#38/2026 - Wednesday 30 September 2026
This week's newsletter includes:
- Business Focus: Marketing for early years and childcare providers
- Online Parent Declaration - available tomorrow
- Early Years Funded Entitlement (EYFE) for Working Families eligibility code checking
- Free online Level 2 Early Years Practitioner diploma: enrol before 15 October 2026
- New Martyn’s Law guidance for education settings
- Department for Education Funded Inclusion Training
- Early Years Training
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Latest Ofsted news and updates here.
You know what makes your setting a great place for children, but do prospective parents and carers know too? Effective marketing can help you showcase what makes your provision special, reach more families and support the sustainability of your business.
Designed for managers and childminders, this 30 minute, self-led online course will help you understand the importance of marketing, develop a marketing strategy, and create marketing ideas that work for your setting.
The Marketing for Early Years and Childcare Providers course is free and can be attended multiple times.
To enrol onto the course, you will need a Learning and Development account.
- Go to the Learning and Development Gateway
- Select ‘External User’ if you have an account or ‘create new account' (new accounts may take up to 48 hours to activate).
- Select ‘Find Learning.’
- Enter a key word from the course title into the ‘Search’ box and select the magnifying glass icon.
- Select ‘Go to course’. If you have not viewed the course previously, you may have to select ‘Enrol me’ to view details.
- Select the course title located under the ‘Learning Activities’ box.
- Select ‘Enter’ to begin the course.
If you need assistance with booking, please email learninganddevelopment@westsussex.gov.uk.
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A reminder that we will launch the new Online Parent Declaration form tomorrow. A link to the form will be available on our Online Parent Declaration Your Voice page. This page also contains guidance, resources, and a questions and feedback section. The form will also be available on the Providing Early Years Funded Entitlement web page.
Please note:
- You do not need to have parents recomplete the parent declaration using the online version if they have already completed a Word or PDF version. However, if you need to make any changes (personal information, hours to be claimed or a new Disability Access Fund nomination), you can use the online version.
- Both the provider and the parents will need an account. Parents may already have an account if they have applied for a school place before or used any other service which uses the same sort of account.
- The Early Years Funding Team will automatically receive a copy if the parent nominates your setting for Disability Access Fund, along with any evidence of eligibility which the parent can upload. This means you will not need to send this information separately (unless the evidence supplied is out of date or incorrect).
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 upcoming term.
Providers must not offer a place using EYFE for Working Families until they have verified that the code is valid for use for the term.
For guidance on using the checker, please refer to the Eligibility Checker help guide.
If you are unable to resolve an issue using the checker, please complete the support request form on the Funded entitlement codes - working families eligibility checker web page.
We are aware that some providers and parents have been contacting the Family Information Service to check eligibility codes. In most cases, providers can verify code validity directly through the Eligibility Checker and support families with understanding whether their code is eligible.
Following this process will enable you to access information more quickly and allow us to provide targeted support where technical issues remain.
Do you have team members over the age of 19 who would like to complete a fully online Level 2 Early Years Practitioner diploma? Or are you a childminder over the age of 19 working for 12 hours or more per week?
If so, you could be eligible to enrol on a free, fully online level 2 Early Years Practitioner diploma. This is a fantastic opportunity to upskill your team, or yourself, and gain a full and relevant qualification.
Delivery is all online, with dedicated tutor support, and will take between 8 and 10 months to complete.
Please read this flyer if you are part of a setting, and this flyer if you are a childminder. Visit the protrain-solutions website for further information on eligibility criteria and how to sign up. You need to enrol before 15 October 2026. Spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
The Home Office has published non-statutory guidance for businesses and education settings who are required to notify the Security Industry Authority under section 9 of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, also known as Martyn’s Law.
Martyn’s Law is intended to improve organisational preparedness and protective security across the UK. It applies to education settings, including early years, who expect 200 or more people to be present on their premises. More information is available on the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: notification requirement web page.
The DfE has recently announced a new suite of funded training for early educators to support inclusive practice in the early years sector.
These funded Early Years SEND Continuing Professional Development courses from Dingley’s Promise are flexible online courses to be completed at a time which suits you. Benefitting from a whole setting approach, the courses will look at strategies and information to help you unlock the potential of each unique child. Full of reflective activities and practical case studies, the courses have everything you will need to develop your inclusive approach.
The courses are delivered by Dingley’s Promise, a specialist SEND early years provider with over 40 years experience. They include flexible content which can be completed remotely at your own pace and provide opportunities to reflect on your practice.
You can find out more about the courses on offer on the Dingley’s Promise web page.
Is your setting managed by a committee? The Roles and Responsibilities of Early Years Management Committees is an informative course designed to help committee members and early years leaders gain a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in meeting statutory requirements.
The training provides practical advice and guidance on all aspects of running a voluntary-managed committee, helping participants feel confident in fulfilling their responsibilities and supporting their setting effectively. Previous attendees have found the course very useful and would highly recommend it.
To book, please click on the course name below or visit our booking portal West Sussex Services for Education and select your required course.
Useful information
- 1 October - Department for Education census day for autumn term
- w/c 19 October - autumn 26 actuals due to settings who are paid twice termly
- w/c 26 October - monthly estimate payment due
- w/c 23 November - actuals payment due for settings who are paid monthly
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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#37/2026 (Have you submitted your Termly Provider Update?; Palliative and end of life care needs assessment findings webinar; Have your say on the future of early childhood; Encourage timely vaccinations; Early Years Training)
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#36/2026 (Safeguarding focus - Department for Education (DfE) and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) early years safeguarding training; Reminder: Safer recruitment considerations and the disclosure and barring service (DBS); New: Safer Sleep and Sudden Unexplained Death in Infancy (SUDI) prevention training; Reminder: new opportunity for early education leaders, including childminders, to join our early years provider forum; Reminder: regulated activity - removal of the supervision exemption from 1 September 2026; Sepsis Awareness Month; Update from Kent and Beyond Early Years Stronger Practice Hub)
Update from Kent and Beyond Early Years Stronger Practice Hub
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#35/2026(Good Level of Development Focus; Product recall - Vicloon baby teethers; Starting School Applications; Portage workshop - A small steps approach to learning for children with special educational needs and disabilities; Safer recruitment considerations and the disclosure and barring service (DBS); Making Every Contact Count vaccination training – supporting early years conversations; Operation Encompass - Update from Sussex police; New, free training from the Virtual School – everyone is welcome)
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#34/2026 (Autumn term 2026 census and actuals claims - action required; New opportunity for early education leaders, including childminders, to join our early years provider forum; Protecting children this autumn; Home learning environment guidance; New safer sleep Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) prevention training; Free family learning courses staring this September; Early years training)
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#33/2026 (Safeguarding focus - Changes to the early years foundation stage from 1 September 2026: suitable people; Early Years Training - safeguarding and child protection; Inclusive Safeguarding: Strengthening Protection for Children with Disabilities conference; Update - missing payment remittance documents; Schema Play with Tamsin Grimmer; Screen use guidance for early years providers; Guidance from the Education Endowment Foundation; Hello from Kent and Beyond Early Years Stronger Practice Hub; Early Years Training)
Early Years and Childcare newsletter web page.
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