#24/2026 - Wednesday 17 June 2026
This week's newsletter includes:
- Good Level of Development Focus - National Year of Reading 'Go All In'
- Advanced warning - Online Provider Portal downtime
- Transitions - effective information sharing for children moving on
- Early education partnership funding - applications now open
- West Sussex, Brighton and Hove Careers Hub summer conference - July 2026
- School-based Nursery Capital Grant update
- Leading Excellence in Early Years: Quality First Teaching
- Read to the Beat this summer
- Slides from recent network meetings
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Latest Ofsted news and updates here.
Good Level of Development Focus - National Year of Reading
'Go All In'
This years National Year of Reading campaign invites everyone to 'Go All In' - encouraging a love of reading in children and supporting families to enjoy books together at home. In newsletter #23/2026 we shared some useful resources to help you support families to engage with the campaign.
Why reading in the early years matters:
Reading from an early age plays a vital role in children’s development. Early reading supports:
- vocabulary and language development
- concentration, imagination, and thinking skills
- emotional understanding and relationships
- physical development through play and handling books
These early experiences create strong foundations for lifelong learning and future success. You can help make reading meaningful by:
- making it interactive: ask open-ended questions, talk about the pictures, and connect the story to children’s experiences
- reading favourite books repeatedly: repetition helps children learn and gives them confidence to predict what happens next
- using music and rhyme: songs and rhyming stories support sound awareness - but nothing replaces sharing a book together
Supporting Families
When working with parents or carers, remind them that reading little and often makes a big difference, even just 10 minutes a day. For those who feel less confident, simply sharing a book and talking about the pictures is a great place to start.
You may wish to share these helpful resources with parents:
For more information and support, please visit the Education Endowment Foundation, National Literacy Trust, and BookTrust.
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Please be advised that the OPP will be unavailable for viewing or submitting forms from 1.00pm on Wednesday 24 June, however you can still access the funding area. It will be completely unavailable on Thursday 25 June from 1.00pm to 3.00pm whilst essential maintenance is taking place. Please note, parents and carers will not be able to submit Early Learning for 2 year olds (LA issued) funding applications and our Family Information Service website will also be unavailable to the public.
Transitions are an important time for children. Sharing key information with settings who will be working with a child as they move on helps ensure continuity of care and support. It is important that relevant information is shared with the new setting, including historic and current safeguarding information. This will help to keep children safe.
You can find more information about supporting children to enable a successful transition on our Early Years Transition web page. It includes a transition summary template and a completed example. This resource can be used at all transition points and should be completed for all children moving on to school. Page 3 of the document can also be used to record the information and documents shared with the new setting or school.
Early education providers and schools can now apply for funding to form an early education partnership. These partnerships are designed to strengthen relationships between early education settings and schools, supporting smoother transitions into reception so that children arrive confident, prepared, and fully supported, with schools ready to meet their individual needs.
All early education providers are encouraged to connect with local schools and work together to apply for a development grant. This funding will support partnerships to form, build strong working relationships and develop their plans.
Applications will close on Friday 17 July 2026.
For full details, including how to apply, please visit the Early education partnerships web page. You can also sign up for a free webinar to find out more by selecting your preferred date below:
The WSBH Careers Hub are hosting an Employer Focus morning. This free event is an opportunity to connect with other employers, share best practice, and contribute to the continued careers success of our local early years settings, schools and colleges within the Hub.
Hear from a panel of experts from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Govia Thameslink Railway, Thales, Thakeham Home, Coastal Catalyst and the South Downs National Park, who will explore:
- how careers outreach can deliver real business benefits, including identifying local talent early
- what meaningful opportunities for students look like in practice
- how developing essential skills improves career readiness, and the role employers can play
- how preparing young people for applications can increase the impact and return on investment of careers outreach
Stay for a networking lunch, where school and college leaders will join for an opportunity to connect over light refreshments.
To reserve your place, please click on the link below:
Following Phases 1 and 2 of the Department for Education’s (DfE) School-based Nursery Capital Grant 2027 to 2030, which supported 4 schools in West Sussex to expand or establish school-based nursery provision, work is now underway on Phase 3.
Phase 3 aims to further increase the number of school-based nursery places, particularly in areas where demand exceeds supply. This includes supporting schools to develop or expand provision in line with the government’s expanded childcare entitlements. This phase is led by the local authority and will be delivered between 2027 to 2030, enabling a planned and sustainable approach based on clear evidence of local need.
