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 22 April 2021
Advance notice - next week's DfE data capture
Next week's Department for Education 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.
Local Offer information
We recently updated the Local Offer information that we request via the Termly Update form which you submit at least once per term.
Through a recent national parental survey, it has been identified that the parents and carers of children with additional needs are asking for a greater level of information on childcare provision than what is currently held. We therefore ask that you update the following areas within the Local Offer Section of the Termly Provider Update form.
The seven headings we are using for Area of Experience are:
- SEND Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- SEND Communication and Interaction
- SEND Cognition and Learning
- SEND Health/Medical needs
- SEND Physical Needs
- SEND Sensory Needs
- SEND Development Delay
In addition, please provide details of any relevant training that has been undertaken within the past seven years as well as any experience that you/your setting have had within each SEND area. The full guidance can be found within the Local Offer section of the Termly Update form.
The deadline for you to update your Local Offer information is Friday 28 May 2021.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Update
An update was made to the EYFS on 20 April as inspections of early years providers resume on 4 May. The disapplications to the EYFS profile are in force (and no longer subject to parliamentary approval), and paediatric first aid practitioners must attend requalification training to renew expired certificates. For more information, please read the guidance on the government website .
Ofsted Update
The Early years inspection handbook was updated on 19 April. To see what has changed, please refer to the summary of changes.
The Foundation Stage Forum Subscription and Tapestry discount
As you will be aware, for a number of years, West Sussex have subscribed to The Foundation Stage Forum which is intended to be used by settings accessing Tapestry as an online learning journal. This has meant that schools and settings have access to the forum and also receive a discount towards their individual costs.
We know that a number of schools and settings make good use of Tapestry as an online learning journal to support assessment. It has been particularly well used by some schools and settings during the pandemic to support remote learning.
However, the Foundation Stage Forum itself is not well used by settings and West Sussex do not use it as a platform for communications and the sharing of practice. The Education and Skills Directorate will continue to develop the use of West Sussex Services for Schools and the Childcare and Early Education site for these purposes.
Therefore, we have taken the decision not to continue with the West Sussex Foundation Stage Forum subscription this year. Schools and settings will still be able to subscribe to Tapestry, but they will no longer receive a discount.
Tools for Schools and Settings
The Tools for Schools and Settings website has a range of materials to support you in planning for and meeting the needs of children in your setting. The resources are regularly updated and added to, with regular blogs from experts, including a recent one about children being ready for writing.
Need to refresh your Paediatric First Aid?
We have 18 new dates available for Paediatric First Aid Blended Learning in Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex, Chichester and Worthing. More dates will be added in Arun when venues open. Each course costs £60 and includes a full day of online learning and a full day of face to face learning in a venue. For more details and to book, search for Paediatric First Aid Blended Learning on the Learning and Development Gateway.
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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#146 (DfE data capture, final chance to apply for COMF, COVID-19 last public health webinar, FE summer term actuals, extended FE claims, school transitions Sept'21, CM conference - superhero play)
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#145 (COMF, updated EY guidance, updated OOS guidance, new Parent Declaration form, paediatric first aid)
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#144 (twice-weekly rapid testing, childminder virtual conference)
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#143 (COMF reminder, final EYFS published, recovery and renewal survey reminder, summer term childminder network, online learning)
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#142 (SEND under 5's support process, COMF round 2)
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:
- 21 Apr - Summer term Actuals submissions open (FE providers)
- 6 May - Free Entitlement Summer term 'headcount day'
- 15 May - Childminder Virtual Conference
- 21 May - Summer term Actuals submissions close (FE providers)
- 16 Jun - Autumn term Estimate submissions open (FE providers)
- w/c 21 Jun - Summer term Actuals payments expected (FE providers)
- 2 Jul - Autumn term Estimate submissions close (FE providers)
- w/c 12 Jul - Autumn term Estimate payments expected (FE providers)
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