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Broadcast for Early Years and childcare providers in West Sussex from West Sussex County Council
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Wednesday 14 September 2022
Notification from UKHSA: Increase in scarlet fever and invasive group A streptococcus in children under 10
We have received a recent notification from UKHSA, that scarlet fever and invasive group A streptococcus (iGAS) infections are higher than expected for this time of year. This increase has been prominent in children under 10 years. It is likely that this unusual seasonal pattern of scarlet fever and iGAS infections will continue in the forthcoming months.
UKHSA has produced an awareness notification letter for sharing with pre-school settings, schools and childcare providers working with children under the age of 10 years. Please familiarise yourselves with the following available guidance and the importance of promptly notifying outbreaks to our local Health Protection Team.
References/ Sources of information
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Guidelines for the public health management of scarlet fever outbreaks in schools, nurseries and other childcare settings.
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Guidance for managing close contacts of invasive GAS disease and prevention of GAS infection in acute healthcare and maternity settings are available.
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Guidance for Health protection in education and childcare settings.
- Information for the public on scarlet fever and sepsis.
Autumn term Free Entitlement (FE) actuals claims – Headcount reminder
A reminder that the Online Provider Portal (OPP) is open for you to submit your FE claims for 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
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Headcount day: Thursday 15 September 2022
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Deadline for submission: Friday 23 September 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 12 September 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. FE for Children who start after Headcount week must be requested via a Post Headcount/Exceptional payment request form (PHEP).
- 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.
To ensure you submit your FE claims correctly please refer to the Actuals help guide and YouTube video. Please refer to Setting Update #230 for further information regarding checking 30 hour codes and claiming for Afghan families.
If you have any queries please contact the Free Entitlement team by email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk or call the Family Information Service on 01243 777807 and ask for the Specialist Team.
Setting Review Meetings
To support settings with their own quality improvement process and to enable us as a local authority to understand the strengths and areas for improvement within the early years sector, Early Years and Childcare Advisers will carry out two Setting Review Meetings per year with each pre-school and day nursery. The first of the two review meetings each year will last approximately two hours, including a walk around the setting. The purpose of the visit is to work with the lead practitioner to identify the strengths in practice and areas that can be further improved. If appropriate, additional support may be offered to the setting. The second meeting will primarily be to review the progress towards the agreed actions from the previous meeting. The overall aim of the review meetings is to support settings to deliver sustainable high quality, inclusive early years provision that improves outcomes for all children.
Early Years Inclusion Support Plan
The Early Years Inclusion Support Plan (EYISP) has been developed with a group of early years practitioners, Early Years and Childcare Advisers and an Educational Psychologist . The EYISP is now available on our website and the Tools for Schools and Settings website. This tool should be used by all West Sussex settings for children for whom you identify potential delays in their learning and development, including those with SEND. The tool must be used for any child where the setting are considering requesting Inclusion Funding and for children known to SEND Under 5s.
Further guidance about this document will be shared at the SENCO/INCO Network meetings this term and we will shortly be sharing with you some links to online training which you can use to support you in implementing the EYISP in your setting.
HAF Christmas 2022 Expression of Interests Open
Expression of Interests to provide Holiday Activities and Food for children during the Christmas Holidays in West Sussex are now being accepted. To submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) please complete the questionnaire online here.
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Holiday Period
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Closing Date
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Christmas 2022
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12 midnight 16 October 2022
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HAF funding from the Department for Education is for:
- the provision of Face to Face Holiday Activity clubs with food,
- the Christmas Holidays,
- school aged children (4-16 years) in receipt of benefit related Free School Meals (the HAF funding does not cover nursery aged children),
- offering hot meals to children (cold food will only be considered in exceptional circumstances),
- eligible children to access four hours of provision a day, for four days.
Further guidance on the programme is available on the DfE Holiday Activity and Food Programme webpage. Further information is available on our website but if you have any further questions please contact HAF@westsussex.gov.uk. Thank you for your interest and support of HAF in West Sussex.
Final reminder for consultations on ratios and funding formula - deadline 16 September.
The two government consultations about staff ratios and the early years funding formula will close this Friday 16/09/22. Full details can be found in Setting Update #222.
Childcare Needs Survey - please share with families
If you have not already done so, then please do remind parents/carers of children at your settings, as well as any relevant staff members, that the Childcare Needs Survey is live. As per the information in Setting Update #230, we want to hear from as many families as possible to ensure we are capturing the views of all West Sussex residents who have children aged 0-14 years (and up to 18 for children with SEND). The survey will close 30/09/22.
Here is some wording you are welcome to use. There is also information on the Family Information Service Facebook page which you could share on your pages.
Flu immunisation for early years settings including childminders
Please see information about the annual flu vaccination programme for pre-school children. It is for those working in the early years sector to inform them about the programme and how they can support it.
Food poverty, a growing concern - 20/10/22 at 7.00pm
The pandemic saw the scale of food poverty worsen and now the crippling effects of the increase in cost of living means even more children and their families are facing hunger and food insecurity. Join PACEY in conversation with Gillian Bennett and Nicola Nzuza from the Royal Borough of Greenwich as they examine the effects of food poverty and what you as an early years and childcare provider can do to support children and their families.
As you may know PACEY delivers a range of webinars that support early years and childcare practice. These are member-only but they would like to give you the opportunity to join one so you can see first-hand how this particular benefit supports practice. To sign up for this particular webinar click the link to register and when asked for your membership number please enter the Local Authority you work in. Please do not forward these registration links to anyone else.
- 15 SEP - Autumn term Headcount day
- 23 SEP - Portal closes for Autumn actuals
- W/C 17 OCT - Autumn actuals payment expected
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
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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#231 (Government consultations - time is running out; autumn term FE actuals claims; DAF and EYPP autumn claims; starting school questionnaire and school applications; BookTrust update; childcare survey; EY stronger practice hubs webinar; EYFS reforms: one year on, lessons learned and future direction)
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#230 (Autumn term FE actuals now open; claiming FE for Afghan families; childcare needs survey to share with families; stronger practice hubs webinar recordings)
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#229 (Autumn term FE actuals advance notice; FE stretched claims - termly limits; checks before offering an extended FE place; sufficiency updates deadline reminder; DfE changes press release around relaxing ratios; EYFS reform: one year on, lessons learned and future direction conference; story stuff - impromptu story making)
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#228 (Ofsted updates, Polio Booster Vaccine, Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs)
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#227 (Autumn term 30 hour code deadline reminder; living with COVID-19; inspire children and parents to get active together; new vodcast on mental health and wellbeing)
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