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 11 May 2022
Advance Notice of Planned IT Downtime
Please be advised that the Online Provider Portal (OPP) will be unavailable between Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 May 2022 due to mandatory electrical testing. All forms, 30 hours (extended FE) eligibility checks, and funding summaries will be unavailable during this period. Please note that parents and carers will not be able to submit 2 year old Free Entitlement applications, and our Family Information Service childcare website will also be unavailable to the public during this period.
Summer term Free Entitlement (FE) actuals claims – Headcount reminder
The Online Provider Portal (OPP) is open for you to submit your FE claims for 2, 3 and 4 year olds. Please refer to setting update 212 for further information.
Headcount day: Thursday 12 May 2022.
Which children can I claim FE for at Headcount?
- You should only enter actuals data for children who are in attendance at your setting during Headcount week (week commencing 9 May 2022).
- A child who is usually in regular attendance but is absent due to short term sickness or a planned holiday can still be claimed for as part of your actuals claim. Please ensure you have a completed and signed Parent Declaration form for all children on your claim.
- Please note, children who have left your setting before Headcount cannot be claimed for.
- Please ensure parents are aware of the importance of Headcount Day. Only in exceptional circumstances can funding for children who start after Headcount be requested on a Post Headcount/Exceptional payment request form (PHEP). Please refer to the Provider Declaration section 4.14 for further information regarding PHEP requests.
- Children from Afghan families that have arrived in England under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Programme (ARAP) or the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) must not be added to your Headcount claim, even if they started with you before Headcount. Refer to setting update 206 for further information.
To ensure you submit your FE claims correctly please refer to the Actuals help guide and YouTube video.
Free Entitlement (FE) for Families from Ukraine
Families arriving in the UK through either the Ukraine Family Scheme or the Homes for Ukraine (sponsorship) Scheme will be able to access FE for 2, 3 and 4 year olds if they meet the existing eligibility criteria.
2 year old FE - where the family is claiming Universal Credit they will have been allocated a national insurance number during this process. We have confirmation that their income will be treated as a separate household income from the household of their hosts. This means that the income of the host family will not affect the eligibility of the family from Ukraine, and vice versa. Families must apply online to obtain an eligibility code before starting a place. Families must apply online here.
Universal FE - all 3 and 4 year olds will be eligible for up to 15 hours Universal FE and must be present during headcount week (w/c 9 May 2022). Please add them to your headcount as per the normal claiming process.
Extended FE (30 hours) – families must apply online via HMRC in the usual way.
In order for a 30 hours code to be valid for Summer term:
- Parents must have applied for, or reconfirmed their 30 hour code before 31 March 2022.
- The code ‘start date’ must be before 1 April 2022 and the ‘Grace period end date’ covers the Summer term 2022.
To check a code is valid for Summer term use the online eligibility checker and view our helpful video guide for step by step guidance. (Note: you may need to click a prompt to view the video, or may need to update your browser, or use an alternative). Please note, we cannot fund without a valid code.
Further information to support families from Ukraine can be found here.
Transition Events 16-27 May
The Transition Events for schools and settings begin next week. Please refer to the information on our website and the additional guidance on Tools for Schools and Settings to find information that will support you in enabling a positive transition for all children and families.
New Resources from the National Literacy Trust for Early Years
Refugee Week resources (20-26 June) from the National Literacy Trust are designed to support discussions with young children around refugees.
Support for multilingual families at home: Time together booklet is a colourful and easy-to-read guide from the National Literacy Trust that is full of suggestions for how parents can support their young child's learning at home. It has been translated into 22 different languages for you to share with the multilingual families in your setting.
To access the resources you will need to create a free account at National Literacy Trust. Creating an account will allow you to access a range of materials to support children and families in your setting.
- NOW - Summer term Actuals submissions open (FE providers)
- 12 May - FE Headcount day (FE providers)
- 20 May - Summer term Actuals submissions close (FE providers)
- w/c 20 June - Summer term payments expected (FE providers)
- 31 August - Sufficiency submission deadline
Planned downtime of Online Provider Portal (OPP) and websites:
- 14 and 15 May - All forms, 30 hours (extended FE) eligibility checks, and funding summaries will be unavailable during this period
Network meetings ran as online webinars:
Learning and Development Network Meetings
These took place online in January and February. The network focused on reviewing the quality of your provision and ongoing quality improvement planning. View the key presentation slides and the updates shared at the meetings.
INCO SENCO Network
These took place in March and focused on Supported Transitions, SEND Under 5 Outcomes, Deferring or Delaying School Entry, and Action Planning. View the key presentation slides, the presentation from the Virtual School and the FAQ document.
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 consult the guidance to check when to 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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#213 (Summer term FE actuals claims reminder, no FE children this term, transition events, Ofsted updated guidance for childcare register, DfE sustainability and climate change strategy, Ofsted's five year strategy, foundation years survey, childcare choices survey, energy efficiency funding)
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#212 (Summer term FE actuals claims, claiming FE for Afghan families, settings signing up to tax-free childcare, children and young people's plan, business planning tools, HAF 2022 expressions of interest, healthy child programme update)
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#211 (New training dates for paediatric first aid and child protection and safeguarding training, new benefits advice service for parents of children with SEND)
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#210 (DfE incident support line, post headcount/exceptional payment requests, SEND review, families from Ukraine, childminders and Ukraine family scheme, consultation FE2YO NRPF, education recovery in EY providers)
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#209 (Updated COVID-19 guidance and UKHSA letter, distributing stocks of self-test kits, FE estimates, FE funding rates explained 22/23, attracting and retaining talent, opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child, SEND review - right support, right place, right time, Ofsted's enforcement policy, childminder agencies new policy paper, ministerial letter to EY sector, parental feedback on 'what to expect in the EYFS')
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