Newsletter for Early Years and childcare providers in West Sussex
#292 - Wednesday 15 November 2023
This months newsletter includes:
- Free Entitlement Spring Term estimates now open
- 30 hour codes - Spring Term deadlines
- Consultation on reporting of child sexual abuse
- Holiday Activity and Food winter bookings
- Schools Forum Representative - a message from Claire Kenyon
- Upcoming Changes to Early Years Childcare Funding - survey now closed
- Right from the Start: Early Years and Childcare Strategy event
- Practitioner Wellbeing Support resource
- New projects launched evidence-informed programmes
- Top three tips for preventing tooth decay - translated infographics
- Early Years Training
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The Online Provider Portal is open for you to submit your Spring Term estimates for Free Entitlement 2, 3 and 4 Year Olds: www.westsussex.gov.uk/ecsportal
- Headcount Day for Spring term is 18 January 2024.
- The deadline for estimate submissions is 24 November 2023.
- Payments are scheduled to be received by providers week commencing 4 December 2023.
If you require further support, after viewing the guidance available on our website, please email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk, or phone the Family Information Service on 01243 777807.
In order for children to access an Extended Free Entitlement place in the Spring Term, please advise eligible parents to:
The online eligibility checker is always available to check a child’s 30 hour code is valid for the upcoming term. If, after viewing the guidance available on our website, you have any questions, please email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk. In order for us to deal with your query effectively, please ensure that you include the following details in your email:
- Child's Name
- Child's DOB
- 30 hours code
- Parent's Name
- Parent's National Insurance number
Please remember, parents must apply/reconfirm their eligibility by the above deadline in order for their code to be valid for Spring term.
A key recommendation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was to introduce a legal requirement for certain people to report child sexual abuse (CSA). The Home Office has now launched a consultation to set out proposals for creating a mandatory reporting duty for CSA, and to test opinion on a small but significant number of undecided policy questions. The consultation is open until 30 November 2023. This follows the call for evidence which took place for 12 weeks earlier this year.
This consultation seeks the views of a range of professionals, including education settings and workforces, schools and early years and childcare settings. Please visit the consultation webpage to have your say.
Bookings for the winter HAF programme are open from 6 November 2023. Families will need to use the online booking system to make all bookings. If they used the system during the summer, they will be able to log in. If they have not used it before, they will need to register for an account. A detailed user guide can be found on the HAF website.
We would really appreciate your help to inform families about the HAF Programme and ask you to distribute the HAF winter bookings letter to all families that are eligible for benefits related Free School Meals.
If you have any families who may require additional support to complete the online form, or if they do not have access to the internet, please direct them to their local family hub. HAF codes can be provided by sending the child’s full name and date of birth to haf@westsussex.gov.uk.
In newsletter #291 we announced Claire Kenyon (Busy Lizzies) was appointed as the second Early Years Representative for the West Sussex Schools Forum, alongside Sharon Moody (Kids Capers). Below is a short introduction from Claire Kenyon:
"Hello everyone, for those who don't know - I am the managing director of Busy Lizzie's Nursery in Chichester and I have just been elected as the early years representative on the West Sussex Schools Forum alongside Sharon Moody. I am hugely passionate about supporting children to achieve their full life potential through high quality early years education and care and I hope to make some small difference to how this happens within West Sussex by being a part of this forum.
Some of you may have already joined the Facebook group that I created for West Sussex Providers to share thoughts and ideas - if you haven't please follow this link to do so if you would like to (West Sussex Early Years Providers | Facebook). Thank you to all those who voted for me and please do get in touch on claire@busylizziesnursery.org if you have any thoughts relating to government funding that you would like me to share."
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. This survey is now closed and we would like to thank all providers who took the time to complete it.
If you have not completed the survey your local Early Years and Childcare Advisor will be in contact with you to ensure you have your say on the upcoming changes to Early Years Childcare Funding.
On Wednesday 8 November we held our Right from the Start: West Sussex Early Years and Childcare Strategy event. This collaborative event brought together key stakeholders with representation from the private and voluntary sector, charities, health, parents, communities, libraries, managers and leaders from across the county. We were also delighted to have representation from Early Years and Childcare professionals and utilise the feedback from the Early Years and Childcare Strategy Survey we shared back in September. It was incredibly positive to have so many strategic leads pledging their ongoing support to this crucial area of work.
