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 3 May 2023
Important Reminder and Guidance - Free Entitlement Summer term Actuals (FE providers only) Following on from setting update #262 ,we would like to remind you that the Online Provider Portal (OPP) is now open for you to submit your Summer term Free Entitlement (FE) actuals claim.
- Headcount day: Thursday 4 May 2023
- Deadline for submission: Friday 12 May 2023
Help and Guidance:
- Information, YouTube videos and PDF help-guides can be found at about how to complete your Actuals can be found on our FE Actuals webpage.
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 Summer 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.
Early Years Pupil Premium:
Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) claims must be submitted at the same time as your FE actuals data via the OPP. In order for a child’s EYPP eligibility to be checked, you must submit the following information as part of your actuals claim:
- enter Parent/Carer details,
- and tick the consent box under the ‘Parent/Carer details’ section of the funding claim.
Please follow the FE actuals guidance which covers how to claim EYPP. For further information regarding EYPP and identifying eligible children, refer to the document 'Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)' on our Free Entitlement web page. Children who are eligible for EYPP will also automatically qualify for the deprivation supplement.
Disability Access Fund:
You can claim the Disability Access Fund (DAF) for 3 and 4 year old children who are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), if they are receiving FE funding. The DAF is a one off payment of £828 per year for each eligible child. Please note, providers can claim for a second DAF payment three terms after the initial DAF payment was received.
You must email a copy of the DLA award letter and signed Parent Declaration form to free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk and follow the FE actuals guidance which covers how to submit a DAF claim: www.westsussex.gov.uk/ecsportal. For further information refer to the document 'Disability Access Fund (DAF)' on our Free Entitlement web page.
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.
Free Entitlement - ethnicity information
Whilst submitting your Free Entitlement (FE) child-level data for Summer term Actuals, we would like to gently remind settings to please include the child’s ethnicity information.
The ethnicity must match what the parent has specified on the Parent Declaration form (which must be completed before submitting a claim for the child). The option for 'Not Obtained' should be avoided and the option for 'Refused' is applicable when a parent has declined to share ethnicity information.
This information is shared with the Department for Education as part of the annual census and we expect this information to be as accurate as possible. We are very grateful for your assistance.
 Pre-school vaccinations
If you have any children in your setting starting school this September, it is important that they are up to date with all of their childhood vaccinations to protect them against potentially unpleasant and often serious childhood diseases.
The 4-in-1 pre-school booster vaccine is offered to children from the age of 3 years and 4 months, to boost their protection against:
- diphtheria
- tetanus
- pertussis (whooping cough)
- polio
Children should also have two doses of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, with the first dose given around the child's first birthday and the second dose given around 3 years and 4 months old. Both doses are needed to ensure full and lasting protection against:
With around one in ten children unvaccinated and unprotected against MMR, and because measles is so infectious, even small drops in MMR coverage can have a big impact on the population immunity and leaves us vulnerable to potential outbreaks. Therefore, it is important to inform parents and carers of children starting school this September about how they can keep their children protected.
Parents and carers might be worried about side effects of vaccines for children and there are myths that can cause concerns. Public Health England’s 'What to expect after vaccinations' leaflet explains common side effects that might occur in babies and children under 5.
So parents and carers are fully informed, settings can share these useful links:
The Early Years Development Programme - registration now open
The Early Years Development Programme (EYPDP) is a tailored professional development programme and forms part of the Department for Education's Early Years Recovery Programme which aims to address the continued effects of the pandemic on young children. The EYPDP is available to up to 10,000 eligible practitioners across England.
The programme is being delivered by Education Development Trust (EDT). The programme has been designed to fit flexibly around busy lifestyles, covering three modules:
- Communication and Language (with content from Speech and Language UK)
- Early Mathematics (with content from early years mathematics experts Dr Sue Gifford and Dr Cath Gripton)
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development (with content from the Anna Freud Centre)
Registration for cohort two, commencing this September, is now open. To register your interest, check eligibility criteria and find out more information, please visit their website at www.earlyyearspdp.com.
New research on child development from A Better Start
A new report on improving child development outcomes in times of uncertainty has been published on the National Children’s Bureau’s website. The report provides insights from The National Lottery Community Fund’s, A Better Start (ABS). In the report, ABS partnerships provide a summary of emerging evidence across child development. Covering outcome areas such as:
- improving children’s diet and nutrition
- social and emotional development
- speech, language and communication
You can read the full ABS report here.
Foundation Years Online Event
The next online Foundation Years event is being held on Thursday 11 May and will be held via Microsoft Teams. This free event will give you the opportunity to:
- hear more about Foundation Years and how to get involved,
- learn about sensory food education from TastEd, and
- refresh your knowledge on choking prevention from the Department for Education.
You can get involved by making comments, asking questions and feeding back your experiences. Foundation Years are particularly keen to engage future, new and experienced practitioners, leaders and managers, and those that work to support and inform the sector.
- Thursday 11 May - 10.00am to 11.30am
To book a place, please register via Eventbrite.
Supporting Grandparents Webinar
The Local Government Association are holding a free online event looking at how we can support the growing number of grandparents who are providing childcare for their grandchildren. In the session ChildsSide will talk about the course they are delivering to grandparents and there will be an opportunity to contribute ideas on how providers can use Grandparents Day on 1 October to share key messages.
- Wednesday 24 May - 2.00pm to 3.00pm
To book, please register on the Eventbrite page.
Early Education Centenary Festival
Join Early Education from 16-18 May for three days of free online sessions that support Continuing Professional Development. The sessions focus on the theme of play to celebrate one hundred years of Early Education’s role in advocating for high quality, play-based early childhood education. To view the programme and book sessions, please visit the Early Education website.
Domestic Abuse in Young People’s relationships 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. This course is free to attend.
- Tuesday 6 June - 10.00am to 4.00pm - Horsham RH12 1XH
Please book through the Learning and Development Gateway, you can use this guide to help you locate and book your course. 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
- w/c 5 June - Actuals payments
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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#263 (Safeguarding focus: inadequate Ofsted gradings; possible business opportunity Poynings; claiming Disability Access Fund (DAF); toolkit to support mental health; professional development guide; sharing your coronation experience; paediatric first aid courses available to book)
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#262 (Business opportunity in Arundel; summer term FE actuals now open; reminder how to claim FE for Afghan families; article on integrated reviews; safeguarding training - domestic abuse)
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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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