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 19 April 2023
Possible business opportunity in Arundel
Arundel Church of England Primary School has an exciting opportunity for a high quality provider to operate Early Years provision, for nursery age children, from a purpose-built modular building within the school grounds. They are looking for a provider with a proven track record, to be part of their community which has a strong ethos around working closely with children and families to improve outcomes. Experience in Early Years provision is desired, but does not disqualify other interested parties who believe they can fulfil the requirements. The successful applicant will follow a Forest School curriculum. It is hoped that all necessary background work is completed to enable the nursery to open in September 2023.
There is an opportunity to visit the premises on 18 and 19 May, these visits will take no longer than thirty minutes and are by appointment only. To book a visit, ask questions or request an application pack, please contact Mrs Bingham by email reception@arundel.w-sussex.sch.uk or phone 01903 883149, by 30 April 2023. The closing date for receipt of applications is 5.00pm on 31 May 2023.
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 business planning and cash flow forecasting. Following this, should you require support from an Early Years and Childcare Advisor, you can request new business support here.
Free Entitlement Summer term Actuals – Now Open (FE providers only)
The Online Provider Portal is now open for you to submit your Summer Term Free Entitlement (FE) actuals claim.
Key dates:
- Headcount day: Thursday 4 May 2023
- Deadline for submission: Friday 12 May 2023
Help and Guidance:
Important to note:
- FE claims can only be made for children who are in attendance during Headcount week (unless absent due to short term sickness or planned holiday).
- A Parent Declaration form must be fully completed and signed no later than Headcount day in order to claim at actuals.
- Each child’s funding claim requires you to record their ethnicity, ensure you refer to the Parent Declaration form and select the ethnicity as stated by the parent/guardian. Please do not select ‘Unknown’ as the DfE require this information as part of the mandatory data collection.
Extended FE claims - 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 2023.
- The code ‘start date’ must be before 1 April 2023 and the ‘Grace period end date’ covers the Summer term 2023.
To check a code is valid for Sumer term use the online eligibility checker and view our helpful video guide for step by step guidance. Please note, WSCC cannot fund without a valid code.
If you have any questions or require assistance, please contact the Family Information Service on 01243 777807 and ask for the Specialist Team, or e-mail free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk.
Reminder on how to claim Free Entitlement for Afghan Families
To claim Free Entitlement (FE) funding for Afghan families arriving in England under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Programme (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), please submit a Post Headcount/Exceptional payment form (PHEP) found on our webpage. Please do not add these children to your headcount claim, even if they were present at headcount.
Subject to our usual eligibility checks, all ARAP and ACRS PHEP requests will be approved. Please add a note to the PHEP form to inform us that you are requesting funding for a child under the ARAP/ACRS.
Proof of age checks must be carried out before a child takes up a FE place. If the family cannot provide evidence of the child’s age please contact us for further advice.
If you have any queries please contact the FE team by email freeentitlement@westsussex.gov.uk or call the Family Information Service on 01243 777807 and ask for the Specialist Team.
New article on integrated reviews
Dr Julian Grenier and Megan Pacey have produced a new support article on integrated health and education reviews. The article shares guidance and best practice on carrying out integrated reviews for children aged 2 to 3 and includes links to further resources. You can find this article and more useful guidance on the Help for Early Years Providers website.
In West Sussex, integrated reviews are not routinely offered to all children aged 2 to 3. However, if practitioners have concerns about a child's development at any age and the child's parents agree, practitioners can contact the Healthy Child Programme to request an integrated review. The details are as follows:
- Telephone: 01273 242004 (Monday to Friday, 9.00am - 4.30pm, except for bank holidays and weekends)
- Email: sc-tr.wsxhcpduty@nhs.net
Safeguarding Training - Worth Services training offer
Worth Services have developed a range of courses to support and widen professionals understanding of domestic abuse. They will provide practitioners and Designated Safeguarding Leads with a deeper understanding of domestic abuse and provide them with supportive tools. These courses will be available throughout 2023 and the beginning of 2024. All courses are free to attend.
