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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 15 July 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 Government COVID-19 Guidance
The government has updated it's guidance for education and childcare providers to say:
“From 19 July, the Government is removing the requirement to wear face coverings in law but expects and recommends that they are worn in enclosed and crowded spaces where you may come into contact with people you don’t normally meet. This includes public transport and dedicated transport to school or college."
The government guidance on moving to step 4 of the roadmap states:
"The pandemic is not over. Cases are increasing rapidly and a third wave is underway. Step 4 does not mark the end of the need for caution and restraint. At step 4, while many of the legal restrictions that the Government has imposed through the pandemic will be lifted, cautious guidance will remain, making it clear this is not yet a return to normal. While cases are high and rising, everybody needs to continue to act carefully and remain cautious."
Many early years and childcare providers will be pleased that some of the restrictions that have impacted on their business and the experiences that they can offer to children have been lifted. However, we are also aware of some anxiety about the changes and the ongoing impact to staff, children and families. As you review your risk assessments in line with the updated guidance, we recommend that you involve parents as you plan the steps you will take to try and reduce the spread of the virus. It is important that parents understand the measures you take and what will happen if you have a positive case so that they are prepared.
As you will be aware, from 16 August, those who are fully vaccinated and those under 18 will no longer be required to self-isolate as a close contact and will be able to continue to attend your setting. This should have a positive impact on your staff teams and children's ability to access their early education entitlement. Those who have COVID-19 symptoms or who test positive for COVID-19 will still need to self-isolate.
Children and Young People’s Services scrutiny committee to review the next steps in redesign proposals for the Early Help service
 Changes to the Early Help redesign proposals will be taken to the scrutiny committee meeting on 20 July. 1,948 people (including 301 children and young people) responded to the 10-week public consultation which ran from 8 March to 17 May 2021 and included five online consultation events.
A number of changes are being put forward as part of the proposal. A summary of these changes are:
- To increase the number of retained centres from 11 to 12.
- To increase the ‘find it out’ offer to young people allowing for daily appointments at a location to suit the young person.
- Early Help will continue to offer some specific group work when there is an identified need.
- Dedicated staffing in Children and Family Centres will be responsible for publicising services so people know how to get the support they need.
The scrutiny committee will review the updated proposals on 20 July 2021 and will make recommendations on the proposals to help Cabinet Members in making their decision. On Tuesday 27 July 2021 Cabinet Members will meet to vote on whether to approve the Early Help service offer. If this is agreed, we anticipate that staff consultation on the proposals will begin in September with the new model being implemented in December. Full papers can be viewed here and you can view the meeting online via the live webcast.
Request for help from the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme!
Further to the broadcast article on 8 July there is still an opportunity to provide a venue or space that is not being used over the summer holidays that could be hired from you by a potential HAF provider? Or did you miss the deadline but you would still like to explore offering places to eligible children in your summer schemes? If you are interested in finding out more about HAF and how you can get involved, either offering places or venues, please email HAF@westsussex.gov.uk.
New early years Staff Wellbeing Resource
Early Years In Mind have launched a Staff Wellbeing Resource for early years practitioners. It offers practical guidance on how settings can support the mental health of their staff. The resource is for managers and teams to identify and plan for support that could make a difference to the wellbeing of nursery and preschool staff including: supporting each other, supportive management, the physical environment and outside support.
Fostering wellbeing in the early years is explored in two new courses
Roots to Resilience (half day x 2 webinar) explores innovative ways to provide quality outdoor play and learning, as well as how these support the new Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) aims in the revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Suitable for all staff and costs £50 per place.
- Wednesday 29 September and 13 October - 9.30am to 12.30pm - EYT 21/1890
Prioritising children’s wellbeing (half day webinar) explores the importance of high levels of wellbeing in the early years and how to foster this. Linked with the PSED in the revised EYFS, you will learn different strategies which impact wellbeing positively. Suitable for all staff and costs £25 per place. All times are 9.30am to 12.30pm.
- Thursday 23 September - EYT 21/1894
- Friday 15 October – EYT 21/2005
- Friday 19 November - EYT 21/1895
- Thursday 10 February 2022 - EYT 22/179
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.
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:
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#170 (Message from Director of Public Health, provider survey, FE autumn term estimate payments, letter from Ministers, new food safety resource, enhance your practice by learning Makaton)
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#169 (Removal of bubbles in settings, help with HAF venues, 30 hour code deadline reminder, FE leaflets, new virtual webinars for 2021/22)
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#168 (DfE data capture, get ready for changes to EYFS - new DfE service, last chance to book)
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#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)
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#166 (DfE data capture, clarification on testing and self-isolation, EYFS disapplications, free SENCO training, supporting children's creativity, confidence and progress)
- 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)
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