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 Early Years and childcare providers in West Sussex
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Wednesday 25 October 2023
Reducing Parental Conflict - resources to support families
With the pressures that families are facing, there has been a rise in parental conflict in the home which impacts on the well-being of everyone in the household. Although conflict is a normal part of life, if it is frequent, intense or poorly resolved, this can have an impact on children's mental health and well-being. This may cause emotional, social and behavioural problems in children, as well as impacting their ability to engage and learn. You may become aware of issues that a child is experiencing at home by listening to what a child says, noticing what they do in their play or noticing a change in their behaviour. Talking to parents and asking key questions can enable a parent to open up about what is happening at home so you can enable them to access support before the problem escalates, which will minimise the negative impact on the children in the home.
Reducing Parental Conflict is a programme developed to support families, so they are able to manage conflict in a way that supports the building of relationships between adults and models positive relationships to children. The programme is not about removing conflict or assigning blame to parents who are finding life difficult. Reducing Parental Conflict can be found on the Professionals pages of the West Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership website. The resources include some useful prompts to open up conversations with parents if you are wanting to explore how a child's home life may be impacting on their wellbeing.
It is important that practitioners understand the difference between parental conflict and domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is when one adult in a family or relationship threatens, bullies or intentionally hurts another member of the family or relationship. This can be:
- physically,
- psychologically,
- emotionally,
- sexually, and/or
- financially.
Instances of domestic abuse must be reported via the Integrated Front Door. If you feel a family member or child are in immediate danger you should contact the police. Support for parental conflict can be accessed through the Early Help Hubs (which are accessed through the Integrated Front Door) with parental permission.
Free Entitlement for 2, 3 and 4 year olds – Autumn Term payments
Please be advised that Autumn term payments have been released for:
- Free Entitlement actuals where there are no outstanding queries, and
- Disability Access Fund (DAF) for all approved applications where evidence was provided.
Please note, payments can take three to five working days to show in your account. Payments have been paid at the rates set out in the EYC Special Newsletter regarding the Supplementary Grant, which was published 14 July 2023.
The Online Provider Portal is now closed for Autumn term submissions, but you can still log back in to view your payment summary. Please refer to the provider portal help and guidance and the Actuals help guide for step by step guidance. All these help pages and further guidance can be accessed by visiting www.westsussex.gov.uk/ecsportal. If you have any queries, please email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk.
Advanced Notice - Online Provider Portal downtime
Please be advised that the Online Provider Portal will be unavailable Friday 3 to Monday 6 November 2023 whilst we upgrade our technology. Please note that parents and carers will not be able to submit 2 year old Free Entitlement applications, and our Family Information Service website will also be unavailable to the public.
Reminder - Early Years Representative for Schools Forum ballot now open
On Thursday 19 October we shared an Early Years and Childcare Special Newsletter, which let you know the ballot was now open to vote for the Early Years Representative for Schools Forum. The closing date for voting is Thursday 2 November and only one vote will be counted per setting. You can cast your vote by visiting the YourVoice webpage.
Early Years Change of Age Range Consultation - West Sussex Schools
West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and the Governors of particular schools wish to consult on a change of age range. The consultation runs from 2 November to 30 November 2023. The schools involved in this consultation are:
- Hawthorns Primary - Worthing,
- Springfield Infant and Nursery - Worthing,
- Brook Infant and Nursery - Crawley,
- Maidenbower Infant and Nursery - Crawley,
- St Margaret’s CofE Primary - Ifield/Crawley, and
- Slinfold CofE Primary and Preschool.
WSCC and the Governors of each of the schools propose to increase the age range of the listed schools as follows:
- Primary Schools from age 4 to 11 (Year R to Year 6) to age 2 to 11 (Nursery to Year 6)
- Infant Schools from age 4 to 7 (Year R to Year 2) to age 2 to 7 (Nursery to Year 2)
This is with effect from January 2024. There is no planned change to the operation of the early years provision. The consultation is a requirement of the School Organisation (Prescribed Alterations to Maintained Schools) (England) Regulations 2013. You can read the full consultation document to find out more. To have your say visit the YourVoice webpage for this consultation.
Childminder Network Meetings
This term's network meetings for childminders are now available. These 90 minute networks are for all childminders. They are led by Early Years and Childcare Advisors and provide an invaluable opportunity to get up to date information and guidance to you in your role. It will also provide you with an opportunity to meet with other childminders.
