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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Tuesday 10 November 2020
Reminder - this week's DfE data capture
This week's DfE data capture for the numbers of children currently accessing early years provision is open now, and will close at the end of Wednesday (midnight). Please use this link to complete your return.
Actions for early years and childcare providers during the COVID-19 outbreak
This guidance was updated on 5 November 2020 to reflect the new national restrictions which are now in place. Please ensure that you read this with the guidance for the New National Restrictions, so you are clear on how these new restrictions will impact on your setting .
The main changes to the guidance are as follows:
- made format changes to make information easier to find
- added information on:
- the use and disposal of face coverings (section 3)
- supervised toothbrushing programmes (section 3)
- local COVID alert levels and tiers of restriction (section 3)
- music, dance and drama (section 3)
- maximising use of sites and ventilation within settings (section 3)
- reopening of buildings (section 3)
- journeys, such as pick-ups and drop offs (section 3)
- attending more than one setting (section 3)
- a child with symptoms attending a setting (section 3)
- pregnant women (section 3)
- visitors to settings, including new admissions and settling in (section 3)
- use of outdoor private and public spaces (section 5)
- informal childcare (section 5)
- supporting children’s and staff wellbeing (section 6)
- new SEND legislation (section 6)
- EYFS disapplications ending on 25 September 2020 (section 7)
- emergency first aid (section 7)
- the Job Retention Bonus scheme (section 10)
- amended wording on:
- employer health and safety and equalities duties (section 3)
- staff who are clinically extremely vulnerable (section 3)
- children who are shielding or self-isolating (section 4)
- safeguarding (section 6)
- added an additional paragraph on managing COVID-19 cases (section 8)
- updated information on funding (section 10)
Support for Vulnerable Children during COVID-19 restrictions
In the previous COVID-19 restrictions, Early Help put in a system of measures to monitor and support vulnerable children in early years. During the current restrictions, the expectation is that all children will continue to attend early years provision and schools so we will not be putting in place the same measures. However, we want to ensure that vulnerable children are still supported and that relevant professionals are aware if a child is not currently attending.
Please continue with your usual safeguarding practice, including contacting MASH if you have significant safeguarding concerns.
- If a child who usually attends your setting is known to social care and not currently attending, please contact the child's social worker to notify them of the non-attendance.
- If a child who usually attends your setting is known to Early Help and not currently attending, please contact the Lead Worker to notify them of the non-attendance.
- If a child with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) who usually attends your setting is not currently attending, you will need to review the provision being offered with the child's family and share the completed Analysis of EHCP provision document with SENAT.
If you are having difficulty contacting professionals or completing the provision analysis, please contact your Early Years and Childcare Adviser.
Professionals Visiting Early Years Setting during COVID-19 restrictions
Government guidance has asked settings to reduce visits to setting to those that are absolutely necessary. During this time, professionals supporting children and families are continuing to make visits where needed and where it is safe to do so. We recommend that if professionals are asking to visit your setting, that you follow your risk assessment process and allow them to attend when it is appropriate and the visit can be made safely. This is important to ensure that children who are already vulnerable are not additionally disadvantaged during the current COVID-19 response measures.
All health staff will be wearing PPE in accordance with their organisation's guidance and follow their Infection Prevention Control measures. They will be happy to share copies of their risk assessments with you.
Foundation Years - COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
This document produced by Foundation Years answers the FAQs from the early years sector on the national restrictions. These answers have been checked with the Department for Education and cover:
- attending more than one setting,
- outdoor learning,
- visits to early years settings,
- EYFS disapplications and Paediatric First Aid,
- safety measures in settings,
- funding and financial support, and more.
If you have any further questions, please submit these to foundationyears@ncb.org.uk.
Free Entitlement Spring term Estimates
The Online Provider Portal will open Wednesday 11 November 2020 for you to submit your Spring term estimates for Free Entitlement (FE) for 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
- Headcount Day for Spring term is 21 January 2021.
- Deadline for estimate submissions is 27 November 2020.
View our quick and easy Estimate video guide, alternatively, you can refer to the Estimate help guide PDF version. Please refer to broadcast update 96 for information regarding closures due to COVID-19 and the potential impact on funding. If you have any questions, please email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk or phone the Family Information Service on 01243 777807.
