Newsletter for Early Years and Childcare providers in West Sussex
#10/2024 - Wednesday 6 March 2024
This week's newsletter includes:
- Early Years Funded Entitlement (EYFE) Summer 2024 Term Estimates now open
- Early Years Funded Entitlement (EYFE) for working families – reminding parents to check and reconfirm their codes
- Checking Early Years Funded Entitlement (EYFE) codes
- Advanced Warning - Online Provider Portal downtime
- Network meeting presentations
- New Ofsted early years blog post - Ofsted priorities for the early years sector
- Early Years Training
- Lose weight for free
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The Online Provider Portal is open for you to submit your Summer 2024 Term estimates for Early Years Funded Entitlement (EYFE) for 2, 3 and 4 Year Olds.
- Headcount Day for Summer 2024 term is 2 May 2024.
- The deadline for estimate submissions is 22 March 2024.
- Payments are scheduled to be received by providers week commencing 1 April 2024.
Please note that estimates for 2 Year Old EYFE for Working Families and Local Authority Issued 2 Year Old EYFE will be a combined figure.
Providers who have applied to offer EYFE for 2 Year Olds for the first time from Summer 2024 will be unable to submit an estimate unless approved prior to the deadline of 22 March 2024. These providers will instead receive 100% of the funding when Actuals are paid week commencing 6 June 2024.
If, after viewing the guidance available on our website you require further support, in the first instance please email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk, or phone the Family Information Service on 01243 777807.
In order for children to access an EYFE for working families place in the Summer Term, please advise eligible parents to:
You should explain to parents the importance of the Start Date, End Date and Grace Period End Date of their codes, as parents are unable to view these dates on their childcare account. The help guide for the Online Provider Portal code eligibility checker will provide you with further information on why these dates are important.
EYFE eligibility codes must be checked as soon as possible. This is so that if a code is not valid, you can raise any code issues with the parent prior to the child starting their EYFE hours with you. Parents can take appropriate action before the 31 March deadline for the Summer Term 2024. West Sussex County Council can only fund valid codes.
Please use the eligibility checker on the Online Provider Portal to check EYFE eligibility codes for:
- 2 year old EYFE for working families
- 3 and 4 year old Extended EYFE (30 hours)
The help guide will support you in locating the checker and provides important guidance to help you identify if a code is valid or not for Summer Term.
If, after viewing the guidance 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 Date of Birth
- Eligibility code
- Parent's Name
- Parent's National Insurance number
Please be advised that the Online Provider Portal will be unavailable Wednesday 13 March at 1.00pm to Thursday 14 March at 11.59pm 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.
Thank you to all those who attended our recent network meetings. We are pleased to share the presentations from these meetings with you.
Clare Brown from Oral Health presented at some of the networks and these slides have been included in the Childminder and EYFS leader network presentations. To access advice or leaflets for families, please contact Clare Brown via SC-TR.oralhealthpromotionteam@nhs.net. Rebecca Martland, also shared an article that she has written about the changes to the EYFS.
Sir Martyn Oliver, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills discusses his priorities for the early years sector. Read 'My priorities for the early years sector' on the Ofsted early years blog.
We still have availability on some upcoming courses in March, so why not book a place for yourself or staff within your setting. Click the course name to find out more and book your place on the relevant course.
Please remember to pay for your space after you have booked via the course page under the ‘How to Book and Pay’ section. If you experience any issues when booking your course, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk.
Gro Health is a free digital weight management service available to anyone who lives or works in West Sussex and is for people who want to lose weight and maintain a healthier lifestyle. It offers personalised support for up to 12 months, is available in 19 languages and can be accessed online or via phone app.
The contract for this service ends on 31/03/24, so if you are thinking about making changes for yourself, or are able to promote this offer to parents who may not be aware of the support available via this scheme, then don't miss out.
Useful information
- 06 Mar - Portal scheduled to open for Summer term estimates
- 22 Mar - Portal closes for Summer term estimates
- W/C 01 Apr - Summer term estimate payments due
- 12 Apr - Spring term Sufficiency deadline
- 15 Apr - Portal opens for Summer term actuals
- 02 May - Headcount day
- 10 May - Portal closed for Summer term actuals
- 31 May - Inclusion funding deadline for Autumn term
- W/C 03 Jun - Summer term actuals payments due
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:
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 EYCA team using the following email addresses:
Where there are not clearly evidenced reasons why the setting had no option but to close, there could be implications for funding received as per the government guidance.
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#09/2024 (Safeguarding focus - Free county lines video and resource pack; Early Years Funded Entitlement - Provider Declaration; Online Provider Portal downtime; Ofsted inspections - Support from the Early Years and Childcare team; New resource to support practitioners with Early Years Foundation Stage assessment; Kent Early Years Stronger Practice Hub newsletter - February 2024; Early Years Training)
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#08/2024 (Business focus - Things to think about when making changes to your Ofsted registration; Early Years Funded Entitlement - Spring Term payments; Early Years and Childcare heroes - Do you know someone who deserve an Honour?; Ofsted curriculum roadshows in West Sussex; Foundation Years Live - March events; Kent Early Years Strong Practice Hub webinar recordings - Maths and Self-regulation; Early Years Training)
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#07/2024 (Statement from the Department for Education on charging; Level 3 qualifications and offering Early Years Funded Entitlements; Early Years Funded Entitlement eligibility checker updated; Notice of planned downtime; Early Years Foundation Stage Leaders Network slides; Final chance for free training and support; Early Years Conference - Embracing Inclusivity; SEND and Inclusion Newsletter; Early Years Training)
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#06/2024 (Free Entitlement for 2 year old funding; Early Years and Childcare newsletter webpage; Jobcentre Plus - support with recruitment; Letter from Department of Education to Early Years and Childcare providers; West Sussex Health Visiting and School Nursing services survey; Early Years in Mind new guide on self-regulation; Early Years in Mind survey; Newsletter from Early Years Stronger Practice Hub; Webinars from WORTH services; Learning and Development Gateway - new payment system live; Early Years Training)
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#05/2024 (Safeguarding focus - NSPCC case reviews on parental substance use; Warning - Online Provider Portal downtime; Final call - Expansion of Childcare offers survey; National Early Years Recruitment Campaign; Increase in Measles cases in Europe; Transition for Children starting school in September 2024; How parents apply for eligibility codes; Early Years provider emails hacked; Early Years in Mind; Early Years in Mind speech and language webinar recording; Cancellations and substitutions - Early Years Training; Early Years Training)
Early Years and Childcare newsletter web page.
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