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 9 February 2022
Free Entitlement Funding Rates 2022/23
Following the publication of the funding allocations from the Department for Education in December 2021 and subsequent financial modelling, the following rates for 2022/23 were approved by the Schools Forum on 3 February 2022.
- 3 and 4 year old base rate - £4.72 per hour (an increase of £0.16)
- 2 year old base rate - £5.47 per hour (an increase of £0.21)
- Deprivation Supplement - £0.47 per universal hour for eligible children (unchanged)
- Early Years Pupil Premium - £0.60 per universal hour for eligible children (an increase of £0.07)
- Disability Access Fund - £800 per year for eligible children (an increase of £185)
The Indicative Budgets for your setting will be shared with you mid-March along with a short video which explains exactly how the funding rate calculations are made. These revised rates will commence from the start of the summer term 2022.
Update re Free Entitlement funding for Afghan resettlement programmes.
Further to the broadcast article on 26 January #199 about the Afghan resettlement programmes, we are working at pace, with our Communities Team, to help broker childcare places for these families. To identify immediate childcare vacancies, a short survey will be sent direct to settings within a reasonable travelling distance of where families are situated, in the northern parts of the county. We aim to send this targeted survey out on Monday 14 February, or sooner if possible. A set of FAQs will be included in the targeted email to provide more background information on what may be expected should your setting provide places to these children. There is also a set of FAQs being developed to share with the families to explain what they can expect from an early years settings and the benefits of attendance for their children. Places will be prioritised with the first focus being on those children who will be starting school in September this year. We recognise that we are requesting more information from particular settings but have tried to keep the survey as short as possible and appreciate your prompt participation. We welcome the opportunity, for the early years and childcare sector, to make a huge difference to the lives of these children and their families.
Early Years Representative for Schools Forum: Ballot now open
Following our request for volunteers for the Early Years Representative for the Schools Forum, we are pleased to say we had two practitioners put themselves forward for the role.
As there was more than one candidate, we will need to have a ballot which is now open.
The candidates are:
Please click on the candidate names to read their election statements, then cast your vote online (if you encounter issues with voting you may wish to try a different internet explorer such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge). The closing date for voting is Friday 25 February. Please note that we will only count one vote per setting. The successful candidate will be informed on Monday 28 February, and an announcement made in this broadcast on Wednesday 2 March.
Advance Notice of planned IT work affecting OPP and website
Please be advised that the Online Provider Portal (OPP) will be read-only or unavailable between Friday 18 February and Tuesday 22 February 2022 whilst we upgrade our technology. Note that parents and carers will not be able to submit 2 year old Free Entitlement applications on Tuesday 22 February, and our FIS childcare website will also be unavailable to the public on that day.
Learning and Development Network Meetings
The Learning and Development Network Meetings for the spring term 2022 have taken place online. The network focused on reviewing the quality of your provision and ongoing quality improvement planning. The key presentation slides from the meeting can be found here and the updates shared at the meeting can be found here.
Early Years Annual Conference: SEND and Inclusion in the Early Years
- Date: 11 March 2022
- Venue: Online Event
- Cost: £35 for Early Years Settings
This exciting conference includes a variety of useful and inspiring workshops and presentations. We are delighted to announce that Catherine McLeod, MBE from Dingley’s Promise will be joining us to present: ‘Best Practice in transitions for Children with SEND’. Further details on all other workshops and presentations to follow.
To book your space on this virtual conference please visit EVENTBRITE.
Planned maintenance of Online Provider Portal (OPP) and websites:
Network meetings in Spring 2022 are running as online webinars. Follow a link to book a place via the Learning and Development Gateway:
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
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, and inform Ofsted.
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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#200 (EY PVI Rep - deadline 04/02/22, new literacy videos, working with children with EAL, child development training, EY annual conference)
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#199 (COVID-19 guidance update, Census and FE actuals deadline this Friday, FE funding for Afghan families, childcare sufficiency report, transition events 2022, early years annual conference - SEND and inclusion, spring term training courses)
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#198 (Reduction in self-isolation period, COVID-19 guidance for childminders, information on good ventilation, temporary suspension of confirmatory PCR tests, EY PVI Rep for the Schools Forum, EYFS flexibilities, reminder - mandatory EY census and spring term FE actuals, new government resource - Stop Abuse Together, a look at springtime crafts)
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Special Broadcast (14 Jan): New guidance for the Early Years Census 2022 (Information for Free Entitlement providers)
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#197 (Update from DfE - EYFS flexibility, update to COVID-19 guidance, temporary suspension of confirmatory PCR tests, UKHSA change in opening hours, additional relief grants, DfE pulse survey, school admissions deadline this weekend, half-term activities extended deadline, meeting the needs of every child - free webinar)
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