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 3 December 2020
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.
Save the date - Public Health seminars
To support early years providers to manage cases of COVID-19 and to reduce the risk of outbreaks within their setting, our local public health team are hosting a number of small group seminars for up to 15 leaders and managers of early years settings. These webinars will provide the chance to raise issues and ask questions as well as to share good practice between providers.
These webinars are available to book via the Learning and Development Gateway using the following links:
Update your sufficiency data now
In Setting Update 101 on 3 November we explained how we collect the data on places and vacancies was changing.
All providers must complete this return by the 31 December 2020.
This does not need to wait until the end of term and can be done at any point before the deadline.
You can find guidance on how to access and complete this here.
Note: this is our normal sufficiency monitoring process and will not replace the information we currently ask you for as part of the COVID-19 response on behalf of the Department for Education, which requires weekly detailed information on the breakdown of the children currently attending. We thank you for your continued support in sharing this information.
IT maintenance - Monday 7 December
Essential maintenance has been scheduled from 8.00am on Monday 7 December. We anticipate that the work should be completed over the course of the morning only but will affect the following:
- Online Provider Portal (OPP)
- Family Information Service website (parents searching for childcare)
- 2 year old Free Entitlement applications (parents applying for funding)
Please refrain from trying to submit any updates such as Sufficiency information or Termly Updates, during this time.
Department for Education (DfE) research into the early years sector
The DfE have published new research, working alongside the National Centre for Social Research, in the field of early years.
Ofsted research into the impact of COVID-19 on early years providers and vulnerable children
Ofsted recently published a briefing on early years after carrying out a programme of research interviews with early years providers.
They have also published a report examining the current state of early years provision, how children have been affected by the first national restrictions, how providers are planning to maintain standards during the pandemic and how financially stable the sector is. The Chief Inspector of Education and Children’s Social Care has warned that the invisibility of vulnerable children as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic should be a matter of national concern.
Makaton Foundation training - two new dates due to popular demand
In these certified Makaton Foundation webinars, you’ll learn signs and symbols such as greetings, family roles, and food and drink. Makaton is designed to bolster the development of spoken language, so is suitable to support children with communication delays or difficulties.
- Makaton Foundation Level 1 Webinar Monday/Tuesday 25 and 26 January 09.30am to 12.30pm EYT 21/592
- Makaton Foundation Level 2 Webinar Monday/Tuesday 8 and 9 February 09.30am to 12:30pm EYT 21/593
Each level costs £59. Log onto the Learning and Development Gateway and search for the course code to book and pay by card.
Postgraduate Certificate Early Years Education with Early Years Teacher Status
Would you like to achieve Early Years Teacher Status? Would you also like to achieve a Postgraduate Certificate in Early Years Education with the potential to progress onto further Masters level study? If so, then contact the University of Brighton as they would love to tell you all about their programme and how they can support you in your professional development in Early Years.
With an alumni of over 360 successful trainees they have an excellent network of Early Years professionals who continue to enjoy CPD opportunities organised by their Early Years Department post-training. If you are interested in becoming a confident and reflective Early Years teacher, with a genuine passion for making a difference in children’s lives and supporting their families then they would love to hear from you. Further information can be found on their website or this flyer. If you have any questions please email EYITT@brighton.ac.uk for more information.
Please inform the Family Information Service if your setting needs to close or is re-opening. 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 closing due to COVID-19 please ensure you read and follow all the steps in the PHE South East Health Protection Team ' Managing Suspected and Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Early Years and Childcare settings' flowchart.
In the event of your setting having a confirmed COVID-19 case, if Public Health or the Department for Education 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.
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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#109 (Updated guidance, contingency framework, OOS guidance, planning for Spring 21 FE, transitions survey, future EY training programme, celebrating inclusion)
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#108 (Public health seminars, FE spring term estimate deadline tomorrow, autumn additional payments, spring term 30hr deadline reminder, safeguarding webinar)
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#107 (IT maintenance, Foundation Years FAQs, Attachment and Trauma webinar)
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#106 (Advance notice of IT maintenance, FE spring term estimates, reminder to submit sufficiency data)
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#105 (Clarifying guidance, Ofsted inspections, heating and ventilation, aerosol generated procedures guidance, world nursery rhyme week)
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 07 Dec - Spring Term FE Estimates submissions payment expected
- 31 Dec - Deadline for Sufficiency information for Autumn 2020
- 04 Jan - Annual Census submissions open (mandatory for FE providers)
- 04 Jan - Spring Term FE Actuals submissions open
- 21 Jan - Spring FE headcount day
- 29 Jan - Annual Census submissions close
- 29 Jan - Spring Term FE Actuals submissions close
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