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Broadcast for Early Years and childcare providers in West Sussex from West Sussex County Council
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Wednesday 29 September 2021
COVID-19 Guidance Updates
Please see the update from Department for Education that the Early Years guidance was updated on 28 September and can be found here: Actions for early years and childcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guidance updates include:
- latest policy around asymptomatic testing
- updated workforce section
- changes to advice around individuals previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable
- reminder that disapplications to the EYFS ended on 31 August
- added additional guidance on educational visits
In addition, all government guidance has been updated to reflect the changes in the September Review, including advice to those previously considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable.
Christmas HAF Expression of Interests Open
Expression of Interests to provide Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) for school aged children during the Christmas Holidays 2021 in West Sussex are now being accepted. You must complete the form if you are making your first bid for grant funding or if you want to make a change to a previously submitted Christmas bid.
Your proposal can be to deliver just activities or food, or both. We also want to hear from providers that can support other providers to deliver nutritional education.
More information and the link to submit an Expression of Interest can be found here. The closing date is 12 noon Sunday 17 October 2021. If you have any questions please contact HAF@westsussex.gov.uk.
Nasen Early Years SENCO Awards
On 15 September (broadcast #181), we provided information about free accredited SENCO training being offered in West Sussex. The deadline for Expressions of Interest is this Friday 1 October. If you have not yet considered making the most of this opportunity, please read the information in the previous broadcast and complete and return the expression of interest form by the end of the week.
Early Years Professional Development Programme Phase 2
The Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP) is being funded by the Department for Education (DfE) to support early years providers to have a positive impact on children’s educational attainment and well-being following the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are pleased to tell you that West Sussex will be taking part in this programme and will be able to offer places for up to 40 practitioners in the county. Places are likely to be available for one practitioner per setting, but you can apply for more than one practitioner in case additional places become available. If your setting is part of a group of settings, we will view each site as a separate setting.
Settings taking part need to meet one or more of the following criteria:
- high numbers of children in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP)
- a number of children with education health and care plans (EHCPs)
- high numbers of children accessing the 2-year-old offer (2 Year FE).
Practitioners taking part will need to be qualified to Level 3 in an early years group setting or childminder, or QTS in school-based settings.
The training will be led by the Education Development Trust (EDT), with sessions from Elklan and the Anne Freud Centre. Practitioners will complete 10 days of training – including webinars, self-study and tutorials running between January and July 2022. There are three modules covering:
- Speech, Language and Communication – 24.5 hours of learning
- Maths – 14 hours of learning
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development – 17.5 hours of learning
Practitioners will also receive four hours online mentoring from EDT to support them to implement and embed their learning in practice.
Settings taking part will receive funding to enable staff cover within the setting to support attendance at the training. Funding will be based on attendance at the training and will not be paid if the practitioner is unable to attend the training.
The organisers of the training will be contacting settings who meet the eligibility criteria via email and you will be able to respond to them to express your interest in taking part. The deadline for practitioners to express an interest in this CPD opportunity is 30 November 2021 (with a view to start training in January 2022). You can also visit the Early Years Professional development website for any further information.
Area Inclusion and Improvement Workshops
Over the next academic year, West Sussex are working with early years practitioners to deliver a locality-based programme with the aim of improving outcomes for all children and narrowing the attainment gap.
The project, which has been funded by the Area Inclusion and Improvement Boards, is aimed at creating closer working relationships between pre-school settings and schools to develop a shared and consistent understanding across West Sussex of high quality inclusive early years provision.
The programme will be led jointly by a practitioner from an early years setting and a teacher working in a school in your locality. They will deliver four workshops over the coming year. The funding has meant that we can provide these workshops free for your early years leads to attend.
Please see flyer for further information, course dates and links to book your space.
New DfE publications
The Department for Education (DfE) has published a new guide for parents, produced by Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre. 'What to Expect in the Early Years Foundation Stage' (formerly ‘What to Expect When’) guides parents through what to expect with their child’s development. It aligns with the new Development Matters to help practitioners engage with parents about their child’s development.
The DfE has also published a new guide for practitioners, produced by Pen Green Children’s Centre - 'A Celebratory Approach to Working with Children with SEND – Giving additional support in the Early Years' (formerly 'A Celebratory Approach to SEND assessment in the Early Years') aims to help practitioners who may be supporting children who require additional help or children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Oral health and the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework
One of the new requirements of the new EYFS framework is for providers to promote the good oral health of children.
This requirement was brought in due to the latest oral health data and the impact of poor oral health on young children and families. Poor oral health impacts not just on the individual’s health but also their wellbeing and that of their family. Children who have toothache or who need treatment may have pain, infections and difficulties with eating, sleeping and socialising. They may have to miss education experiences and parents may also have to take time off work to take their children to a dentist or to hospital.
It is up to individual providers to determine how they meet this requirement depending on what works best for their setting. However, providers must be able to show that they are taking action to promote good oral health of children. There are various ways this can be achieved and you can find ideas and links to resources on the Help for Early Years Providers website.
Ofsted - Early years inspection handbook
The Ofsted early years inspection handbook has been updated in readiness for inspections which recommenced on 1 September 2021. A full summary of the changes has also been published.
Ofsted held a live webinar discussing the return to routine education inspection framework (EIF) inspections and what the changes to the EYFS means for inspections from September, assessment data and workload, curriculum thinking and the role of assessment in early years. While the webinar was primarily aimed at childminders, the topics covered are useful for all registered early years providers. You can view the webinar here.
Ofsted have also published a new page ‘Ofsted EIF inspections and the EYFS’ based on frequently asked questions about inspections and the EYFS.
Food safety advice on choking hazards in settings
The Food Standards Agency have issued some useful resources in the form of two posters which can be displayed in your setting where food is prepared and served to children, as a helpful reminder of how to minimise the risk of choking. The early years choking hazards poster and the early years choking hazards table can be printed and displayed in settings to support staff. The food safety page on the Help for Early Years Providers website also outlines important messages and links to useful resources regarding keeping children safe whilst eating.
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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#182 (Final reminder - FE Autumn actuals, CLaWBA folders, pan Sussex safeguarding under 5's conference, a look at Christmas crafts)
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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)
- Now - New EYFS framework effective
- 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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