FE providers only
- Extension to existing Provider Declaration 2016/2017 - Action required by all exisitng FE Providers, otherwise Summer term payments will be affected
- Tax Free Childcare - charity run childcare providers
- We want your views on the Online Provider Portal (OPP)
- Makaton Foundation Workshop for Professionals
- Citizens Advice services in Central and South Sussex
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
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