With you, with the child. Every step of the way.
Broadcast for Early Years and childcare providers in West Sussex from West Sussex County Council - Early Help Service
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Friday 17 April 2020
As we go into the last day of the school holidays we'd just like to say another thank you to those of you who have been working over the Easter break to support the children of key workers and vulnerable children. Hopefully you have been able to have fun while you provide the excellent care for the children who have needed to attend over the holidays. A particular thank you to those of you who would not normally work in school holidays but have made the decision to work so that you can support the COVID-19 response.
We'd also like to thank you for the creative ways you are keeping in touch with families whose children are not attending at the moment and identifying families that need a bit of extra help.
Lockdown Extension
Last night, the government confirmed that the current lockdown measures will continue for at least another three weeks. Although this doesn't come as a surprise, it may be a time when some of us struggle with adjusting to this new normal with no definite end date to work towards. The best we can do is to be kind and support one another. Let's all keep caring and carry on.
Vulnerable children and children of critical workers survey
This is a reminder that the Friday survey is now open for you to complete today before midnight:
The survey links change each time the survey runs, so please ensure you use the correct link provided in the broadcast.
Celebrating your fantastic work
Without the Early Years and Childcare sector, many of the critical workers needed to keep us safe wouldn't be able to work. In addition to staying open to support these families, we would really like to use this broadcast to share some amazing things that are going on around the county to support the COVID-19 response.
- Jack and Jill Pre-School in Horsham have not only stayed open to support vulnerable families but have extended their level of support through their FareShare project. Last week alone, they delivered 75 food parcels to vulnerable families, every one of them containing an Easter egg to help celebrate the Easter weekend. Great effort to all at Jack & Jill.
- Playmates Pre-School in Horsham have recently cleared out all of their supplies of disposable gloves and aprons and donated these to the nearest hospital who were desperate for PPE supplies. Excellent work.
- Brookfield Day Nursery provided a member of staff to support a child with SEND to settle at a new setting, Willow Tree, when the child couldn't remain with them. The settings are working together to meet the needs of the child during this time. It's great to hear about settings working in partnership and putting the child first.
We have also heard about other settings who have been:
- Having FaceTime sessions with children and their key workers to chat, read stories and share resources.
- Taking toy bags to children's homes with ideas of activities for parents to do with their child and then collecting, cleaning and redistributing to other families.
- Setting up a YouTube site for children to access.
- Weekly shopping for lone parents who have been struggling to get out.
- Using Tapestry with families so they can share what the children are doing at home.
Thank you so much to all of you who are going above and beyond to support the families in your local area and ensure the children continue to have support in these critical early years even while there is restricted contact. What you are doing is so important and will make such a difference to how young children look back on this unusual time in their lives.
We are sure there are many more of these types of stories, so please keep sharing with us all the wonderful things that are happening around the county so we can share and celebrate these. We'd be interested to hear of any creative ways you are using your EYPP to support children who are not currently attending your setting to enable them to maximise their learning opportunities while they are at home. Please send your ideas to family.info.service@westsussex.gov.uk
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - including links to Gov.UK information
Please note: This week we are reviewing our FAQs and streamlining the document to make it easier for you to use, and will publish the new document when ready. We may update existing FAQs but will not be adding new ones. You can still submit any new questions you have for us by email family.info.service@westsussex.gov.uk, adding COVID-19 setting query to the subject line.
Please ensure that you additionally refer to the latest Government FAQs on Gov.UK
Reminder: Data capture survey required every Wednesday and Friday
All providers please complete a short online survey, twice a week, every Wednesday and Friday. The link to the survey is different each time. A link will be provided in the morning broadcast on each of the days it is required. Each survey will only be open on the day it is required, and will close at midnight.
Links to our most recent COVID-19 setting updates:
16/4 Update 22 (Starting school offers, furlough eligibility change)
15/4 Update 21 (update on keeping staff safe, employment and furloughing)
14/4 Update 20 (clarification on survey about vulnerable children and children of critical workers)
9/4 Update 19 (childminders to support delivery of childcare, and support for vulnerable families)
8/4 Update 18 (Furloughing of staff and updating FIS)
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