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 15 March 2023
Budget Announcement
At the time of compiling today's broadcast we are aware that the Chancellor's Budget speech is underway with anticipated announcements regarding childcare. As soon as anything more detailed is provided we will be sure to share this with you via our regular/special broadcasts.
Healthy Child Programme - contact information
The Healthy Child Programme (HCP) has updated their contact details so that they now have one single point of access for the whole county. The details are as follows:
- Parentline: For parents/carers of children aged 0-5 text service - 07312 277163. This anonymous text service can be used at any time and HCP will respond to messages within 24 hours, Monday to Friday, 9.00am-4.30pm, except for bank holidays and weekends. This service is for advice and support only and should not be used to arrange or amend appointments.
- Telephone: 01273 242004 (Monday to Friday, 9.00am-4.30pm, excluding bank holidays). This is for advice, support and appointments.
- Email: sc-tr.wsxhcpduty@nhs.net
For professionals wanting to refer a child to a West Sussex Health Visiting Team please use this form which contains criteria for referral and details of how to submit.
Experts and Mentors Programme
You may be aware of the Experts and Mentors Programme, led by the Department for Education, to support early years group settings. Deborah Brown, from the University of Sussex and Fay Flude, from Bolnore Pre-School are local leads for the programme. They have produced a leaflet with more information.
Deborah and Fay, are running three drop-in sessions to enable you to find out more about the programme and decide if this is something that can benefit your setting. The sessions will run for half an hour and provide an informal chance to hear more and ask questions. You do not need to attend for the whole meeting and the sessions will be held via zoom. The date, time and meeting links are as follows:
Ofsted priorities 2023
Ofsted publishes an annual report, which provides an overview of what their inspections found in the last year. The report highlights current research, important themes and potential challenges. The article addresses themes that are present across the country.
National Day Nurseries Training
Did you know our Early Years Training offer includes self-led, online courses from the National Day Nurseries Association? Courses range from one to three hours and you have up to six months to complete them. They are available at £10 per person. An example of a popular course is:
Little Scientists Leading the Way – learn how science in the early years manifests itself through play and exploration. Explore how to create science-based sensory opportunities and provide a science rich learning environment. The course duration is three hours.
All self-led, online courses are listed in this brochure. To book, make the required payment through the WSCC payments portal here. Once you have paid please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk to specify which course(s) you require. You will then receive an email with instructions on how to start the course and collect your certificate after completion.
- 6-20 Mar - Portal open for Summer Estimates
- 14 Apr - Spring term Sufficiency deadline (all providers)
- 4 May - Summer Term Headcount Day
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 EYCA team 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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#256 (Free entitlement summer estimates open; 30 hour codes summer deadline; HAF bookings now open; HAF expressions of interest 2023; updated Ofsted web pages; EYPDP phase three; home learning environment resources and campaign; the daily mile; new evidence based resources; DfE new early years child development training)
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#254 (Meeting the needs of international new arrivals; green business newsletter; early years training)
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#253 (Notice of planned downtime, Additional Bank Holiday, Ofsted update, Early years child development training, Government Education Committee review, Portage home visiting service, music training course)
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#252 (Advanced notice of planned downtime; financial planning for 2023/24;updated Ofsted web pages; DfE COVID-19 recovery childminder mentor programme; DfE funded webinars from NASEN; guidelines for management of Scarlet Fever outbreaks; SEND and inclusion newsletter)
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