Newsletter for Early Years and Childcare providers in West Sussex
#34/2024 - Wednesday 21 August 2024
This week's newsletter includes:
- Childcare Expansion Forum – joining opportunity extension
- Information for childcare providers in West Sussex - new website
- Ofsted updates - what early years providers and practitioners need to know
- Childminders - new to Ofsted inspections, what do you need to know?
- Autumn Early Years and Childcare networks
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In 2023 we set up the first Childcare Expansion Provider Forum. We have been working with a group of eight early years providers who have shared and discussed the challenges and opportunities relating to the expansion of childcare. Ensuring that early years providers are involved and informed is a top priority for us. This forum will continue throughout the 2024/25 academic year.
We are looking for new participants to join some of our founding members. To ensure that we have a wide range of providers from across the county, we are extending the application deadline. Applications will now close at 11.59pm on 16 September 2024. Please read the Childcare Expansion Provider Forum invitation to find out more and email an Expression of Interest form to free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk.
Successful applicants will be informed by 5.00pm on Wednesday 18 September 2024. The first forum meeting will take place online on Thursday 26 September, 10.00am to 12.00pm. All applicants must ensure they will be available on this date, and all other listed dates.
We are currently reviewing all of our information for childcare providers web pages. These pages contain useful information, advice and guidance relevant to early years and childcare providers in West Sussex. We have listened to feedback from providers and want to ensure our web pages are as useful for you as possible. Therefore, we are developing a new website dedicated to early years and childcare professionals. We have worked closely with the Childcare Expansion Forum to gain insight from a range of professionals. They have given feedback on the proposed changes and we will continue to work closely with them while we develop the new website.
The new website will contain all the useful web pages you can access now, such as:
- Information on the Early Years Funded Entitlements,
- Online Provider Portal,
- Practice Support,
- Diversity and Inclusion,
- Business Support, and
- more useful information.
We will review and update current content and also develop new web pages to support you. We will carry out this work throughout the autumn term. We will share updates via this weekly newsletter and let you know when the new website is live.
Ofsted have recently updated the guidance on what schools, registered early years providers and childminders need to know about delivering the early years foundation stage, and Ofsted inspections under the education inspection framework. You can read the full guidance on the GOV.UK web page and read the summary of changes to see what updates have been made.
Ofsted have uploaded a webinar to YouTube for childminders called "I’m new to Ofsted inspection, what do I need to know?". Ofsted policy leads talk about what childminders can expect from their inspection. They also explain why they want childminders to have the confidence to do what they do every day and not do anything different because the inspector calls.
We are pleased to announce the dates of our Early Years and Childcare network meetings for the autumn term. Please see our updated 2024/25 network brochure for dates, times and locations. Some dates and venues are still to be confirmed. We will update these on the Services for Education website once confirmed.
To book on to a network meeting, click on the booking link for the date you require within the brochure. Alternatively, you can visit our new West Sussex Services for Education booking portal and select your required date.
Useful information
- 30 Aug - Sufficiency deadline for summer term
- 02 Sep - Portal scheduled to open for autumn term actuals
- 19 Sept - Autumn term headcount day
- 27 Sept - Portal closes for autumn term actuals
- w/c 21 Oct - Autumn 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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#33/2024 (Early Years Funded Entitlement for working families - autumn term deadlines; Applying for Early Years Funded Entitlement when on parental leave; Do Something Big campaign - advertising your vacancies; PACEY's first childcare and early years conference)
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#32/2024 (Business focus - Maintaining quality early years and childcare provision in the face of workforce challenges; Setting support phoneline - downtime and changes to operating hours; European Early Childhood Education Research Association conference 2024 - Brighton; Brighton and Hove childminder conference - November 2024; Childcare Expansion Forum - opportunity to join; Making Every Contact Count training)
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#31/2024 (Safeguarding focus - Emotional abuse - childhood verbal abuse; Reminder to have your say on Early Years Funded Entitlement payments; Advanced warning - Online Provider Portal downtime; Check Early Years Funded Entitlement codes for working families; Childcare Expansion Forum - opportunity to join; Free training from Kent Early Years Stronger Practice Hub)
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#30/2024 (Online Provider Portal downtime; Reminder to have your say on Early Years Funded Entitlement payments; Reporting changes to your Ofsted registration; Ofsted Early Years and Childcare Enforcement policy updates; Ofsted News e-magazine; Kent Early Years Stronger Practice hub newsletter - July 2024)
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#29/2024 (National Wraparound Childcare Programme Update; Letter from Sussex Police regarding FGM/C; Early years and childcare training booking portal now live; National Professional Qualification for Early Years Leadership; SEND and inclusion newsletter; Summer reading challenge)
Early Years and Childcare newsletter web page.
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