#29/2025 - Wednesday 23 July 2025
This week's newsletter includes:
- Safeguarding Focus - Safeguarding self-assessment tool and keeping babies safe resources
- Have your say on the future of local government in West Sussex
- Family Hub availability over the summer holidays
- Childcare Choices - digital leaflet available
- Kent and Beyond Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Newsletter
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Latest Ofsted news and updates here.
Safeguarding self-assessment tool
The NSPCC offers a free self-assessment tool to help you audit your safeguarding and child protection arrangements. The tool also helps to identify areas for development and supports you in making any necessary changes.
Keeping babies safe resources
We would like to remind you about the advice and guidance available to help families keep young children safe. Please share relevant resources and information with families in your setting:
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Residents, businesses and community groups across the county are being invited to share their views about the future of their councils as part of an important survey.
All West Sussex residents and organisations are invited to complete a survey asking about where they live or work, the council services they use, as well as what matters to them about how their council could be structured in the future. Your views will help shape proposals for the future of local government in the county.
You can complete this survey as a resident and also a childcare business. To do this, you must complete the survey twice.
The survey will close at 11.59pm on Wednesday 13 August.
The Family Hubs across West Sussex will be open as usual during the summer holidays and offering their full range of services for families. These services include: social areas, sensory rooms, sensory toy libraries, interactive sensory carpets and more. The sensory rooms and interactive sensory carpets are available to book for free, for 45 minute sessions during the Hub’s opening times.
For further details on opening times and services available, please visit the Family Hub web pages.
You can help families access the support they are entitled to by signposting them to www.westsussex.gov.uk/FundedChildcare. Here they can find information about local processes relating to the Early Years Funded Entitlements.
There is also a Childcare Choices digital leaflet which can be shared with parents. It is a quick and easy way to help parents understand the childcare support available through the Department for Education.
The July newsletter from Kent and Beyond Early Years Stronger Practice Hub is now available.
Useful information
- 30 June to 15 August - portal open for autumn term estimates
- 29 August - summer term Sufficiency deadline
- 1 September to 26 September - portal open for autumn term actuals
- 18 September - autumn term headcount day
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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We’re committed to providing excellent support to all providers we engage with. Please take a moment to complete our Early Years and Childcare Provider Feedback Survey and let us know about your experiences. Your feedback will help us improve our service and better support settings like yours. You can visit the web page or scan the QR code. |
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#28/2025 (Revised Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework; Ofsted renewed inspection framework webinars; Early Years Foundation Stage safeguarding and welfare requirement changes; Leading Excellence in Early Years: Quality First Teaching; Vaccinated children should not be excluded from settings; Paying for childcare – new resource to share with parents; Childcare Choices provider updates; Funded level 3 qualification opportunity; Early Years Education with Early Years Teacher Status MA - additional funded places available; Early Years Training)
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#27/2025 (Workforce Focus; Help us gather feedback on the Impact of Early Years Funded Entitlement; Children starting school; SEND and Inclusion newsletter; Grow, Learn and Flourish West Sussex Teaching School Hub end of year review; Early Years Training; Summer Reading Challenge - coming to a library near you)
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#26/2025 (Business Focus - Limiting place capacity; Early Years Funded Entitlement - autumn term 2025 estimates now open; Post Headcount Exceptional Payment forms for 9 months plus funding claims; Department for Education consultation on floor space requirements - closing soon; Celebrating success of our early years superheroes - Toybox Day Nursery; Kent & Beyond Early Years Stronger Practice Hub newsletter; Early Years Training)
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#25/2025 (Safeguarding Focus - Pan Sussex Safeguarding and Child Protection Procedures website has moved; Help families have their say on the childcare expansion; Sufficiency update for the summer term; Celebrating success of our early years superheroes; National Professional Qualification in Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL) Autumn 2025 update; Thriving in Education offer for early years)
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#24/2025 (Warning - Online Provider Portal downtime; Right From the Start: West Sussex Early Years and Childcare Strategy update; New resources to share with parents; Boost your skills – visit our training and qualifications web pages; Early Years Training)
Early Years and Childcare newsletter web page.
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