Participants engaged in focused discussions and workshops to identify key priorities for the strategy. Keynote speakers Claudia Griffith and Dr Dinesh Sinha (NHS ICB) provided valuable and inspirational insight, whilst Ann Van Dyke MBE reminded us that “Children are part of families, are part of communities, are part of society.” This important quote serving to remind all who attended that early years is everybody’s business.
This event is not the end of our work but only the beginning, as we use this momentum to push forward and implement effective strategies for Early Years and Childcare. As the strategy develops we will continue to keep you updated via this weekly newsletter.
The Department for Education has published an Early Years Practitioner Wellbeing Support resource on the Help for Early Years Providers platform. The resources bring together:
- information on the benefits of investing in staff wellbeing in early years settings,
- case studies from four early years settings who have shared their insights on best practice to support staff wellbeing, and
- A list of external resources for early years practitioners and managers.
You can access the resource by visiting the GOV.UK webpage.
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) are inviting schools and early years settings to sign up to deliver subsidised educational programmes with a proven record of improving children’s maths and literacy skills. These programmes have each shown positive impacts on pupil attainment when tested in large-scale, rigorous EEF trials. The EEF is providing funding, secured through the Department for Education, so that these programmes can be made available to schools and settings at little or no cost.
Maths Champions is for Early Years settings and aims to build the knowledge of nursery practitioners so they can support children’s early mathematical development. Early years settings, primary and secondary schools nationwide are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to sign up to these programmes at a free or heavily reduced cost this academic year. Please visit the EEF website to find out more.
EEF are also looking for early years staff to take part in a focus group. Your insights will inform a research project EEF are running with the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to find out how small changes to practice can impact outcomes for young children. As a thank you for taking part, you will receive a gift voucher. You can find out more by visiting the Choices in Early Language project page.
The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) have developed a set of infographics with the top three tips for preventing tooth decay, which is aimed at improving oral health. These infographics have now been translated into the five languages identified by the CORE20PLUS5 CYP1 initiative - as targeting the most vulnerable children in the UK. BSPD’s top three tips for preventing tooth decay is now available in the following languages:
- Punjabi
- Urdu
- Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya)
- Polish
- Romanian
- English (the original version previously available)
The infographics can be printed for waiting room walls, display boards and used for activities within your setting. They could also be given to children to take home or shared with parent/carers asking for support. You can download and print the infographics by visiting BSPD's website.
Best for Babies (Webinar) is an informative one day webinar that considers what really matters when working with children under 2 years. It aligns fully with the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and seeks to support you to consider responsive, playful and informed practice throughout a baby’s day. The course explores many aspects of dynamic child-focused practice including attachment, attunement and interaction, whilst looking at communication, language and physical development. It also covers schemas, treasure baskets, heuristic play and books. The key word for this course is "babies" and costs £54 per person.
- Tuesday 21 November – 9.30am to 3.00pm
Essential Child Development – Talking about Toddlers (2-3 Years) (Webinar) provides an overview of key child development theory, illustrates the main characteristics of toddlers and identifies the key aspects of child development for 2 to 3 year olds. It aims to enables learners to provide appropriate experiences to support all areas of development. You will then be able to apply your knowledge to provide appropriate experiences indoors and outdoors, that offer physical and emotional challenge, whilst supporting all areas of development. The key word for this course is "essential" and costs £27 per person.
- Thursday 23 November – 6.30pm to 9.30pm
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
Useful information
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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#291 (Final reminder - Upcoming Changes to Early Years and Childcare Funding survey; Schools Forum Representative results; Updated Ofsted poster for parents; Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) exemptions guidance; Reminder Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP) - free professional development; Childminder Mentor Programme; Early Years Experts and Mentors programme; New Early Maths module added to Department for Education (DfE) Online Training; Best start in life - a research review for early years; Early Years Training)
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#290 (Weather warning; Warning - Online Provider Portal downtime; Reminder - Your Voice Matters - Upcoming Changes to Early Years Childcare Funding; Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) consultation response; Stronger Practice Hub - webinar; Ofsted webinars; Early Years Training)
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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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