#18/2026 - Wednesday 6 May 2026
This week's newsletter includes:
- Business focus: Committee‑run provision
- Summer term 2026 termly census and actuals - deadline this Friday
- Reporting serious childcare incidents within 14 days
- Qualify as an Early Years Teacher while you work
- Bursaries for level 3 diploma working in the early years sector
- Crawley College NCFE CACHE Level 3 Technical Occupational entry for Early Years
- Updates for Holiday Activities and Food providers
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Early Years Training
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Latest Ofsted news and updates here.
At this time of year, many committee‑run early years providers will be recruiting new parents to the management committee. Below is a reminder of key actions to ensure you remain compliant with Ofsted and Charity Commission requirements.
To ensure your committee‑run early years provision remains correctly registered, please ensure the following:
Charity Commission and/or Companies House
Ensure that the correct details for all committee members are accurately recorded and kept up to date with the Charity Commission and/or Companies House, as applicable. Details of any new committee members should be updated within one week of their appointment. You can check and update your organisation’s details through The Charity Commission and via Companies House websites. Ofsted will check that the information it holds matches the records held by the Charity Commission and/or Companies House
EY2 suitability checks
All new committee members must complete an EY2 form so Ofsted can assess their suitability. A DBS check is not required to submit the EY2 form, however, a DBS check will be required before Ofsted can confirm suitability. It is strongly recommended that both processes are started at the same time to avoid delays.
DBS checks
All committee members must have an up‑to‑date DBS check that Ofsted can accept. DBS checks are completed through Ofsted as part of the EY2 process. DBS checks completed via other routes may not be accepted and could delay suitability decisions. Please check the information in relation to DBS checks.
Suitability confirmation
You cannot act as a fully confirmed committee member until all checks are completed and Ofsted has confirmed your suitability. Until Ofsted updates its records, the registered provider and existing committee remain responsible for the provision, even if a previous committee member has stepped down.
Notifying changes
You must notify Ofsted and the Charity Commission within 14 days of there being any change to the committee members, their name, or contact details. New committee members should submit their EY2 form as soon as possible after the change is notified.
To notify Ofsted of a change in your setting, email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk from the email address connected to your Ofsted registration.
When contacting Ofsted, make sure to include:
- 'Report association changes' as the subject line
- unique reference number (URN)
- registered person's name and date of birth
- proposed change (if the registered person is joining or leaving the organisation)
- date the change(s) take effect
- role and any changes of the individual(s)
Ofsted will aim to respond in 5 working days and will let you know if they need any further information, please keep a record of all correspondence.
This applies to all childcare providers registered with Ofsted that are committee run.
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The Online Provider Portal (OPP) is still open for you to submit your termly census and Early Years Funded Entitlement (EYFE) claims for 9 months plus, 2 year old and 3 and 4 year old age groups. The deadline for submissions is 11.59pm on Friday 8 May.
You will need to complete the termly census before submitting your actuals.
Guidance videos and step-by-step guides are available on the Early Years Funded Entitlement actuals web page. The guidance covers:
If you are claiming EYFE for 2 year olds, please ensure you use the help guides to ensure you are entering hours in the correct field. These can be found on the Early Years Funded entitlement actuals web page.
Ofsted has updated its guidance to clarify reporting timescales for serious childcare incidents. Providers are expected to report significant events as soon as possible, but always within 14 days of the incident.
You should make sure managers and safeguarding leads are aware of this timescale and that reporting procedures support prompt notification within your setting. You can find the full guidance on the report a serious childcare incident web page.
Are you already working in early years and ready to take the next step in your career?
The University of Sussex offers an employment route for experienced practitioners to gain early years teacher status (EYTS), and a full Master’s qualification while remaining in their current role.
This route is designed for practitioners who:
- want to deepen their knowledge of child development
- lead high‑quality practice across the EYFS
- would like to strengthen outcomes for children.
Training combines academic study with practical application in the workplace. The course is fully funded. In addition, participating settings receive a £7,000 grant to support training and release time, helping providers invest in leadership and quality improvement.
To find out more, please contact fb290@sussex.ac.uk or view the online prospectus.
You can now apply for a bursary to fund a member of your team who meets the eligibility criteria to undertake the NCFE CACHE Level 3 Diploma for Working in the Early Years Sector (Early Years Educator) at Chichester College.
The eligibility criteria and application form can be found on the Bursaries for level 3 early years qualifications web page. Please apply as soon as possible as bursaries will be awarded on a first come first served basis.
