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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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Wednesday 1 September 2021
PHE South East Educational Settings Outbreak Pack updated
Public Health England (PHE) have updated the outbreak pack for education and childcare settings in the south east. The updates reflect updated Contingency Framework including updates to control measures.
COVID-19 Update - CO2 Monitors
On Friday 27 August, Protective measures for holiday or after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings for children during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was updated. The guidance now states that CO2 monitors will also be provided to all state-funded education settings from September, so staff can quickly identify where ventilation needs to be improved. Further information will be issued as monitors are rolled out.
The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that nurseries and pre-school settings will receive CO2 monitors next term, to improve ventilation and help prevent the spread of COVID-19, but Ofsted registered childminders are not included in the scheme.
Ventilation remains one of the key ways that minimise the spread of COVID-19 so it is recommended that providers consider how they can maintain good ventilation in their settings over the coming months - particularly as the weather gets cooler.
Update on Changes to Support for Early Years and Childcare Settings
We would like to let you know of some changes to the team structures within West Sussex Children’s Services.
Children’s Services have been working to secure an integrated approach to managing and supporting quality from Early Years through to Further Education. We are pleased to inform you that the Early Years team and the Education team are now working together under the same directive, therefore the services provided across the sector are now aligned.
From September the Early Years and Childcare Advisors (EYCAs) will be working within the Education Team rather than within Early Help. The entire early years team, including the Family Information Service and the Practice Improvement Team, will now be part of Education and Skills. The aim is to create a service that gives consistency of support for children and young people from their early years through to adulthood.
Over the coming months, we will provide you with further updates about planned changes to the service as the teams come together and align. For many areas of work, we will be continuing with business as usual as we work together to provide the best support for young children to achieve their full potential.
For the past few years, Early Years and Childcare Advisors have carried out termly Early Help Consultations to discuss children who are vulnerable and the support that can be provided for them using the Children’s Learning and Well-Being Audit (CLaWBA) as a tool. Most early years providers are now confident to identify and access support for vulnerable children within their settings. Early Help and your Early Years and Childcare Advisor are still able to discuss children where you have concerns, if you are unsure of the next steps needed. We would now like to refocus the conversations, so we can engage with you in a supportive professional conversation about your setting development plans. We will continue to use the termly conversation to include a focused discussion about children in the setting who have SEND. This will enable us to gather the information we need to support planning as well as to offer information, advice and guidance to enable children with SEND to have the support they need to make good progress in their learning and development.
Since March 2020, early years providers have been working hard to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and to implement the government directives, responding to changing guidance as well as providing high quality learning experiences for children attending and home learning for children not attending as they usually would. As a local authority, West Sussex is aware that this has had a significant impact on providers, and we want to take this opportunity to refocus the termly meetings with your EYCAs to reflect on the impact for you as a setting. The refocused and renamed termly conversations will be a collaborative process to monitor and support you in your quality improvement planning. This will help us to offer any advice and guidance to support you and for us to understand your priorities which will, in turn, support us to better understand local priorities. This process aligns with the work of the School Effectiveness Service working with West Sussex schools.
Early Years and Childcare Providers Survey
In Setting Update #170 (13 July) we shared that we are carrying out a survey with all providers (pre-schools, day nurseries, nursery classes/schools, breakfast clubs, out of school clubs and holiday playschemes).
This is to help identify the current strengths and challenges within the sector, and will allow us to identify the areas where we can focus our support, in order to make the biggest impact.
Thank you to those of you who have already responded. To allow settings that have not been able to complete this yet, we have extended the deadline.
This survey can be completed online and will remain open until Friday 10 September 2021.
The Online Provider Portal (OPP) is now open for Autumn term Free Entitlement (FE) actuals claims
To ensure you submit your claims correctly please refer to the Actuals help guide and YouTube video.
