The West Sussex approach puts the child first. We work with children, families, communities, our partners and schools in a restorative, strength based way. Strong relationships are at the heart of what we do.
Broadcast for Early Years and childcare providers in West Sussex from West Sussex County Council - Early Help Service
Difficulty viewing this bulletin? Click here to view in your browser.
Tuesday 13 July 2021
DfE data capture
Please note this data is now collected fortnightly. Therefore the next collection will be on week commencing 19 July 2021.
A message from Alison Challenger, Director of Public Health, West Sussex County Council to early years and childcare providers
In the line of the recent policy changes by the Government, I wanted to send a short note to give my personal support, as Director of Public Health, for you to continue with any mitigation approaches you feel necessary following the easing of restrictions at Step 4 of the roadmap from 19 July.
As we move to a ‘personal responsibility’ policy approach, setting managers are best placed to make decisions on what is best for your setting populations. This would be in line with your individual risk assessments and taking into account factors such as the prevalence of COVID-19 in their local area and whether you have any cases in the setting. If you have a positive case, for example, or are concerned about community spread, and wish to maintain bubbles within your setting I would be fully supportive of this decision. It is important to note that cases are going up in all areas of West Sussex, and are rising in young people in particular.
If you have any comments or concerns please flag these via the family.info.service@westsussex.gov.uk. I want to express my thanks once again for all the work that you are doing in such difficult circumstances.
Early Years and Childcare Provider Survey – Summer 2021
We have been incredibly proud of the work carried out by West Sussex Early Years and Childcare providers over the last year and would like to build on this moving forward into the 2021/22 academic year.
As part of our ongoing commitment to support providers, and in order to ensure we fulfil our statutory duties, the Early Years and Childcare Team are carrying out a survey to help identify the current strengths and challenges within the sector. This will allow us to identify the areas where we can focus our support, in order to make the biggest impact.
Your views are extremely important to us and the responses will be used to shape the training and support, including information, advice and guidance, going forward.
This survey can be completed online and will remain open until 31 August 2021 to allow as many settings as possible to complete this.
Free Entitlement (FE) Autumn term Estimate payments
Thank you for submitting your Autumn term FE Estimate claims. For all submissions that met the deadline, please expect payments to reach your account at any point this week (week commencing 12 July 2021).
You can log back on to the Online Provider Portal to view your payment summary. Please refer to the Estimate Help Guide for step by step guidance on how to do this. Please note that we will request your Autumn actuals data in September and further details will be in a future Setting update.
If you have any questions, please email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk or phone the Family Information Service on 01243 777807.
Letter from Ministers
Vicky Ford, Minister for Children and Families and Jo Churchill, Minister for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care have written an open letter to all early years providers which pulls together some important advice and guidance on support for children’s health and wellbeing.
New food safety resource
Tragically, a child dies in the UK every month from choking and hundreds more require hospital treatment. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework requires providers to take all necessary steps to keep children safe and well. Early years practitioners must be confident that those responsible for preparing and handling food in their setting are competent to do so.
To support this, the Department for Education have developed a new food safety resource on the 'Help for Early Years Providers' service with advice on safe weaning, foods to avoid, how to prepare food safely to avoid choking and preparing food hygienically.
The new service is currently in a testing phase and is subject to change following user feedback. Further content is planned to be added to the website over time with additional content to be decided based on user feedback. You can provide feedback by completing this survey.
Enhance your practice by learning Makaton
Makaton Taster is a fun, introductory level course in which you will learn useful signs and symbols to use within your setting. You will receive a handout to support your learning. The cost is £30 per place. 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.
- Saturday 18 September – 9.30am to 12.00pm - EYT 21/1540
- Wednesday 20 October - 9.30am to 12.00pm - EYT 21/1541
- Tuesday 11 January - 7.00pm to 9.30pm - EYT 22/114
- Wednesday 16 February - 9.30am to 12.00pm - EYT 22/115
All early years providers must follow a new reformed EYFS framework from September 2021. View the new framework and how the changes affect you.
The West Sussex Learning Journal materials have been updated to reflect the changes to the EYFS from September 2021 and are available on our website.
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:
-
#169 (Removal of bubbles in settings, help with HAF venues, 30 hour code deadline reminder, FE leaflets, new virtual webinars for 2021/22)
-
#168 (DfE data capture, get ready for changes to EYFS - new DfE service, last chance to book)
-
#167 (DfE data capture, changes to furlough, FE deadline tomorrow, early years project for schools and settings, revised learning journal, SEND newsletter, last paediatric first aid this term)
-
#166 (DfE data capture, clarification on testing and self-isolation, EYFS disapplications, free SENCO training, supporting children's creativity, confidence and progress)
-
#165 (PCR tests for close contacts, COVID-19 contingency framework, HAF funding may still be available, SEND under 5's, enhance your nurturing techniques)
- w/c 12 Jul - Autumn term Estimate payments expected (FE providers)
- 1 Sep - Autumn term Actuals submissions open (FE providers)
- 1 Sep - New EYFS framework effective
- 16 Sep - Autumn term headcount day (FE providers)
- 24 Sep - Autumn term Actuals submissions close (FE providers)
- w/c 18 Oct - Autumn term Actuals payments expected (FE providers)
- 8 Nov - Spring term Estimate submissions open (FE providers)
- 22 Nov - Spring term Estimate submissions close (FE providers)
- w/c 6 Dec - Spring term Estimate payments expected (FE providers)
| 
