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
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Wednesday 27 October 2021
Pan Sussex Safeguarding Under 5's conference
The Pan Sussex Safeguarding Conference is now live and available on the Learning & Development Gateway to request your place. This year, the conference will be focusing on safeguarding the under 5s and will include Out of routine – Sudden Unexpected Death in Infants (SUDI), National Review Panel speaking about infant mortality and parent and infant relationships (and the impact on child mental health/child development). This event will be online and free to attend (although non-attendance and late cancellation will be charged).
Safeguarding training dates
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.
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Safeguarding and Child Protection for Early Years and Childcare Practitioners is an introductory level course 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.
- Wednesday 3 November – Online – EYT21/1739
- Wednesday 10 November – Broadfield Youth and Community Centre – EYT21/1797
- Thursday 2 December – Arundel Museum – EYT21/1828
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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.
- Saturday 30 October – Online - EYT21/1718
- Thursday 4 November - County Hall North, Horsham - EYT21/1747
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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. All courses run 9:30am to 12:30pm. The cost is £15 per place.
- Saturday 30 October – Online - EYT21/1626
- Friday 10 December – County Hall North, Horsham – EYT21/1745
Postgraduate Certificate Early Years Education with Early Years Teacher Status
Would you like to achieve Early Years Teacher Status? Would you also like to achieve a Postgraduate Certificate in Early Years Education with the potential to progress onto further Masters level study? If so, then you can contact the University of Brighton as they would love to tell you all about their programme and how they can support you in your professional development in Early Years.
If you are interested in becoming a confident and reflective Early Years teacher, with a genuine passion for making a difference in children’s lives and supporting their families then they would love to hear from you. Further information on our course can be found on their website. If you have any questions please email EYITT@brighton.ac.uk for more information.
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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#186 (COVID-19 guidance update, notification reminder, contact tracing, COVID-19 testing during half-term, CO2 monitors, HPT change to out of hours enquiries, FE autumn term payments, learn - explore - debate, mental health aware, SEND newsletter)
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#185 (DfE data capture, starting school questionnaire, videos on implementing EYFS reforms, EYFS profile handbook, EYPDP phase 2 update, EY updates from the virtual school, provider survey, Christmas HAF - last chance to submit expressions of interest, child protection conferences)
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#184 (DfE data capture, important changes to reporting COVID-19 cases in your setting, self-isolation hub, Public Health England name change, FE children starting between 20/09/21 and 8/10/21, starting school applications, LoCASE business grants, step away from the star chart: strategies for responding to children's behaviour)
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#183 (COVID-19 guidance updates, HAF for Christmas, Nasen awards final reminder, EYPDP phase 2, area inclusion and improvement workshops, new DfE publications, oral health and the EYFS, Ofsted early years inspection handbook, choking hazards in settings)
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#182 (Final reminder - FE Autumn actuals, CLaWBA folders, pan Sussex safeguarding under 5's conference, a look at Christmas crafts)
- 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)
- 3 Jan - Spring term Actuals submissions open (FE providers)
- 3 Jan - Annual Early Years Census submissions open (FE providers)
- 20 Jan - Free Entitlement headcount day for Spring Term
- 28 Jan - Spring term Actuals submissions close (FE providers)
- 28 Jan - Annual Early Years Census submissions close (FE providers)
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