In West Sussex, we have a strong and well-established Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) early education and childcare sector, which plays a vital role in supporting children and families. School-based nursery provision is being developed to compliment existing provision, and schools are encouraged to consider opportunities to work in partnership with PVI providers to meet local demand.
Our proposal to the DfE is being guided by local sufficiency data, and we remain committed to ensuring our proposal supports a sustainable and balanced sector. Your continued submission of termly sufficiency updates is essential in helping us analyse childcare sufficiency across the county.
An expression of interest process took place during spring term, and we are now working with selected schools to develop detailed project information for consideration in the local authority’s proposal to the DfE. Final decisions will be based on strategic priorities, deliverability, affordability, and alignment with DfE expectations.
Local authorities must submit their funding proposals to the DfE by 5.00pm on 30 September 2026.
For further information, please refer to School-based Nursery Capital Grant 2027 to 2030 web page.
A second cohort of 'Leading Excellence in Early Years: Quality First Teaching' will be running in the autumn term 2026. This programme is designed to support leaders to develop their skills and confidence in adapting practice to meet the needs of vulnerable children, helping to narrow the attainment gap in their setting.
To find out more, watch the attached recording of a recent briefing session, view the presentation slides and read the programme overview. Please note, if you click on the picture to the right and open the video, a new tab will open.
If you are interested in applying, please complete the application form in full and return by Friday 26 June.
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Pick up the tempo and join 'Read to the Beat' at a library near you, as the West Sussex Library Service Summer Reading Challenge returns for 2026. This year’s theme celebrates reading and music, offering a fun and engaging way to keep children reading over the summer holidays.
The challenge is aimed at children aged 4 to 11 years old, whilst under-4s can take part in a Mini Challenge. Every child taking part will receive a special Summer Reading Challenge edition of Storytime Magazine and a bookmark to get started, along with stickers and fun rewards along the way.
This is a fantastic way to encourage reading for pleasure, support learning over the summer, and help younger children prepare for starting school. Families can find out more and sign up at libraries.westsussex.gov.uk/src. You can also display this flyer in your setting.
- Pre-registration opens: Monday 15 June
- Challenge starts: Saturday 4 July
- Ends: Saturday 12 September
- Location: Your local West Sussex library
- Cost: Free
Please share this opportunity with families and encourage them to visit the library and join in the fun this summer.
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Thank you for your attendance at recent network meetings. Slides from each presentation can be found below as well as information shared about Best Start Family Hubs:
Useful information
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.
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.
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23/2026 (Business Focus - supporting the Early Years workforce; Operation Encompass - reminder for settings; Virtual School support with transitions and training opportunities; Childminder assistants - where to start with recruitment; Webinar - creating a reading‑rich culture; National Year of Reading; Early Years SENCO Level 3; Training opportunity in the Arun Area; Update from Kent and Beyond Early Years Stronger Practice Hub; Early Years Training)
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22/2026 (Deadline approaching - Thriving in Education grant; Safer sleep guidance for early education and childcare settings; Early Years Funded Entitlements for 9 months plus, 2, 3 and 4 year olds – summer term payments; Expression of interest - Level 3 SENCO award in south of the county; National Professional Qualification Autumn 2026 update; GLF West Sussex Teaching School Hub – May 2026 newsletter; Free resource - Early Years Sustainability and Climate Change Audit; New guidance to help children starting school; Early Education Training)
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21/2026 (Inclusive Early Years Fund 2026/27; Early education training - paediatric first aid summer dates; Our fully funded bursary for a Level 3 Diploma for Working in the Early Years sector means you can start at any time; NCFE CACHE Level 3 Technical Occupational Entry for the Early Years Workforce; Support your practice with free early years child development training; Thriving in Education grant reminder; Ofsted blog post for childminders; Stronger Practice newsletter)
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20/2026 (Safeguarding Focus - Switched on to privacy: resources for early years, school-age childcare and out-of-school settings; Worthing Children’s Development Centre – new referral process; Childminder inspection experience survey; Kent and Beyond Stronger Practice Hub - training opportunities; Attunement and Interaction - the magic of communicating without words; Virtual School - newsletter, Personal Education Plan reminder and training opportunities; Childhood immunisations; Early Education Training)
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19/2026 (Good Level of Development Focus - Mathematical development; Childminder appreciation week - a big thank you to all of our West Sussex childminders; Updates to Ofsted documents; UK Health Security Agency advice for Early Education settings; Level 3 Safeguarding Support Officer Apprenticeship; Early Years Specialist Advisory Teachers referral - deadline approaching; Termly Provider Update; SEND and Inclusion newsletter; Early Education Training)
Early Years and Childcare newsletter web page.
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