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Broadcast for Early Years and childcare providers in West Sussex from West Sussex County Council
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Wednesday 25 May 2022
Department for Education (DfE) Early Years Covid-19 Recovery Experts and Mentors Programme
In January, we shared information in our Broadcast (#205) about the government's plans for their COVID-19 Recovery Experts and Mentors Programme. We are pleased to confirm that West Sussex will be taking part in this programme.
The Early Years Experts and Mentors programme will provide bespoke support, face-to-face and virtually, to help meet individual settings’ needs and priorities. The offer to settings will include leadership support, coaching for leaders, mentoring for practitioners and whole-setting support, depending on need. The pilot of this programme is underway, and will be rolling out across England from September 2022.
For more information about the programme, please read the briefing for settings which includes a link to a 10-minute recorded webinar, where you can learn more about the programme. We will be working with you to identify settings to take part and your EYCA will speak to you if we think you would benefit from accessing the programme. Settings also have the option to self-refer, to request the support of an early years Expert and Mentor. The link to the website where you can do so, is available here.
The eligibility criteria includes settings that have:
- been judged as Requires Improvement (RI) or inadequate in the last 3 years,
- high numbers of children in receipt of Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP),
- high numbers of children with SEND,
- high numbers of children taking up the disadvantaged 2 year old offer (2 Year Free Entitlement).
Please note, childminders are not eligible to apply for the programme at this time. The DfE are working on designing a strand of the programme for childminders, specifically. They will be able to apply to become a childminder mentor from January 2023. More information on this will be announced in due course.
Early Years Designated Lead Forum - Children We Care For
The West Sussex Virtual School is running termly online forums specifically for Early Years Settings. These will be hour long meetings for managers and practitioners to support their work with Children We Care For. They will be providing guidance on using the "ePEP" system to complete the Personal Education Plans (PEPs) each term, the best uses of Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) future training and other updates relating to the wider work of the Virtual School including the new advisory service. These networks are in addition to the current Learning and Development and SENCO/INCO network meetings.
- Session: EYFS – DL Forum (for Designated Leads, SENCOs, any Key Person supporting Children We Care For).
- Date and time: Wednesday 15 June 1.30pm to 2.30pm (online via Teams).
- Overview: Termly forum with the EYFS Virtual School (VS) team to discuss the work of the VS, PEPs and future training.
- Book via the Learning and Development Gateway by searching for Early Years Designated Lead Forum Looked After Children (Online) EY22 1848.
Foundation Years vodcast on outdoor learning
Foundation Years is pleased to share with you a new vodcast exploring the benefits of outdoor learning in the early years. Gill Holden, Principal Officer of the Early Childhood Unit at the National Children's Bureau (NCB), speaks to Jo Gordon and Jacqui McDermid, Early Years Consultants, Communication and Language Development Leads at the Lambeth Early Action Partnership (LEAP) and co-founders of the Natural Thinkers programme. Gill, Jo and Jacqui discuss how to plan your curriculum to ensure that outdoor learning is effectively included, how to support and enthuse staff and families, and much more on how outdoor learning can benefit the youngest children.
Child Safety Week
Child Safety Week is running this year from 7 to 13 June. The aim is to keep children safe and reduce childhood accidents. If you would like to promote this within your settings and with families, you may wish to access some of these resources:
Child Safety Week 2022 - CAPT
Keeping Kids Safe - RoSPA
Speech and Language courses this term at only £16 per place
Communication friendly early years setting (taster webinar) enables you to promote your setting as a Communication Friendly environment. You will look at how, when and why to include signing, pictures and other visual support in your daily activities to promote speech and language development. All attendees must have basic Speech and Language training.
- Monday 6 June - 6.00pm to 7.30pm EYT 22/1808
Talking clearly - supporting the development of children's speech sounds (taster webinar) explores strategies and approaches to promote the development of attention and listening skills, clear speech and pre-literacy skills, as well as to identify children who may need additional support.
- Wednesday 8 June - 10.00am to 11.30am EYT 22/1766
Introduction to speech and language development for early years settings (taster webinar) explores how speech sounds, attention and listening develop, as well as how to promote these skills in the setting.
- Tuesday 14 June - 3.30pm to 5.00pm EYT 22/1926
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.
- w/c 20 June - Summer term payments expected (FE providers)
- 31 August - Sufficiency submission deadline
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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#215 (Summer term FE actuals - deadline this Friday, consultation on childcare ratio changes before summer, Tax-Free Childcare resources, new guidance on progress check at age 2, Ofsted EIF curriculum roadshows for South East, free SENCO training, speech, language and communications early years summit)
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#214 (Advance notice of planned IT downtime, summer term FE actuals claims reminder, FE for families from Ukraine, transition events 16-27 May, new resources from the National Literacy Trust)
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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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