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Broadcast for Early Years and childcare providers in West Sussex from West Sussex County Council
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Wednesday 8 December 2021
Reminder - DfE data capture required this week
The 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.
Fake NHS email for ordering Omicron PCR test kits
Settings should be aware of a fake NHS email being sent to education and childcare settings which asks you to order ‘Omicron PCR test kits’. The NHS will never ask you for bank details so please be aware of these suspicious emails or similar text messages.
Early Years Professional Development Programme
We have had confirmation that the deadline for settings to apply to take part in this programme has been extended until registrations reach capacity, with a final closing date of 17 December 2021. If you have not yet been able to finish your full registration, this will give you an opportunity to complete this. Places are beginning to be filled quickly so please complete your registration as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please email info@eypdp2022.com.
Free Entitlement Spring term Estimate payments
Thank you for submitting your Spring term Estimate claims. For all submissions that met the deadline, and where there are no outstanding queries, payments were released on Friday 3 December 2021. Please note, payments may take 3-5 working days to reach your account.
You can log back on to the Online Provider Portal to view your payment summary. Please refer to the Estimate Help Guide for step by step guidance on how to do this: www.westsussex.gov.uk/ecsportal
If you have any questions, please email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk.
30 hour code – application and reconfirmation deadline reminder
In order for children to access an Extended FE place in the Spring term, their 30 hour code must be issued by HMRC by 31 December 2021.
For any existing codes with a grace period ending 31 December 2021, or earlier, parents must log in to their childcare account to check their details are up to date, and reconfirm their eligibility by 31 December 2021 to ensure they continue to be eligible for Extended FE. We can only fund valid codes, therefore please remind parents to apply/reconfirm their eligibility with HMRC as soon as possible.
Please note, the online eligibility checker is always available to check a child’s 30 hour code is valid for the upcoming term. If, after viewing the guidance available on our website you have any questions, please email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk or phone the Family Information Service on 01243 777807.
Spring Term Network Meetings
For spring term 2022, the Early Years Learning and Development Network meetings and the INCO/SENCO Network Meetings will again be running as on-line webinars. For this term, we will run a smaller number of sessions and each session will be open to practitioners from all settings across the county. There will be a larger number of places than usual available for each webinar. The session information and booking details are as follows:
Early Years Learning and Development Network
- Tuesday 25 January 2022 - 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 22/224
- Wednesday 2 February 2022 - 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 22/227
- Thursday 3 February 2022 - 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 22/550
INCO SENCO Network
- Tuesday 8 March 2022 - 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 22/221
- Wednesday 9 March 2022 - 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 22/222
- Thursday 10 March 2022 - 1.00pm to 3.00pm - EYT 22/556
Childminder Event
Food safety: choking prevention
Tragically, a child dies in the UK every month from choking and hundreds more require hospital treatment. It can happen quickly and it can happen to anyone. The Food Standards Agency have issued some useful resources in the form of two posters which can be displayed where food is prepared and served to children as a helpful reminder of how to minimise the risk of choking.
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.
Holiday Activity and Food Programme for Christmas
A host of fun-filled activities and food are again being put on for West Sussex children over the Christmas holiday which eligible families can now book.
After the huge success of the Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme over the summer, West Sussex County Council has again teamed up with local clubs and organisations around the county to offer free, festive fun throughout the school break. The programme is available for children aged 4 to 16 who receive benefits-related free school meals. Eligible children and young people can take part in a range of fun activities and enjoy a nutritious meal during the two-week break.
The Winter Holiday Activity and Food programme runs from 17 December 2021 to 4 January 2022 and families can search the clubs available near them and book on the Family Information Service online directory. Please promote to families who you think may be eligible to take part or display the poster in your setting.
Learn - Explore - Debate
The National Children's Bureau (NCB) recently worked with the Department for Education (DfE) to deliver the latest round of our Learn - Explore - Debate events.
Over 600 early years practitioners signed up, over three days, to hear speakers discuss a range of topics and to connect with their colleagues from across the country. These events were planned with feedback from the Foundation Years community at the forefront of our thinking, and they focused on COVID-19 recovery, Ofsted inspections under the revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and supporting children with SEND.