Twilight sessions at Chichester College will run once every 6 weeks, on a Thursday, from 4.15pm and 7.15pm. There will be a total of 10 taught sessions as well as blended online learning and workplace one-to-ones.
The Level 3 Early Years Workforce Diploma at Crawley College will start in September 2026
The course lasts 18 months and is for people aged 19 or over who are working or volunteering in an early years setting. It is fully funded for those who qualify for 19+ funding. This includes people on a low income (earning under £25,750 a year) or those aged 19–23 who do not already have a full Level 3 qualification.
Teaching is planned to take place on Tuesday evenings from 6pm to 9pm. For more details and to sign up, visit the Crawley College website.
More than 1,700 children took part in the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme across West Sussex this Easter. The HAF team are looking forward to supporting even more children during the summer holidays. If you are currently delivering HAF, please note the updates below.
- All HAF providers must follow Ofsted rules. Even if you are not registered with Ofsted, you may still be inspected to check that you are meeting the requirements of the exemption you are working under. If you are unsure about exemptions, visit the Ofsted website for guidance.
- All HAF providers are strongly encouraged to register with Ofsted. This helps reassure parents that you meet required standards and allows families to use the Tax-Free Childcare scheme.
- The Household Support Fund, which helped families facing financial difficulties, ended on 31 March 2026. Families who receive benefit-related free school meals will no longer get food vouchers during school holidays. Any families needing help should be signposted to the West Sussex Community Hub for support.
- All HAF providers must now be registered as a food business with their local council. If you haven’t done this yet, you must complete registration before the summer holidays begin.
If you would like to deliver HAF during the Christmas holidays, you can submit an Expression of Interest between 17 August and 20 September. For more information, visit the HAF web page or contact the HAF team on HAF@westsussex.gov.uk.
Staff wellbeing at work has become much more important in recent years. Our Leadership and Management: Supporting Staff Wellbeing course is designed to help leaders and managers look after their own wellbeing and better support their teams. The course is led by an experienced wellbeing specialist and will cover:
- What wellbeing looks like in the workplace
- What motivates staff
- The key building blocks of wellbeing at work
- How to support, challenge, and encourage staff around wellbeing in everyday practice
Course details:
We also offer a range of low-cost courses for staff working with babies and in baby rooms. Most of these are part of our funded Expansion Support Training Offer, meaning they cost just £10 per person. The following three courses were particularly popular last year:
To book, click on the course titles or visit the West Sussex Services for Education booking portal and select the course you need. If you have any problems booking, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk
Useful information
- 8 May - Portal closes for settings to submit actuals for summer term
- 21 May - Census day for summer term
- 22 May - Deadline for settings to complete action plans for Inclusion funding
- w/c 1 June - actuals payments due to settings
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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17/2026 (Reminder – EYFE termly census and actuals are open;New webpage for childminders – Changing who you are registered with; White Paper on education reform – consultation reminder; Supporting families with childhood immunisations; Making Every Contact Count vaccination training – supporting early years conversations; Share a Story month; National Education Nature Park webinar; National Professional Qualification in Early Years Leadership autumn cohort; Early Years Training)
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#16/2026 (Safeguarding Focus: Safeguarding during transitions - what you need to do; West Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership safeguarding drop-in sessions; West Sussex Best Start Plan; Inclusive Early Years Fund; New practical advice for families to get children school ready; Foster carers event from the Virtual School; Funded Level 3 Early Years SENCO qualifications; Help improve the ‘Check an early years service qualification’ online service; Thriving In Education Grants; Early Years Training)
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#15/2026 (Good Level of Development Focus - Physical activity and children's development; Summer term 2026 census and actuals claims - action required; Transition events 2026; Supporting families - Starting Reception website; Month of the Military Child - activities for settings; Early Years Training)
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#14/2026 (Business Focus: Wickes Community Programme - support for local projects; Get Tax Confident; National Living Wage increases to £12.71 per hour;
Online Provider Portal downtime; Where to find your submitted forms on the Online Provider Portal; Early years speech and language referral deadline;
Stronger Practice Hub March Newsletter; Early Years Training)
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#13/2026 (Advanced warning - Online Provider Portal (OPP) downtime; Update: confirmed changes to Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework safer sleeping requirements; Summer 2026 – increase in funded weeks for term time only providers; Understanding Month of the Military Child; Early Years Specialist Advisory Teachers (EYSATs) referral deadline 2026; Updated childcare sufficiency assessment; Healthy Child Programme Continence Support 2026; Early Years Training)
Early Years and Childcare newsletter web page.
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