Newsletter for Early Years and Childcare providers in West Sussex
#39/2024 - Wednesday 25 September 2024
This week's newsletter includes:
- Safeguarding focus – Lockdown processes
- Autumn term 2024 Headcount submissions close this Friday
- Autumn term Post Headcount Exceptional Payment requests for eligible Working Families of children aged 9 months to 2 years old
- Ofsted Outcomes
- October childcare job fair, Horsham – only a few stalls left
- Kent Early Years Stronger Practice Hub newsletter - September 2024
- Oral health training
- National Professional Qualification in Early Years Leadership
- Early Years Training – Phonics
Difficulty viewing this bulletin? Click here to view in your browser.
Latest Ofsted news and updates here.
Preparing for and responding to internal and external incidents is important for all providers. Having clear plans in place helps to minimise disruption to the learning environment and ensures the safety of children and staff.
You will have procedures in place for a range of emergency situations, but some cases will benefit from a security-related 'lockdown'.
There is guidance available from West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and the Department for Education (DfE) to help you develop your lockdown procedure, and your communication with parents/carers when a lockdown has been carried out.
There are additional resources that can support you with emergency planning and responses.
For local emergency incidents, please be aware that a multi-agency meeting will be held if it is thought a setting may be impacted. If any action is needed, impacted settings will be made aware. You may also receive a special newsletter from us to keep you informed about local emergency situations.
If you feel your safety or the safety of staff and families in your setting is in immediate danger you should contact the police by calling 999.
A reminder that the Online Provider Portal (OPP) is still open for you to submit your Early Years Funded Entitlement claims for:
- 9 month olds,
- 2 year olds, and
- 3 and 4 year olds.
We advise you submit your claims as soon as possible as the OPP closes at 11.59pm Friday 27 September. Please refer to Newsletter #36/24 for more information on how to claim correctly, including information on how to claim for the Disability Access Fund.
If you have no children to claim for this term we still ask that you log in and check your Headcount information. We carry forward children’s details from the previous term, so you need to log in and remove any children's details that may have been carried forward. You can find useful guidance on how to do this on the Estimates and Actuals web page. By removing children's details it will ensure you do not receive reminders from us about missing submissions.
In the Early Years Funding Newsletter shared with you on 12 September 2024, we let you know that West Sussex County Council has the flexibility to approve any PHEP requests for children aged 9 months to 2 years old, who wish to access an Early Years Funded Entitlement (EYFE) for Working Families place from 23 September, up to and including 8 November 2024.
This is due to the additional data submission required by the Department for Education for the autumn term 2024. They are requesting the information for the following funded children:
- 2 year old EYFE for Working Families submitted via Actuals (based on attendance at Headcount),
- 9 months plus EYFE for Working Families submitted via Actuals (based on attendance at Headcount),
- 2 year old EYFE for Working Families submitted via the PHEP process (for children starting at a provider from 23 September to 8 November 2024), and
- 9 month plus EYFE for Working Families submitted via the PHEP process (for children starting at a provider from 23 September to 8 November 2024).
PHEPs for children aged 9 months to 2 years old will be accepted without the need for an exceptional reason. Approval is subject to a valid EYFE for Working Families eligibility code for the autumn term, and our usual checks. This flexibility applies to autumn term 2024 only.
The online PHEP request form can be found on our web page. PHEPs for the above children must be submitted to us no later than Wednesday 13 November 2024.
For children starting an EYFE for Working Families funded place after 8 November 2024, normal requirements will apply and a child must have an exceptional reason to start post Headcount.
As a local authority, we are keen to support you with delivering the highest quality practice that you can.
The Early Years Funded Entitlement Provider Declaration April 2024 - March 2025 states that:
"Providers must inform West Sussex County Council of any Ofsted inspection outcomes that are 'Inadequate', 'Requires Improvement', 'Not Met', or 'Ineffective' no later than the day after their inspection. This will trigger a process of support to ensure that Ofsted actions are addressed swiftly and effectively." (section 3.5).