Headcount day: Thursday 16 September 2021
Final deadline for submission: 23:59 Friday 24 September 2021
Reminders about specific submissions:-
Disability Access Fund
You can claim the Disability Access Fund (DAF) for 3 and 4 year old children who are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), if they are receiving Free Entitlement funding. The DAF is a one off payment of £615 per year for each eligible child. Please note, providers can claim for a second DAF payment three terms after the initial DAF payment was received.
For further information please visit www.westsussex.gov.uk/ecsfreeentitlement and refer to the document entitled ‘Disability Access Fund (DAF)’.
You must e-mail a copy of the DLA award letter and signed Parent Declaration form to free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk and follow the FE actuals guidance which covers how to submit a DAF claim www.westsussex.gov.uk/ecsportal.
Early Years Pupil Premium
A reminder that Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) claims must be submitted at the same time as your Free Entitlement actuals data via the Online Provider Portal. As communicated in Setting Update #138, all children in receipt of EYPP will automatically have the £0.47 Deprivation Supplement applied, resulting in a combined rate of £1.00 per hour (EYPP + Dep).
In order for a child’s EYPP eligibility to be checked, you must submit the following information as part of your actuals claim: Enter Parent/Carer details, and tick the consent box under the ‘Parent/Carer details’ section of the funding claim.
Last term, approximately 4000 claims were submitted with either partially missing parent/carer information or missing consent, so were unable to be checked. If the parent/carer has not given consent for their eligibility to be checked for either EYPP or 30 hours, then there is no need to add the parent/carer details to the claim.
Please refer to the ‘Provider portal help and guidance’ document at www.westsussex.gov.uk/ecsportal and view the Actuals help guide, step 10 for detailed guidance. For further information regarding EYPP and identifying eligible children go to www.westsussex.gov.uk/ecsfreeentitlement and refer to the document entitled ‘Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) pdf’.
Extended FE claims
In order for a 30 hours code to be valid for Autumn term:
- Parents must have applied for, or reconfirmed their 30 hour code before 31 August 2021.
- The code ‘start date’ must be before 1 September 2021 and the ‘Grace period end date’ covers the Autumn term 2021.
To check a code is valid for Autumn term use the online eligibility checker and view our helpful video guide for step by step guidance. Please note, WSCC cannot fund without a valid code. If you have any questions or require assistance, please contact the Family Information Service on 01243 777807 and ask for the Specialist Team, or e-mail free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk.
Important changes to the Early Years Personal Education Plan (EYPEP) format
EYPEPs are used for Children Looked After (CLA) in early years settings as a tool to review the progress they are making and make plans to support their development. You may have been involved in completing an EYPEP for CLA attending your setting.
From Monday 6 September, significant changes will be made to the EYPEP. This will mean that the information early years settings input will look very different when completing EYPEPs. Prior to your next PEP meeting, please log in to the EPEP system and read the revised guidance to make sure that the information needed is available and up to date.
Briefings will be held in the first two weeks of term but the key changes in requirements for early years practitioners are as follows:
- In line with changes to the EYFS, you will be asked to comment on the whether the child is working at an age expected stage of development and making good progress across each of the EYFS Areas of Learning. You will need to attach evidence of any support you are providing to the child as well as evidence of the progress that they have made.
- There is now a specific pre-school page to record the child’s attendance.
- A revised Child’s Voice section for completion/attachment.
- The Smart Targets section now has questions relating to spending and impact of Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP).
If you have any queries or require any support please get in touch with Carrie O’Rourke, Advisory Teacher for the Virtual School, ahead of the scheduled PEP meeting by emailing carrie.o'rourke@westsussex.gov.uk.
LADO awareness raising workshops
There are still spaces on the FREE LADO awareness raising workshops available to book via the Learning and Development gateway, or they are available to offer bespoke workshops to settings and organisations, or attend team days/meetings. We are keen to ensure organisations know how to respond when an allegation is made against a professional or setting. For more information please refer to Setting Update #176 (11 August).
Safeguarding training dates for the autumn term
Safeguarding and Child Protection for Early Years and Childcare Practitioners is an introductory level course is for practitioners who have never attended safeguarding training, those moving into early years or those in need of a complete refresher. All times run 9.30am to 3.30pm. The cost is £25 per place.
