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.
Newsletter for out of school childcare providers in West Sussex from West Sussex County Council
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Monday 13 March 2023
Possible business opportunity in Wisborough Green
We are sharing a possible business opportunity to take on After School and Breakfast Club provision in Wisborough Green Primary School, Wisborough Green, Billingshurst from the summer term 2023.
Please direct any questions about the opportunity to Sarah Taaffe, School Business Manager, sbm@wisboroughgreenschool.org.uk. Following this, should you require support from an Early Years and Childcare Advisor, you can request new business support here.
Please note, any provider wishing to explore this opportunity should ensure they seek appropriate legal advice as well as carrying out due diligence in terms of safeguarding, analysing need and demand, business planning and cash flow forecasting.
Holiday Activity and Food programme - bookings now open
The Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) Programme is fully funded by the Department for Education and offers children who are entitled to benefits related free school meals the opportunity to attend a participating holiday activity club and have a free meal. We have a wide variety of clubs spread across the County.
Eligible children can attend their chosen HAF provision for a maximum of four days per week for one week at Easter, four weeks during the Summer and one week at Christmas. More information can be found on our website. Booking is currently open for the Easter holidays and parents can search for a provider using the Family Information Service Website.
Holiday Activity and Food programme (HAF) funding and providers
Providers interested in offering HAF places for eligible children can place a ‘bid’, known as an expression of interest, for HAF funding. This can be done each holiday during the allocated time, or one bid can be made for all three holidays.
Expression of interest is open for one month in December, March and September. Exact dates will be shared via these broadcasts. Providers will be required to share details of their activity plans, meal plans, insurance and policies and procedures. Following checks of all necessary paperwork, expressions of interest are then considered by a panel at WSCC and then all interested parties are contacted with details.
Funding is paid directly to providers, sometimes in two parts 75% in advance followed by 25% on delivery, who can then offer the allocated amount of HAF spaces to eligible children. Every child who is eligible for HAF will have a unique HAF code which they will need to make a booking.
Expression of Interest for 2023 are open from 1 March 2023 until 2nd of April 2023 and then again from 1 September 2023 until 1 October 2023. For more information and to place an expression of interest please click here. If you would like to discuss your bid before you submit, or if you have any general enquiries, you can contact us on haf@westsussex.gov.uk.
Ofsted Themes
In recent Ofsted inspections, the following themes have been highlighted for actions:
- Ensure that all documentation, including evidence of staff suitability, are available on site.
- Ensure supervision for children and young people, under the age of 17 years, at all times.
- Ensure that all staff, including the designated safeguarding lead, have a good understanding of the safeguarding requirements and processes for responding to allegations.
- Ensure the premises are secure to ensure children cannot leave and unauthorised persons cannot enter.
As a provider, we know that you do all that you can to offer children a safe and enjoyable experience with you. Regularly reviewing your risk assessments and safeguarding arrangements will support all staff and children - as well as giving families confidence in the service you provide.
Tax-Free Childcare – financial support for families
Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) is a childcare top-up for working parents. It can be used to help pay for accredited holiday clubs, childminders, or sports activities. Enabling parents and carers to access childcare during the school holidays, also saving them money.
TFC is available for children aged up to 11, or 17 if the child has a disability. For every £8 deposited into an account, families will receive an additional £2 in government top-up. This is capped at £500 every 3 months, or £1,000 if the child is disabled. Families can receive up to £2,000 per year, per child and up to £4,000 if the child is disabled. Signposting families to Childcare Choices enables them to see if they are eligible.
Now more than ever, amid rising energy prices and inflation, children and their families need support. In West Sussex a key challenge to parents accessing childcare is affordability. This may impact low income families ability to pay deposits, registration and late payment fees. We are of course aware that finances for providers are also incredibly difficult in these current economic times. However, one way you could support families is by ensuring your setting is signed up to offer TFC and sharing information regarding the scheme with families.
By helping families access TFC, this may increase uptake in spaces for your settings. If you haven't already, you can register here to help families save money on their childcare costs. To share information with families, providers can use the Childcare Choices Partner toolkit for resources to help communicate details of this scheme.
Wrap around childcare for Armed forces Families
The Ministry of Defence announced that after a series of successful pilots, wrap around childcare (WAC) has been available to all eligible Service personnel in the UK since autumn 2022.
Service personnel can apply for up to 20 hours per week, term time only (39 weeks per year) of wrap around childcare funding for 4 to 11-year-old children attending before and after school clubs in the UK. To be eligible, the Service person and their partner, or a sole parent in a lone parent family, must be in paid employment, or re-starting work within the next 31 days, earning a weekly income equivalent to 16 hours at the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage.
Funding can be used with any Ofsted approved (or equivalent) childcare setting, however the childcare provider must be able to accept payments from Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) accounts and a TFC account must be set up for each child that they want to claim funding for. If you have families accessing your setting that may benefit please make sure they are aware of this scheme. To find out more, including more information around the eligibility criteria, please read these FAQs.
Employment Allowance
Employment Allowance allows eligible employers to reduce their annual National Insurance liability by up to £5,000. Furthermore, this can be claimed for up to four previous tax years.
You can claim Employment Allowance if you are a business or charity (including community amateur sports clubs) and your employers’ Class 1 National Insurance liabilities were less than £100,000 in the previous tax year. Please use the links to check if your setting can benefit from this.
Safe Clubs for Children
The Safe Clubs for Children campaign has been launched to support parents with advice and guidance on out of school activities. You can find more information on the West Sussex County Council website - Safe clubs for children. The page will be further developed over the coming months and is aimed at supporting parents and carers to better understand the childcare sector and what is regulated and what is unregulated. This will support them to ensure their child accesses clubs and activities that follow appropriate safeguarding procedures.
Out of school provision: Useful links
Please see below some links to websites that contain lots of useful information, advice and guidance for wrap around providers.
Green Business Newsletter
Local small and medium sized business owners are invited to sign up to receive West Sussex County Council's Green Business Newsletter. You can keep up to date on all things low carbon and receive information of new funding grants.
- 14 APR - Sufficiency for Spring term deadline
- 1 SEP - HAF Expression of Interest opens
- 1 OCT - HAF Expression of Interest deadline
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
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#3 (Ofsted out of school providers offering HAF places; national playwork conference is back; reminder to submit termly childcare provider update forms)
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#2 (Sufficiency updates; HAF expression of interest deadline; HAF providers - benefits of Ofsted registration; safe to play campaign; supporting families with childcare costs; safeguarding reminders)
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#1 (Welcome to the first edition of our Out of School Newsletter - Introducing the team; Family Information Service; Early Years and Childcare Advisors; Holiday Activity and Food programme; HAF funding and providers; expression of interest for 2023)
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