- Saturday 4 November - 9.30am to 11.00am - Midhurst Library, GU29 9HD
- Wednesday 8 November - 7.00pm to 8.30pm - Online
You can book your place via the Learning and Development Gateway and search for the key word "childminder". If you experience any issues, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Leader Networks
We want to thank all who attended the most recent EYFS Leader Networks. Your feedback from the networks has been collated and will be used to inform future support and planning. The transitions documents (contained in the network slides) will also be shared at the upcoming networks for EYFS Leads in schools. The feedback from schools and settings will be used to finalise the documentation to be used for transitions in Summer 2024. You can access the presentation for the most recent network meetings here.
Early Years (EY) Education Recovery Programme – finding the support that is right for you
In newsletter #283 we reminded you of the EY Education Recovery Programme, which is a package of workforce training, qualifications, support and guidance for the early years sector.
The Department for Education has created a presentation to outline the programmes currently available and who they are suitable for. The slides split practitioners into three main groups:
- new to the sector,
- more experienced/Level3 qualified, and
- settings leaders/aspiring leaders.
They then indicate which parts of the programme each group may want to consider. More information is available on the EY Education Recovery programme webpage.
Early Years Training
Working with Children who have English as an Additional Language (Webinar) is for those working within an Early Years setting. This training session will encourage partnership working with families It identifies strategies to enable all children to value and respect different languages and cultures and to reach their potential. The cost of this course is £27 per person. The key word for this course is "language" and costs £27 per person.
- Wednesday 8 November – 9.30am to 12.30pm
Best for Boys (Webinar) is for anyone working in Early Years and will support you in exploring how to effectively support boys' well-being, learning and achievement. It will also look at the impact of adult unconscious bias and attitudes, the right conditions needed for boys to excel and the role of the adult in making this happen. The key word for this course is "boys" and costs £54 per person.
- Tuesday 28 November – 9.30am to 15.00pm
Christmas Crafts – Mass Production or Creativity? (Webinar) a webinar that is for all Early Years Foundation Stage practitioners working with 2 to 5 year olds. This course explores a refreshing array of resource ideas and pedagogical approaches which ensure that children’s natural curiosity and developmental needs are central to planning and provision at this time of year. The key word for this course is "Christmas" and costs £27 per person.
- Thursday 9 November – 9.30am to 12.30pm
To book please log on to the Learning and Development Gateway and search for the course using the corresponding key word. If you experience any issues when booking your course, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk.
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.
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 Early Help Hub 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.
We have a range of online training available for you to access for your staff to ensure they have the most up to date information to support them in their role:
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#288 (Safeguarding Focus - reducing parental conflict; Free Entitlement for 2, 3 and 4 year olds – Autumn Term payments; advanced notice - online provider portal downtime; reminder - Early Years Representative for Schools Forum ballot now open; Early Years Change of Age Range Consultation - West Sussex Schools; Childminder Network Meetings; Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Leader Networks; Early Years (EY) Education Recovery Programme – finding the support that is right for you; early years training)
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#287 (Measles and MMR vaccination; Experts and Mentors programme; reminder - West Sussex Early Years and Childcare Strategy survey; advanced warning of downtime; update - childminders start-up grant; Kent Early Years Stronger Practice Hub; Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP); Dingley’s Promise - Special Educational Needs) (govdelivery.com)
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#286 (Changes to raising safeguarding concerns for children; warning - online provider portal downtime; keeping us updated with your staff changes; early years representative for the schools forum; starting school applications; black history month 2023; physical development in early childhood - Early Education blog; early years training; mental health matters in West Sussex)
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#285 (Safeguarding focus - safe sleep guidance; 10 step guide to sharing information to safeguarding children; autumn term 2023 headcount closes this Friday; final reminder - EYFS assessment support survey; committee run provision registration requirements; National Deaf Children's Society - early years networking groups; early help - supporting families networking event; free theraplay workshops; early years training)
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#284 (Right from the Start - Early Years and Childcare Strategy; children's workforce guide to qualifications and training; listening to unheard children report; early help - support available at family hubs; gypsy, traveller, roma, showmen, boater cultural awareness training; ICON week 25 to 29 September; early years training)
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