Domestic Abuse Awareness Training (Webinar) covers basic Domestic Abuse Awareness and is aimed at anyone working with children, young people, adults and families who may be experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse.
The aim of this course is to provide you with a thorough understanding of the prevalence, nature and effects of domestic abuse. It also aims to increase your confidence in identification, risk assessment and safety planning. You will learn about the barriers people may experience when accessing support and increase your knowledge on where additional support and information can be accessed, nationally and in West Sussex. This is delivered as an interactive webinar, where you will be part of a group with direct access to a trainer who will be leading the session. Face to face sessions will be made available at a later date.
- Tuesday 16 May - 9.30am to 1.00pm
- Wednesday 21 June - 9.30am to 1.00pm
- Wednesday 13 September - 9.30am to 1.00pm
Domestic Abuse - Impact on Children (Webinar) is aimed at anyone working with children, young people and families, who may be experiencing domestic abuse.
The aim of this webinar is to support you in raising your awareness of the impact that domestic abuse can have on children and the potential long-term impact on their future outcomes. You will learn about working directly with children and supporting parents who have experienced domestic abuse. The course will also explore tools and specialist resources for children, young people and their families who are affected by domestic abuse. During the webinar you will be part of a group that will be facilitated by a domestic abuse trainer.
- Tuesday 18 July - 9.30am to 2.30pm
- Wednesday 22 November - 9.30am to 2.30pm
- Thursday 22 Feb 2024 - 9.30am to 2.30pm
Domestic Abuse in Young People’s relationships (Webinar) is aimed at front line practitioners, working with young people, who may have or may be experiencing domestic abuse within their intimate relationships. It is also aimed at Designated Safeguarding Leads who may support students, apprentices and young people within their settings.
The aim of this course is to provide you with an awareness of the prevalence, nature and effects of teenage relationship abuse and assist you in learning how to support those affected. Its purpose is to further your knowledge and understanding of how young people experience abuse in their own intimate relationships. We will look at how the ‘teenage brain’ impacts decision making, understand the impact of social media and consider use of language when supporting young people in relationships.
Webinar dates:
- Wednesday 10 May - 9.30am to 1.00pm
- Wednesday 27 September - 9.30am to 1.00pm
- Tuesday 4 October - 9.30am to 1.00pm
- Tuesday 16 January 2024 - 9.30am to 1.00pm
In person dates:
- Tuesday 6 June - 10am to 4.00pm - Horsham RH12 1XH
Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment and Management: DASH and MARAC (Webinar) is for West Sussex County Council staff and external professionals (including Designated Safeguarding Leads) who work with children, young people, adults, and families to identify risk and respond to victims of domestic abuse.
The aim of this webinar is to increase your use of the Domestic Abuse Stalking and Harassment (DASH) Risk Indicator Checklist, risk assessment tool and improve your ability to identify high risk victims of domestic abuse. You will also learn how to refer into the Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) process. The webinar will explore the purpose of the DASH Risk Indicator Checklist and explain the MARAC process in detail. The webinar will also consider the Domestic Homicide Timeline and how this relates to risk assessment and risk management.
- Wednesday 20 September - 9.30am to 2.30pm
- Tuesday 24 October - 9.30am to 2.30pm
To book any of the courses listed above, search the key word 'domestic' and locate the relevant course title on the Learning and Development Gateway. If you have any questions, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk.
- 4 May - Summer term Headcount Day
- 12 May - Portal closes for actuals submissions
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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#261 (Committee run groups - free energy bill audit; IT maintenance; month of the military child; world daily mile day; early years in mind - neurodiversity guide and transition webinar)
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#260 (Free entitlement summer term estimate payments; new learning and development service; transition events; tax-free childcare webinar; theraplay workshop)
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#259 (Safeguarding focus: sexual harm practice guidance; new post-headcount exceptional payment request form; education endowment foundation new resources available; tiny happy people; SEND and inclusion newsletter)
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#258 (Final reminder - FE summer estimates; provider declaration form reminder for existing FE providers; 30 hours eligibility checker guidance; committee and charitable settings guidance; childminder assistants; TFC new HMRC mailbox; spring network presentations; HAF reminder)
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