#9/2026 - Wednesday 4 March 2026
This week's newsletter includes:
- Business Focus - Free cyber security support for businesses
- Early Years Funded Entitlement - summer term 2026 estimates now open
- Early Years Funded Entitlement for Working Families eligibility codes
- Webinars available - completing your Annual Provider Declaration
- Have you completed the Early Years Education and Childcare Workforce Review?
- Grants and funds available to support outdoor education
- Parental conduct
- Early Years and Childcare Inclusion/Special Educational Needs Network
- Kent and Beyond Stronger Practice Hub: summer term training and networks
- Early Years Training
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Latest Ofsted news and updates here.
Free cyber security support for businesses
Online threats such as ransomware or network breaches are affecting many organisations. The most common cyber-crimes reported are social media and email account takeovers.
You may be aware of some of the basics of cyber security such as using strong passwords, 2 factor authentication, backups and training. However, there is support available for those cyber security tasks which feel more complicated.
Cyber Resilience Centre for the South East can help your business, as they can provide your team with specific funded cyber security support, tailored to your needs. They provide updates on the latest threats, what to avoid, and offer free webinars to support you to make your business as secure as possible. You can sign up for a free membership on their website.
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The Online Provider Portal is now open for you to submit your summer term estimates for EYFE for 9 month olds, 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
Key dates:
- headcount day for summer term is Thursday 30 April 2026
- the deadline for summer term estimate submissions is Friday 27 March 2026
- payments are scheduled to be received by providers who have no outstanding queries regarding their estimate figures week commencing Monday 6 April 2026. Please refer to our how providers receive funding payments web page for further information.
Please be aware, payments can take up to 3 to 5 working days to be processed by your bank. This means payments may not appear in your bank account until the end of the week.
When submitting estimates, the number of 2 year old EYFE for Working Families and Early Learning for 2 year olds (LA Issued) hours is a combined figure.
If after viewing the guidance available on our website, you require further support, please email eyfe@westsussex.gov.uk, or phone the Family Information Service on 01243 777807.
For an EYFE for Working Families eligibility code to be valid for the summer term, parents must have applied for, or reconfirmed, their eligibility code before 31 March 2026.
We would like to remind settings to use the Working Families Eligibility Checker on the Online Provider Portal, to check each child’s eligibility code dates to ensure the code is valid for the summer term.
For summer term 2026:
- the Code Start Date must be on or before 31 March 2026
- the Code End Date must be after 1 April 2026
- if the Code End Date is before 1 April 2026 and the child has accessed EYFE for Working Families with your setting last term, the Grace Period can be utilised (Grace Period End Date must be 31 August 2026 or later to cover the summer term).
For further guidance, please use the Eligibility Checker help guide. If you continue to have Working Family eligibility codes issues, please fill out the support request form on the Funded entitlement codes - working families eligibility checker web page.
We are pleased to offer free online training sessions to support you with completing your Annual Provider Declarations.
You can now book onto one of the sessions below:
We strongly encourage all providers to attend. For more information about the Annual Provider Declaration, please read the special newsletter that was sent on 3 March 2026.
We have designed the Early Years Education and Childcare Workforce Review to help us understand what you need and how we can support you. The information that you share will feed into and influence our workforce plan.
All early year’s settings that complete and submit their review will be entered into a prize draw. The first 3 entries drawn will win a free place on ‘Safer Recruitment Essentials’, an online workshop from Coram Hempsalls (summer term 2026). Winners will also receive a copy of Kate Moxley's book, "A Guide to Mental Health for Early Years Educators: Putting Wellbeing at the Heart of Your Philosophy and Practice".
The deadline for completion is 11.55pm on Wednesday 25 March 2026. Please take 10 minutes to complete the Early Years and Childcare Workforce Review so that your voice is heard and helps shape the workforce support we provide.
For any questions during this process, please email jobsineyc@westsussex.gov.uk.
Outdoor play is a key part of the Early Years Foundation Stage and supports children’s curiosity, wellbeing and early development through hands‑on exploration and active learning. To help settings make the most of their outdoor environments, a range of grants and funding opportunities are currently available. These can support improvements, new resources and innovative outdoor learning projects.
You can find a summary of the latest grants and funds in this document. Please make sure you check the eligibility criteria for each scheme, as not all grants and funds are available to every type of early years provider.
We are aware that some settings have shared concerns about parental conduct. As a result, we have been looking at ways to support you in dealing with these concerns.
