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 1 November 2023
Weather warning
The Met Office has issued weather warnings for heavy rain and strong winds with Storm Ciarán expected to spread east on Wednesday night and Thursday. Please can we remind you that it is the setting’s responsibility to risk assess whether you chose to close or remain open. For settings offering Free Entitlement places the Provider Declaration states:
4.33 Should the setting need to close in the event of an emergency, it is expected that you make up any loss of FE hours wherever reasonable. You must contact the FIS to discuss the circumstances and anticipated length of closure.
We hope everyone is able to stay safe over the next few days.
Warning - Online Provider Portal downtime
Please be advised that the Online Provider Portal will be unavailable Friday 3 to Monday 6 November 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 - Your Voice Matters - Upcoming Changes to Early Years and Childcare Funding
On Thursday 26 October we shared an Early Years and Childcare Special Newsletter, which let you know about our survey opening to gather feedback from early years settings on the upcoming expansion to the existing childcare offer. Completion of this survey is compulsory to support statutory duties around sufficiency planning. The survey closes at 11.55pm on Sunday 12 November. You can have your say by visiting the YourVoice webpage.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) consultation response
The Department for Education (DfE) has set out its official response to the EYFS regulatory changes consultation, which we announced in newsletter #269. The DfE intend to implement the majority of the changes from January 2024, subject to parliamentary procedure. This includes no longer requiring level 3 practitioners to hold a level 2 (or equivalent) maths qualification and creating provider specific versions of the EYFS.
The DfE has also published an independent evaluation of the landmark 2021 EYFS reforms. It found the changes to the curriculum had benefitted many settings, practitioners and children. Key findings included:
- The majority of leaders and staff thought the 2021 EYFS reforms have had or will have a positive effect on children’s learning and development.
- Leaders generally thought the 2021 EYFS reforms had improved the quality of teaching.
- The majority of settings reviewed and/or made changes to their curriculum and assessment approaches as a result of the EYFS reforms. Most commonly, this involved putting less focus on observation and tracking and spending more time with children instead, which was a key focus of the reforms.
Many leaders thought the reforms were leading to better quality interactions with children.
Stronger Practice Hub - Building Positive Interactions webinar
Kent Early Years Stronger Practice Hub (KEYSPH) are inviting practitioners to join their live webinar series looking at how early years settings can support children with communication and language needs. This is the second series of two webinars presented by the Speech and Language Therapy Leads from the Evelina Children’s Community Speech and Language Therapy Service. The webinars in this series looks at Building Positive Interactions, giving practical strategies for early years practitioners, and helping them to be ‘the person who makes the difference’. There are two separate dates for you to choose from to join them. These webinars are being funded by KEYSPH and are free to attend.
If you are interested in this webinar please complete the appropriate expression of interest form by clicking the date you wish to attend above. There are a limited number of spaces available and KEYSPH will confirm whether you have been allocated a space. If you attend one of these webinars you will be invited to a review session.
KEYSPH also have places available at their next four welcome webinars, where you can find out more about KEYSPH and Stronger Practice Hubs. Information on how to book can be found in this flyer.
Ofsted Webinars
Ofsted have published five short webinars. Three of them are for registered early years providers and schools. These webinars explain:
- why communication and language are so important,
- what a good curriculum should look like to support development of communication and language, and
- the ways that children make progress through knowing and remembering more.
The other two webinars are specific to the type of setting. One is for registered early years settings and one is for schools, both explain how Ofsted look at communication and language during inspections. You can access all of these webinars on the Ofsted news YouTube channel.
Early Years Training
Developing High Quality Learning Environments for Two Year olds (Webinar) is suitable for all levels of practitioner. It will support you to understand the key features of a high quality learning environment for 2 year olds. You will explore the characteristics of effective learning and how to enable children to develop positive attitudes. The key word for this course is "two" and costs £27 per person.
- Monday 13 November – 9.30am to 12.30pm
Clap, Play, Sing your Way to Literacy (Face to Face) is a motivational face-to-face half day course for anyone working in Early Years. It will enhance your understanding of providing engaging and successful learning opportunities that playfully promote literacy development in the early years. The key word for this course is "literacy" and costs £27 per person.
- Tuesday 14 November – 1.00pm to 4.00pm - Field Place, BN13 1NP
Discovering Maths – Every day and Everywhere (Webinar) is for all practitioners working with 2 to 5 year olds. It will increase your understanding of how to support children’s development in mathematics through providing a mathematically rich learning environment. It will help you consider how children learn mathematical concepts and how this process can be supported by a skilled and sensitive adult. The key word for this course is "maths" and costs £54 per person.
- Wednesday 8 November – 9.30am to 3.00pm
Autism Awareness in the Early Years (Webinar) is for all practitioners. This webinar aims to increase your awareness of the Autism spectrum, explore the triad of impairments and enable you to develop strategies to support young children. The key word for this course is "autism" and costs £54 per person.
- Thursday 8 February 2024 – 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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#289 (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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#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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