- Monday 13 September – Online - EYT 21/1737
- Friday 17 September - Aldingbourne Country Centre, Chichester - EYT 21/1796
- Tuesday 21 September - The Kings Church, Burgess Hill - EYT 21/1750
- Wednesday 13 October - Field Place, Worthing - EYT 21/1751
- Saturday 16 October - Online - EYT 21/1738
Safeguarding and Child Protection in Early Years Refresher is for practitioners who have previously completed safeguarding training. The time is 9.30am to 12.30pm unless otherwise stated. The cost is £15 per place.
- Thursday 9 September - Broadfield Community Centre, Crawley - EYT 21/1792
- Saturday 18 September - Online - EYT 21/1716
- Tuesday 28 September – 6.30pm to 9.30pm – Online - EYT 21/1717
- Thursday 30 September - Aldingbourne Country Centre, Chichester - EYT 21/1794
- Tuesday 12 October - 1.30pm to 4.30pm - Field Place, Worthing - EYT 21/1748
- Saturday 30 October – Online - EYT 21/1718
- Thursday 4 November - County Hall North, Horsham - EYT 21/1747
Safeguarding and Child Protection for the Designated Person is for the safeguarding lead within the setting. It covers updates to policy and procedures, as well as learning from Serious Case Reviews. The cost is £15 per place.
- Thursday 9 September – 1.30pm to 4.30pm – Broadfield Community Centre, Crawley - EYT 21/1795 -3 places remaining
- Thursday 30 September – 1.30pm to 4.30pm – Aldingbourne Country Centre, Chichester - EYT 21/1743
- Tuesday 12 October - 9.30am to 12.30pm - Field Place, Worthing - EYT 21/1744
- Saturday 30 October – 1.30pm to 4.30pm – Online - EYT 21/1626
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.
We are carrying out a survey to help identify the current strengths and challenges within the sector and areas where we can focus support in order to make the biggest impact. Your views are important to us. Responses will be used to shape the training and support, including information, advice and guidance, going forward.
Have your say now - Early Years and Childcare Provider Survey – Summer 2021
Our networks are for those who lead practice in early years settings. They provide updates, information and guidance to support and improve practice and are free to attend.
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.
- Adur - 4 October – 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 21/2074
- Arun – 29 September – 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 21/2071
- Chichester and Petworth - 5 October – 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 21/2077
- Crawley – 28 September – 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 21/2070
- Horsham - 5 October – 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 21/2075
- Horsham - 6 October – 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 21/2078
- Mid Sussex – 29 September – 10.00am to 12.00pm - EYT 21/2072
- Mid Sussex – 29 September – 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 21/2073
- Worthing - 7 October – 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 21/2079
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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#178 (Provider Survey, COVID-19 Contingency Framework, ICON Briefing, Getting to Grips with the EYFS Changes training, Ready, willing and able training, Makaton Taster Webinar, Safeguarding and Child Protection in Early Years Refresher)
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#177 (Updated COVID-19 guidance, COVID-19 testing for children and young people, COVID-19 vaccine resources, new FAQs, maths champions project, new wellbeing course, build your child development knowledge)
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Special Broadcast 16 August (Changes to self-isolation rules from Monday 16 August - amendment)
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#176 (EYC providers survey, LADO awareness raising workshops, fire safety training, new or returning staff in starting in September, safeguarding training dates for the autumn term)
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#175 (Amendments to Development Matters, vodcast on implementing the revised EYFS, pan Sussex safeguarding conference, autumn learning and development networks, learn about changes to EYFS and Development Matters)
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#174 (Setting survey reminder, request for help with HAF venues, myth-busting from Ofsted on early years inspections, taster courses, paediatric first aid - blended)
- Now - Autumn term Actuals submissions open (FE providers)
- Now - New EYFS framework effective
- 10 Sep - West Sussex EYC provider survey closes
- 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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