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
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Wednesday 22 September 2021
Final reminder to submit your Autumn term Free Entitlement (FE) actuals claims
Please note, the deadline for submitting your 2, 3 and 4 year old FE claims via the Online Provider Portal (OPP) is 11:59pm on Friday 24 September 2021. To ensure you submit your claims correctly please refer to the Actuals help guide and YouTube video.
For further information regarding 30 hour codes, Early Years Pupil Premium and Disability Access Fund claims please refer to the previous setting update 181.
IMPORTANT - Do you have any children starting FE at your setting between 20 September – 8 October 2021?
As the numbers of children submitted through the Early Years Census in January 2021 were lower than normal, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department for Education has provided the opportunity for local authorities to submit further Census information in the Autumn term.
It is important that West Sussex County Council (WSCC) is able to secure the maximum amount of Early Years Dedicated Schools Grant for the financial year 2021-22. Therefore, funding claims for children who are starting at your setting between 20 September, up to and including 8 October 2021, must be submitted to us via a Post Headcount Exceptional Payment (PHEP) form by Wednesday 13 October 2021.
Please note, WSCC will approve PHEPs for eligible children starting FE during this period (no exceptional reason required), where a PHEP has been received by 13 October 2021. Any PHEPs submitted after this deadline will have the normal PHEP rules applied as stated in the Provider Declaration 2021-2022 section 4.14.
The PHEP request form can be found on our webpage under ‘Additional scheme documents’. If you have any queries please email freeentitlement@westsussex.gov.uk.
Children’s Learning and Well-Being Audit (CLaWBA) folders
We have spare copies of the CLaWBA folders (with inserts), so if your setting requires new/replacement/additional copies, please email family.info.service@westsussex.gov.uk, including details of where you would like them to be delivered.
Pan Sussex Safeguarding Under 5's Conference
The Pan Sussex Safeguarding Under 5's Conference is due to take place on 30 November and will provide you with:
- information from national research presented by keynote speakers,
- information on non-accidental injury, and
- an opportunity to understand how it relates to local practice in your work around safeguarding the under 5's.
Further information about the conference, and how to book a place, can be found here.
A look at Christmas Crafts – Mass Production or Creativity?
This two hour webinar is for practitioners working with children aged 2-5 years old in an early years group setting or in a home based setting.
This timely and stimulating session will prompt you to think about how and why children in your setting might go about making cards and craft for Christmas (and other festivals) in the coming months. The cost of the webinar is £15 per person. The webinars are running on the following dates and times:
- Thursday 21 October – 7.00pm – 9.00pm – EYT 21/2116
- Thursday 3 November – 1.00pm – 3.00pm – EYT 21/2117
- Thursday 4 November – 7.00pm – 9.00pm – EYT 21/2118
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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#181 (DfE data capture, COVID-19 updated flowchart, updated setting outbreak pack, FE actuals for autumn claims, FE leaflet stocks, nasen SEND training, nasen EY awards, updated OAIP and inclusion framework, foundation stage forum subscription ending, fire safety for early years, using social media)
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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)
- 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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