#12/2026 - Wednesday 25 March 2026
This week's newsletter includes:
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 - updated statutory guidance
- Update on Post Headcount Exceptional Payments Request Forms processing times
- Launch of the West Sussex SEND Strategy 2026–2030
- New Ofsted blog post - scam text messages claiming to be from Ofsted
- Updated guidance for childminders on household expenses
- Digital tools webinar for early years and wraparound providers
- Childminder‑led language enrichment webinar
- Early Years Training
- Grow, Learn and Flourish West Sussex Teaching School Hub – March 2026 newsletter
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Latest Ofsted news and updates here.
The statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children has been updated as part of an ongoing commitment to strengthen multi‑agency help, support and protection. Following a major revision in 2023, this targeted update includes the following changes:
- Alignment with Families First Partnership Programme reforms. This includes clearer information that Family Help now brings together Targeted Early Help and Section 17 support into one, more joined‑up offer.
- Clearer expectations for multi‑agency child protection.
- Stronger responses to child sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and safeguarding for babies, unborn children, and children in any care arrangement, including children who are looked after.
- A more streamlined chapter on learning from serious safeguarding incidents, with clearer direction on when and how incidents should be notified and reviewed.
- A stronger focus on anti‑racist, anti‑discriminatory and culturally informed practice.
- Clear statement that the guidance applies to all children, including those living with extended family, in kinship care, under special guardianship, adopted, looked after, and unborn children where there are concerns.
- Clearer expectations for inclusive and anti-discriminatory cultures, including the need for practitioners to challenge racism and discrimination.
- Strengthened guidance on hidden harms, including teenage relationship abuse, coercive control, online harms and group‑based exploitation.
- Clearer detail on multi agency safeguarding arrangements, including roles, accountability, inspection and stronger expectations for information sharing and the analysis of disproportionality and racism.
- A requirement that annual reports show their impact on children and families, rather than only activity.
- Strengthened section 47 expectations, including clearer guidance on assessments, direct work with the child and strategy discussions for child sexual abuse.
- Additional content on honour or belief‑based abuse and abuse of infants.
Childcare and early years education providers who follow the Early years foundation stage statutory framework, have a key role in early identification of need. The 2026 update strengthens expectations for information sharing, partnership working and early help. Settings should remain alert to overlapping harms, work closely with Family Help where required and ensure that safeguarding practice is inclusive, child centred and culturally informed.
Please also see:
We would like to update you on current processing times for PHEP Request Forms.
Providers can continue to submit PHEP Request Forms at any point during the term. However, as set out on our webpage, the Early Years Funding Team begins processing PHEPs after actuals (headcount payments) have been released for the term.
Our service-level aim is to respond to PHEP Request Forms within 21 working days once processing for the term has begun.
At the moment, we are experiencing a very high volume of submissions, which means that processing times are currently longer than usual. Thank you for your understanding while we manage the increased number of submissions.
We will continue to process requests in the order they are received. Thank you for your patience while we work to restore our usual processing timeframe.
We are pleased to share the new West Sussex SEND Strategy 2026–2030, launched on 25 March 2026. It can be found on the SEND Local Offer website.
This strategy is rooted in co-production and has been carefully developed over the past 18 months with children, young people, parent carers and professionals from across the West Sussex local area partnership. It sets out our shared ambition for every child and young person with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) to be supported, included, and able to thrive.
West Sussex County Council (WSCC) has listened to what families have said matters most to them: clearer communication, earlier support, better access to services, and a more joined-up approach across education, health and social care. This strategy describes the practical steps WSCC will take over the next four years to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND in West Sussex.
How WSCC will measure progress
To help ensure real change is delivered, WSCC will monitor progress through the SEND and Alternative Provision Partnership Board. WSCC will use a co-produced SEND Outcomes Framework, supported by the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum (WSPCF) annual survey, to measure progress. This will help to understand whether children and young people feel safe, included, healthy, ambitious and increasingly independent.
WSCC will also continue to listen to families through regular feedback, including the ‘have your voice heard’ events facilitated by WSPCF, and use this to support and guide future improvements.
Accessibility
If you require this strategy in any other format, please contact the Local Offer at: localoffer@westsussex.gov.uk.
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Childcare and early years education settings are being urged to familiarise themselves with the latest Ofsted blog post warning about scam text messages falsely claiming to be from Ofsted. The article explains how these fraudulent messages are being used to target settings and outlines what to do if you receive one. You can read the full guidance and advice on the Ofsted: Early years blog.
HMRC has published updated guidance explaining how childminders can continue to claim household expenses, including wear and tear costs. The update includes new guidance for the sector and changes to the Business Income Manual.
The information applies whether childminders use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax or the alternative rules for the sector.
Key points:
- All childminders can claim for the costs of buying, repairing or replacing household items used for their business. This includes wear and tear on household items and furniture, household costs, and food and drink.
- Childminders with qualifying income above £50,000 will begin using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026. The threshold will reduce to £30,000 in 2027 and to £20,000 in 2028.
- Childminders using Making Tax Digital will record and claim their actual expenditure on household items and furniture. Childminders using the alternative method will continue to claim wear and tear using the flat 10% estimate.
The government has confirmed that childminders will continue to be able to claim business expenses. HMRC will work with childminders and stakeholders to understand the impact of moving from the 10% deduction to claiming actual costs.
Childminders can read the updated guidance on GOV.UK and find more information about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax on HMRC’s campaign webpage.
A recorded Childcare Works webinar is available for early years settings, wraparound providers and schools. The session aims to increase providers’ confidence in using digital tools and includes information about GDPR and cyber security. You can watch the recorded webinar on Vimeo.
This recorded webinar looks at ways childminders can support children’s language and communication in the early years. It introduces the language skills children need by age 3 to 4 years and explains why these skills are important for later learning. It also describes what can happen when early language needs are not identified or supported.
The webinar outlines an evidence‑based language enrichment programme developed for nursery settings and explains its key features. It also highlights that childminders have limited access to structured programmes, despite caring for many pre-school children.
The session presents a Nuffield‑funded research project that is exploring how childminders currently support language and communication, and is assessing the feasibility of delivering structured language enrichment within childminder settings.
You can watch the recorded webinar on YouTube.
With the 2025/26 training programme coming to an end, we look forward to the 2026/27 programme, with courses starting from mid-April. The full brochure will be released on 1 April 2026 and will feature the popular Emotion Coaching course. To book, click on course 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.
The GLF West Sussex TSH have put together a March 26 newsletter. It includes news and updates on Initial Teacher Training, Early Career Framework, National Professional Qualifications and Continuing Professional Development.
This newsletter and previous newsletters can be found on the GLFTSH.org webpage.
Useful information
- 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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#11/2026 (Safeguarding Focus: Monitoring child absence in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage; Provider Declaration 2026/27 reminder; Have you completed the Early Years Education and Childcare Workforce Review?; Church Lane Nursery celebrates national award win; Join the West Sussex Virtual School for breakfast this summer; White Paper on education reform – open consultation; Education Endowment Foundation: Take part in a funded research project and build strong vocabulary from the start; Strengthening professional connections for foster carers and kinship carers; Early Years Training)
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#10/2026 (Good Level of Development Focus – Using Early Years Pupil Premium to narrow the attainment gap; Important action for existing Early Years Funded Entitlement providers; Common error when submitting your Provider Declaration form; Early Years Network Group - update; Tax-Free Childcare; Starting Reception webinar and new toothbrushing guide; Maths Champions programme; Early Years Training
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#9/2026 (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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#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)
Early Years and Childcare newsletter web page.
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