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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 15 September 2021
Reminder - DfE data capture required this week
A Department for Education data capture for the numbers of children currently accessing early years provision is required this week. It is open now, and will close tonight at midnight. Please use this link to complete your return.
COVID-19 - Updated Flowchart
The flowchart for responding to positive cases of COVID-19 has been updated to reflect the changes to guidance. The link at the bottom of this email, and future broadcast emails, will take you to the most up to date version of the flowchart.
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 previous version included some incorrect information which has now been updated.
A reminder to submit your Autumn term Free Entitlement (FE) actuals claims
The Online Provider Portal (OPP) is open for you to submit your 2, 3 and 4 year old FE claims. To ensure you submit your claims correctly please refer to the Actuals help guide and YouTube video.
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Headcount day: Thursday 16 September 2021
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Final deadline for submission: 23:59 Friday 24 September 2021
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 follow our updated step by step guidance to use the online eligibility checker via the OPP.
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.
Early Years Pupil Premium claims:
A reminder that Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) claims must be submitted at the same time as your FE actuals data via the OPP. 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.
Please refer to 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’.
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 in receipt of FE. 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.
Free Entitlement (FE) Leaflet Requests
The FE leaflet is now back in stock. To order copies for your setting, please email your request to free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk with details of how many copies you require and where you would like them to be delivered.
SEND Training from the National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen)
As part of the EY SEND Partnership, nasen has received further funding to deliver five further core training webinars, ‘Meeting the Needs of Every Child’ (delegates only need to attend one). This is basic SEND training for practitioners and childminders and covers the legislation for SEND, the role of the SENCO and Key Person, the identification of SEND, provision for SEND including the graduated approach and partnership with parents and sensitive conversations.
The dates and times are as follows:
- Thursday 16 September 6.00pm to 8.00pm - to register for this session, please use this link.
- Monday 1 November 1.00pm to 3.00m
- Wednesday 8 December 6.00pm to 8.00pm
- Thursday 18 January 10.00am to 12.00pm
- Wednesday 16 March 6.00pm to 8.00pm
This is the booking link on the nasen website: https://www.nasen.org.uk/early-years.
In light of the new Early Years Foundation Stage reforms and the need for all practitioners to be knowledgeable about the early identification of SEND and be confident to build strong relationships with parents, this course is particularly relevant.
Nasen Early Years SENCO Awards
In June (setting broadcast #166), we outlined a training programme for SENCOs. We are now able to confirm that we will be running this programme in West Sussex between October 2021 and March 2022 - view the programme details. If you are interested in taking part and are able to commit to the entire programme, please complete and return an Expression of Interest form by 1 October 2021.
Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice (OAIP) and Inclusion Framework
The OAIP and Inclusion Framework documents on the Tools for schools and education settings website have been updated for September 2021. A hard copy of these documents will be sent to all pre-schools and day nurseries over the coming weeks. All settings can access these documents via the website. The website will be updated regularly and have easy links to other documents and resources, which are not available in the hard copy, but we are aware that many settings felt access to a hard copy would support them in using these resources.
The Foundation Stage Forum Subscription ending
You may remember back in April 2021, we informed you that West Sussex would be ending its subscription to The Foundation Stage Forum. We would like to make you aware that our current subscription ends on 30 September. Settings who wish to continue to access the forum and Tapestry can continue to do this, but will need to subscribe individually rather than accessing via the West Sussex subscription.
We are sorry for any disappointment this causes and we know that a number of schools and settings make good use of Tapestry as an online learning journal to support assessment. 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 so we are no longer able to fund this resource.
Fire Safety for Early Years
As previously mentioned in broadcast #176 West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service are offering training targeted towards the early years and childcare sector. These details are as follows:
- Tuesday 5 October 9.30am to 12.30pm - County Hall, Chichester - Fire Safety for Early Years (places still currently available)
- Friday 28 January 9.30am to 12.30pm - Arundel Fire Station - Fire Safety for Early Years
These courses are £125 per person. To book please visit the Learning & Development Gateway or by emailing robin.melvin@westsussex.gov.uk
Using Social Media (Half Day Webinar)
Social Media is a key consideration for Early Years Settings as it is a great way to promote and market your business. This half day webinar will help you discover the marketing, promotional and communication opportunities that are available when using Social Media. The times of these webinars are 9:30am to 12:30pm. The cost is £25 per person.
- Wednesday 10 November 2021 – EYT21/2028
- Thursday 20 January 2022 – EYT22/205
- Thursday 17 March 2022 – EYT22/206
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
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 ' What happens if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 in an educational setting' 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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#180 (COVID-19 updates, last chance to complete setting survey, DfE data capture next week, SEND Under 5s, update on changes to EYPEPs, school readiness integrated review and school applications for 2022, new courses)
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#179 (Updated PHE outbreak pack, CO2 monitors, update on changes to support for EYC settings, provider survey, FE autumn actuals claims, changes to EYPEP, LADO workshops, safeguarding training)
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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)
- Now - Autumn term Actuals submissions open (FE providers)
- Now - 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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