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Broadcast for Early Years and childcare providers in West Sussex from West Sussex County Council - Early Help Service
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Thursday 3 June 2021
Advance notice - DfE data capture required next week
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.
Changes to childminder testing process
Following feedback on the registration and uploading process since March, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS Test and Trace have been working to identify ways to make it easier for childminders to identify their profession when recording results on the NHS COVID-19 test results portal.
The changes have come into effect from 2 June and are designed to allow the DHSC to monitor more clearly the effectiveness of the testing programme and identify any areas or groups within the early years childcare system that are not engaging in testing, so they can identify potential barriers. Childminders need to follow the process detailed for each completed asymptomatic LFD rapid test.
Instructions on how childminders can access testing kits remains unchanged and can be found on the gov.uk webpage. If you have any questions about this change, please contact the Department for Education Coronavirus Helpdesk.
Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers 2021
We are aware that some early years providers have been contacted to take part in a telephone survey by the Department for Education (DfE). We would like to confirm that this contact is part of the Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers 2021 and is a legitimate request that has been issued on behalf of the DfE. The DfE have commissioned an independent research contractor (NatCen) to carry out the survey fieldwork. This research is very important to the DfE and providers’ participation would be extremely valuable, but is entirely voluntary.
When contacting school-based and group-based providers they do aim to limit calls to business hours unless an appointment outside of those times has been agreed, but we appreciate that this hasn’t always been the experience of some settings. If interviewers do call at a time that is not convenient for you, they are happy to call back at a time that suits respondents.
New suite of child development courses
The ‘What it means to be me’ suite of three taster webinars provide a basic underpinning knowledge of child development for each of the three key phases. They are booked separately but offered on the same date so you can study them individually or complete all three, like a full day course. In each you will explore appropriate experiences indoors and out, that offer physical and emotional challenge and support all areas of development. They are suitable for those new or returning to early years, practitioners moving rooms or those who wish to enhance their child development knowledge. The cost is £15 per course. To book, search for the course code on the Learning and Development Gateway. If you have any questions, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk.
What it means to be me - Infant (0-2 years) (Taster webinar)
- Friday 25 June - 9.30am to 11.00am - EYT 21/1778
- Saturday 13 November - 9.30am to 11.00am - EYT 21/1870
- Tuesday 08 February - 7.00pm - 8.30pm - EYT 22/160
What it means to be me - Toddler (2-3 years) (Taster webinar)
- Friday 25 June - 11.00am to 12.30pm - EYT 21/1777
- Saturday 13 November - 11.00am to 12.30pm - EYT 21/1871
- Tuesday 15 February - 7.00pm to 8.30pm - EYT 22/161
What it means to be me - Pre-schooler (3-4 years) (Taster webinar)
- Friday 25 June - 1.30pm to 3.00pm - EYT 21/1778
- Saturday 13 November - 1.30pm to 3.00pm - EYT 21/1872
- Thursday 03 March - 7.00pm to 8.30pm - EYT 22/162
All early years providers must follow a new reformed EYFS framework from September 2021. View the new framework and how the changes affect you.
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.
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:
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#158 (No DfE data capture this week, new course - ready, willing and able)
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#157 (Celebration of Inclusion month, new courses for practitioners working with under 2's)
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#156 (DfE data capture, infant mental health awareness week, a look at dynamic displays, roll out the role play)
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#155 (protective measures for out of school providers, advance warning Holiday Activities and Food programme, FE summer term actuals final reminder, process for FE starters between 10-21 May, Makaton training)
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#154 (COMF update, preparing for the introduction of EYFS reforms, the role of the INCO, graduates in early years research, free traumatic bereavement resources)
- 21 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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