Autumn term 2020 additional payments
As previously communicated in broadcast update 97, West Sussex County Council is making additional payments to take account of the potential impact on take up of places due to COVID-19, during Autumn term 2020. To see if your setting is eligible read further information regarding how this has been calculated. Where a setting has an outstanding negative balance, the amount will be deducted from any additional payment due.
Eligible settings can expect to receive this additional payment week commencing 23 November 2020, and this will be paid as an adjustment to the Autumn term 2020. Once payments are processed (after Friday 20 November 2020) you can login to the Online Provider Portal and view the adjustment amount via the Autumn term summary page. Please refer to the Actuals guidance available at www.westsussex.gov.uk/ecsportal.
Starting School Questionnaire
Thank you for your support with sharing the Starting School Questionnaire with your families. You should be getting copies of the completed questionnaires from families with children due to start school in September 2021 who attend your setting. If you have not yet received these from any families, please speak to families in case they need help to complete the online questionnaire.
From the completed questionnaires, there may be some issues identified that you can support the family with yourself. If there are issues that you feel unable to deal with, please contact a relevant professional or contact your Early Years and Childcare Adviser to discuss next steps.
Please make sure that families are aware that they need to complete a school application, by 15 January 2021, in addition to completing the questionnaire. If there are any questions that the family have asked about the school admissions process that you cannot answer, please refer to the information on the website or email the Pupil Admissions Team: admissions.north@westsussex.gov.uk, admissions.south@westsussex.gov.uk, or call 033 301 42903.
Need safeguarding training?
Safeguarding and Child Protection for Early Years and Childcare Practitioners Webinar £25: for practitioners who have not attended a safeguarding course previously, this course is an introduction to the subject and how to act on concerns.
- Tuesday 19 January 2021, 9.30am to 2.30pm, EYT 21/292
Safeguarding and Child Protection in Early Years Refresher Webinar £15: for practitioners who have previously attended a full day safeguarding training.
- Saturday 14 November, 9.30am to 12.00pm, EYT 20/2039, only 8 places
- Tuesday 24 November, 9.30am to 12.00pm, EYT 20/1934, only 6 places
Please log onto the Learning and Development Gateway and search for the course code to book and pay by card.
Opportunity to take part in a funded research project
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) are looking for 1,160 schools and nurseries to take part in EEF-funded projects aiming to help tackle the disadvantage gap, including:
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Impact of Covid-19 on primary school starters - assessing the impact of the closure of early years settings on pupil outcomes in Reception. The deadline to apply is 30 November.
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Maths Champions - improving the maths skills of children in early years settings by training Maths Champions within the setting. The deadline to apply is 31 May 2021.
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.
In the event of your setting having a confirmed COVID-19 case, if Public Health have stated you must close for any period of time you must inform the Family Information Service. However, if Public Heath have not explicitly stated in correspondence to you that the setting must close, we would expect you to make contact with your Early Years and Childcare Adviser (EYCA) to talk through your circumstances, where possible, before making the decision to close the setting. If you are not able to make immediate contact with your EYCA then please email your nearest Early Help Hub using the following email addresses:
Where there are not clearly evidenced reasons why the setting had no option to close, there could be implications for funding received as per the government guidance.
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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#102 (National restrictions, out of school activities/wraparound care, guidance clarification, furlough, Ofsted update, notice of IT maintenance, additional webinars)
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#101 (National restrictions, changes to how we collect sufficiency data, termly updates reminder, new webinars)
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#100 (Heating and ventilation, and pedagogical leadership webinar)
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#99 (EYPARM Outcomes, supporting children with self-regulation, WSSCP newsletter)
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EYC Special Broadcast 23/10 - 'Managing Confirmed Cases of COVID-19' Update
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:
- 11 Nov - Spring Term FE Estimates submissions open
- 13-15 Nov - Online Provider Portal downtime (planned maintenance)
- 27 Nov - Spring Term FE Estimates submissions close
- 07 Dec - Spring Term FE Estimates submissions payment expected
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