The first session focused on COVID-19 recovery, including a presentation from the DfE and a case study from Triangle Nursery School in Lambeth.
In the second session, Wendy Ratcliff (Her Majesty's Inspector) and Samantha Sleaman-Boss from Ofsted presented on inspections under the revised EYFS and explored the role of assessment in greater detail.
The final session featured a case study from Amy Devine and Angela Prodger from the Pen Green Centre on how to take a celebratory approach to SEND.
All of the videos, case studies and slides from the events are now available on the Foundation Years website.
Save the date - Early Years Annual Conference: SEND and Inclusion
We are delighted to announce Ann Van Dyke MBE as our Keynote speaker - Creating an inclusive culture: A whole setting approach to welcoming all children.
Date: 11 March 2022
Venue: Field Place, Worthing
Cost: £75 for Early Years Settings (Earlybird rate)
Further details on workshops to follow. To book go to EVENTBRITE
Calling All Superheroes! (Online)
A Global pandemic is the perfect time to explore superhero play with our children. The young children we are working with are surrounded by stories of heroism in real-life and many children naturally engage in superhero play with superheroes being a huge part of popular culture. However, this type of play is not without its challenges in our settings. We often see children engaging in rough and tumble or playing with weapons and it is difficult to know how to respond appropriately. This course will address these difficult issues and encourage delegates to embrace superhero play and its many benefits.
Superhero Play uses this theme to address issues in Early Years including:
- supporting children when playing aggressively,
- narratives around killing,
- supporting children with their understanding of death and bereavement,
- thinking about heroic people, the gender issue, everyday heroes and finding the hero inside of yourself.
The cost is £25 per place.
- Tuesday 18 January 2022 – 9:30am – 12:30pm – Course Code: EYT22/174
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.
To allow our Early Years and Childcare Advisors to focus their support to where it is most needed, we ask that you check for information online before you contact us.
COVID-19 guidance
Other information and guidance (WSCC)
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Practice support (EYFS, Diversity and Inclusion, health and wellbeing, transitions, legislation, regulation and safeguarding)
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Supporting families in your childcare setting (includes CLaWBA, integrated reviews)
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Tools for schools and settings (supporting the inclusion of all children in early years)
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Business support (Free Entitlement, marketing, finance, recruitment, advertising)
- Training and qualifications
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Network meetings/events (Learning and development, INCO SENCO, business and welfare)
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Online Provider Portal (submission dates, help guides)
For help to access information
To request additional support for your setting
All early years providers must follow a new reformed EYFS framework from September 2021. View the new framework to see how the changes affect you, and access updated Learning Journal materials online.
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.
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#192 (DfE Data capture, new measures in response to Omicron variant, arrangements for COVID-19 testing over the Christmas break, reminder about CO2 monitors, school readiness integrated review)
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#191 (COVID-19 - Christmas Activities, FE - Spring Term Estimates, Safeguarding Poster, Holiday Activities and Food Programme, Early Years Professional Development Programme, Fire Safety training, Early Years Special Interest Group, Working with children with EAL, Calling All Superheroes)
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#190 (DfE data capture, new online provider portal guidance web pages, ministerial letter to parent and carers of children and young people with SEND, safer recruitment, EYPDP, a look at springtime crafts)
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#189 (DfE data capture, change of time for these emails, FE spring term estimates open, transition dates, area inclusion and improvement dates)
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#188 (COVID-related closure notification, key spending review announcements, support to early years settings, EYPDP invites to participate, FIS on Facebook, talking clearly)
- w/c 6 Dec - Spring term Estimate payments expected (FE providers)
- w/c 6 Dec - Early Years DfE COVID-19 Return - open 6-8 Dec
- 4 Jan - Spring term Actuals submissions open (FE providers)
- 4 Jan - Annual Early Years Census submissions open (FE providers)
- 15 Jan - Applications close for starting school places (Primary, infant, junior)
- 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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