Please let your Early Years and Childcare Adviser (EYCA) know about your Ofsted Outcome or a Welfare Requirements Notice.
We are also asking all providers who are issued with a Welfare Requirements Notice to notify us as soon as possible so that we can provide you with support in a similar way to the offer of support following a full inspection where the outcome is less than Good.
Please email your nearest EYCA team using the following email addresses:
In newsletter #37/2024, we shared a great opportunity for early years and childcare providers to have a stall at the upcoming childcare job fair, Monday 7 October from 10.00am to 12.00pm. Please see the event flier for more information.
If you missed the initial article, don’t worry, there are still some stalls available for early years and childcare providers to come along and promote their staff vacancies. This is a great opportunity for providers in Horsham, Crawley and Mid Sussex.
If you would like a stall to promote your setting as an employer of choice, please contact Kelly.pearce@dwp.gov.uk.
The September edition of the KEYSPH newsletter is now available.
The Oral Health Team are offering an online training session to enhance your knowledge of oral health in early years. The sessions include:
- basic dental anatomy,
- process of tooth decay,
- sugar guidance and prevention,
- good oral hygiene technique, and
- key dental messages.
The sessions will run on:
- Tuesday 12 November 2024 – 7.00pm
- Thursday 12 December 2024 – 7.00pm
To book your place, please email the team at: SC-TR.oralhealthpromotion@nhs.net. Please provide your name, job title, name of early years setting and email address.
In newsletter #37/2024 we let you know about the NPQEYL. If you were unable to attend the webinars providing further information on the qualification, you can watch a recording from the GLF on YouTube. You are still able to apply for this upcoming autumn cohort. The course costs £1,090 plus VAT if applicable. To apply, please go to the GLF and West Sussex Teaching School Hub website and look under the NPQEYL tab. For further information, please email:
We offer a range of courses that support early years and childcare providers with their understanding and delivery of phonics. The ‘Phonics Foundations’ series covers topics ranging from responding to everyday sounds for babies, the importance of rhyme and games, as well as looking at the skill of blending and segmenting. To book, click on the course name below. You can also visit West Sussex Services for Education and search for a range of courses.
If you experience any issues when booking your course, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk.
Useful information
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.
-
#38/2024 (Updates to our phone system - possible longer call wait times; Early Years Funded Entitlement (EYFE) for 2 year olds; Starting school applications; New Public Mental Health Needs Assessment 2024; Early Years Training
-
#37/2024 (Early Years and Childcare Advisors corrected contact information for support; Job centre support with recruitment; Childcare job fair in Horsham in October – meet job seekers; Wellbeing and Exercise in Pregnancy Programme; National Professional Qualification for Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL); Autumn early years and childcare networks; Early Years Training)
-
#36/2024 (Business focus - Marketing your early years and childcare business; Early Years Funded Entitlement autumn term Actuals - now open; Early Years Funded Entitlements for Working Families; Claiming Disability Access fund; Early Years Funded Entitlement leaflet for parents and carers - digital copies available; Setting support phone line reminder; Fire safety training; Oral health pilot; PACEY Childcare and Early Years Awards 2024; Early Years and Childcare 2024/25 Training and Events Brochure)
-
#35/2024 (Safeguarding focus - Updated Prevent referral form; Right from the Start: Early Years and Childcare Strategy; Applications open for Wraparound Childcare Programme Funding; Registering as a childminder and nanny; Ofsted updates - returning the ID checking form to Ofsted; Join the West Sussex Multiply Bus for a week of learning and fun; Kent Early Years Stronger Practice Hub newsletter - August 2024; Early Years Training)
-
#34/2024 (Childcare Expansion Forum – joining opportunity extension; New Early Years Funded Entitlement web pages; Ofsted updates - what early years providers and practitioners need to know; Childminders - new to Ofsted inspections, what do you need to know?)
Early Years and Childcare newsletter web page.
|