We have developed some draft templates for a Code of Conduct policy and a poster. These have been designed for you to adapt to your individual setting if you would like to use them. We recommend that you develop these in consultation with staff and families to ensure that they meet your setting needs and are appropriate in your context.
If you already have policies in place that meet your need, we are not asking you to change what you already have but you are welcome to use these as a guide.
Thank you to everyone who attended the Spring SENCO/INCO network meeting. It was a great opportunity to engage with those that were able to attend.
A gentle reminder for those who book on but are unable to attend, please remember to cancel your place in advance, as non‑attendance can prevent others from joining. Thank you for your support.
The network slides from the meeting are now available to view, along with the Healthy Child Programme Continence Support slides and the Toilet Training for Children with Additional Needs: Practical Tips document.
In last weeks newsletter #8/2026, we shared the free webinars, networks and events offered this summer by our Stronger Practice Hub. Please also be aware that you can express your interest in becoming a Maths Champion in your setting by scanning the QR code on the flyer.
Early years settings can be set up in many ways. To support those that are set up with committees, we offer a course that recognises the role of voluntary committee members in meeting settings’ statutory requirements. The training will provide practical advice and guidance on all aspects of voluntary managed committees’ responsibilities.
To book, click the course name below. You can also visit our booking portal West Sussex Services for Education and select your required course.
If you experience any issues when booking your course, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk.
Useful information
- 4 March - Portal opens for settings to submit summer term estimates
- 27 March - Portal closes for settings to submit summer term estimates
- w/c 6 April - Payments for summer term estimates due to be released
- 10 April 2026 - Spring term sufficiency deadline
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:
It is important you follow the correct steps and notify the relevant teams and professionals if your setting needs to close.
Contact your local setting support team and visit our closing your early years and childcare setting web page for step by step support.
We share a weekly Jobs in Early Years and Childcare bulletin with members of the public. You can find guidance and a template for submitting your job adverts to this bulletin on our advertise early years and childcare jobs web page. You will also find useful guidance on advertising your job vacancies on other platforms.
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#8/2026 (Early Help Focus - Best Start Family Hubs; White Paper on Education Reform - Update from Claire Hayes, Assistant Director of Education and Skills; Early Years Funded Entitlement - Indicative Budget report; Wraparound parent survey; 23rd National Playwork Conference for early years and wraparound care settings; The second early years education and childcare workforce review has landed; Transition events; Kent and Beyond Stronger Practice Hub: summer term training and networks; SEND and Inclusion Newsletter; Early Years Training)
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#7/2026 (Business Focus - Employment Rights Act 2025: What Providers Need to Know, Small Hands, Big Planet: Climate action workshop for early years educators, Product recall: Hobbycraft “Giant box of craft”, Do you have any staff vacancies to fill?, Early years education and childcare jobs fairs, Bursaries for Level 3 Diploma for Working in the Early Years Sector, Ofsted inspections since November 2025, Kent and Beyond Stronger Practice Hub Virtual Training and Networks, Early Years Training)
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#6/2026 (Product recall: Aptamil and Cow and Gate First Infant Milk and Follow on Milk formula; Fully Funded MA in Early Years Education with Early Years Teacher Status – applications now open; Wraparound Childcare Parent Survey –reminder; Updated Quality Improvement Principles – The National Children’s Bureau; New podcast for early years practitioners; Maths Champions - professional development programme; Virtual school newsletter; Early Years Training)
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#5/2026 (Business Focus - Employment Rights Act 2025: What Providers Need to Know; Small Hands, Big Planet: Climate action workshop for early years educators; Product recall: Hobbycraft “Giant box of craft”; Do you have any staff vacancies to fill?;Early years education and childcare jobs fairs; Bursaries for Level 3 Diploma for Working in the Early Years Sector; Ofsted inspections since November 2025;Kent and Beyond Stronger Practice Hub Virtual Training and Networks; Early Years Training)
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#4/2026 (Safeguarding focus, Spring term 2026 termly census and actuals - deadline this Friday; Product recall: Aptamil First Infant Formula (800g); Early Years Education and Childcare Conference 2026 - last chance to secure an early bird space; Termly Provider Update; Checking Early Years Funded Entitlement (EYFE) codes; Celebrating early years in West Sussex: watch our new videos; Nominate a colleague for a King’s Birthday Honour; New training to help every child and young person thrive)
Early Years and Childcare newsletter web page.
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