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Newsletter for out of school childcare providers in West Sussex from West Sussex County Council
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Monday 26 June 2023
Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme
The Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) Programme is fully funded by the Department for Education and offers children who are accessing benefits related free school meals the opportunity to attend a participating holiday activity club and have a free meal. There are a wide variety of HAF providers spread across the County.
Eligible children can attend their chosen HAF provision for a maximum of:
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four days per week for one week at Easter,
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four weeks during the Summer, and
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one week at Christmas.
On the 12 June 2023, a brand-new booking system was launched for families to be able to book and manage their HAF places. Details of how to access this system can be found on the HAF website. Bookings are currently being taken for the Summer holidays.
Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) Expression of Interest
Providers interested in offering Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) places for eligible children can place a ‘bid’, known as an Expression of Interest, for HAF funding. This can be done by making a bid each term or one bid can be made for multiple school holidays.
Expression of Interest is open for one month in December, March and September and exact dates will be shared on the HAF website. Providers placing a bid will be required to share details of their:
- activity plans,
- meal plans,
- insurance, and
- policies and procedures.
Following checks of all necessary paperwork, all bids are then considered by a panel and interested parties will then be contacted with further details.
If a provider's bid is successful funding will be paid directly to them. Funding under £5,000 is paid in advance, in full, and funding over this amount is paid 75% in advance followed by 25% on delivery. Once funding is received a provider 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 Christmas will be open from 1 September 2023 until 1 October 2023. For more information and to place a bid please click here. If you would like to discuss your bid, have a general enquiry or a family has a query, please email HAF@westsussex.gov.uk.
Tax-Free Childcare Webinar
On 3 May 2023 Hempsall’s delivered a webinar funded by HMRC which continues the work to raise awareness of Tax-Free Childcare (TFC). The webinar is aimed at Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) and childcare providers to increase their understanding of TFC.
TFC is not just for use in early years childcare settings, it is a great opportunity for parents of school-aged children to get help with the costs of out of school childcare. If a child is under 12 years old (or under 17 if disabled) and a parent has any kind of childcare costs, they can make savings through TFC. By helping families access TFC, this may increase uptake in spaces for your settings and therefore increase your income. If you are not already signed up to offer TFC you can sign up today, it only takes 10 minutes.
The webinar provides useful information and guidance on:
- TFC business cases,
- how to set up and offer TFC,
- how TFC payments work, and
- how to advertise the scheme to families.
The webinar can be accessed here.
Termly Childcare Provider Update Form – Reminder to Submit
Please submit a provider update form on the Online Provider Portal for this term.
Important reasons for submitting termly updates:
- When new businesses or housing developments are proposed in your local area, we use your provider and vacancy information to help identify if new childcare provision is required. New settings may open unnecessarily if your information is out of date and wrong.
- Your information helps families find suitable childcare for their children across the county.
- Free advertisement on our website which receives, on average, just under 10,000 hits a month.
How your updates benefit families:
- Families call us for help to find childcare that meets their individual needs.
- One of the biggest complaints the Family Information Service receives from parents is that setting vacancy information is wrong. It wastes their time and is frustrating for parents when searching for childcare. Our information is only as good as the information you can give us.
- They use our website to find childcare. The details you provide help them to make informed decisions on which providers to contact.
You should provide updates at least termly:
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Update, even if you are full. Updating is about more than just free advertising. Out of date information can directly affect your business.
- If you have not updated your details in the last year we will remove you from our public list. This is to prevent a breach to our data protection policy, which you agree to when submitting your profile update.
The Early Education and Childcare statutory guidance (April 2023) requires local authorities to publish setting information which is updated at least once a term.
Food Safety and Sensory Food Education Webinar
Foundation Years hosted an online event on 11 May 2023. This webinar focused on food safety and sensory food education, includes a session with the charity TastEd. You can watch a recording of the webinar and download the slides on the Foundation Years website.
- 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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#5 (Spring budget announcement; wraparound care for military families; TFC new HMRC mailbox; Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month; paediatric first aid courses available)
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#4 (Business opportunity in Wisborough Green; HAF - bookings open; HAF - expressions of interest; Ofsted themes; tax-free childcare; wrap around childcare for armed forces families; employment allowance; safe clubs for children; useful web links; green business newsletter)
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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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