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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Thursday 1 October 2020
Please note we are reissuing this broadcast due to a technical problem with the email templates for the School Readiness Questionnaire. We apologise for any inconvenience cause.
Advance notice - next week's DfE data capture
Next week's DfE data capture for the numbers of children currently accessing early years provision will be open from Monday, and will close at the end of Wednesday (midnight). Please use this link to complete your return.
SEND Consultation Reminder
In setting update #90 (24 September) we shared information about our early years SEND Consultation. Please take a look at the proposals and give your feedback through the online survey. You may also wish to share this information with families in your setting and in your local area so they can also have their say.
School Readiness Integrated Review
The school applications and the Starting School Questionnaire both open for families to complete on 5 October 2020. On or after that date, please share with relevant families, information about applying for a school place and completing the Starting School Questionnaire.
This year, the Starting School Questionnaire will be completed by parents online. Please use the template email below to send to all families with children in your setting born between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2017 and therefore due to start school in September 2021. In order for you to see the responses from the parents, the parents will need to identify which setting their child attends using the setting address, so it is important that you add this information to the template email (where indicated in red) before sending to families. This will enable the completed forms to be sent to your setting email address, in an automated way. Please note, we have used the address and email that we hold on our records for your setting. This is usually the same as on your Ofsted registration.
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Template email for Microsoft Outlook (opens in a new email)
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Text only (for copying and pasting into other email programs)
Please ask parents to complete the questionnaire by 30 October 2020 if possible. The questionnaire will remain open beyond this date for any families who have not yet responded. We would encourage you to monitor the completion of forms and follow up with any families who have not completed them as well as checking that they have applied for a school place before the deadline of Friday 15 January 2021.
Once they have received the completed questionnaires, a practitioner from the Healthy Child Programme team may contact you to discuss any health issues raised by families and how support will be provided to them. Where appropriate, they may also contact families directly to discuss any issues raised.
At your Early Help Consultation with an Early Years and Childcare Advisor (EYCA) in the upcoming spring term, your EYCA will discuss with you the children in your setting who are due to start school in September 2021 and collect your EYFS assessment data for these children.
Full details can be found in the updated guidance on our website.
Christmas already?
Prepare for the festive season with our new Enable Children ‘A Look at Christmas Crafts - Mass Production or Creativity?' webinar. This timely and stimulating session will prompt you to think about how and why children might go about making cards and craft items for Christmas and other festivals. Best practice examples and hands-on activities will support understanding of what works best to meet children’s needs whilst avoiding the “production line” approach and dealing with expectations from parents or colleagues. Cost £15. Log onto the Learning and Development Gateway to book and pay.
Wednesday 21 October 1.30pm to 3.00pm - EYT 21/353
Wednesday 21 October 7.00pm to 8.30pm - EYT 20/2531
Please inform the Family Information Service if your current operating status changes. Email family.info.service@westsussex.gov.uk and include your setting name, Ofsted URN, the date you intend to close/open, and any changes to your operating hours. If you inform us of re-opening, you will be reinstated on the public list and appear on our website www.westsussex.gov.uk/fis.
If you have not been able to open at this time, you should already have submitted a COVID-19 Recovery Plan and sent a copy by email to the FIS. This is so that we can look at the barriers you have identified and support you to re-open as soon as practicable. If we have not received your plan, you will be contacted by your EYCA to support you further.
All providers please complete a short online survey, once a week. The link to the survey is different each time. A link will be provided in each Thursday update for the following week, and the survey will be open for three full days each week from Monday to Wednesday, closing at midnight on the Wednesday. The latest link to the survey is also available on our website.
If a family you know are struggling to ensure they have food for their family, collect medication, or are in need of any additional support, contact West Sussex County Council Community hub.
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#91 (Updated PHE flowchart, EYFS disapplications, job support scheme, legal duty to self-isolate, lockdown lessons, freepost address, Yoopies warning)
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#90 (SEND consultation, updated guidance, FE Actuals, 30 hours code issue reminder, childminders and self-isolation, Networks, attachment and trauma training)
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#89 (Early years healthy development consultation)
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#88 (Reporting of positive COVID-19 cases update, Fever following immunisations, testing kits, Translations of COVID-19 parent information, Risk assessments for children with EHCPs, 30 hrs codes, Training for managers)
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#87 (FE Actuals, Hands, Space, Face campaign, Rule of Six, Responding to COVID-19 symptoms, Risk Assessments, Ofsted Inspections, Makaton Training
We have a range of online training available for you to access for your staff to ensure they have the most up to date information to support them in their role:
- w/c 19 Oct - FE Actuals payment expected
- 11 Nov - Spring Term FE Estimates submissions open
- 27 Nov - Spring Term FE Estimates submissions close
- 07 Dec - Spring Term FE Estimates submissions payment expected
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