#39/2026 - Wednesday 7 October 2026
This week's newsletter includes:
- Good Level of Development Focus: Emotional health and wellbeing; Early Years Training: literacy and phonics
- Early years SEND continuing professional development (CPD) programme - free training opportunity
- Starting school applications
- Disclosure and Barring Service fee reductions
- Nursery World Awards 2026
- Missed a vaccine? It is not too late
- West Sussex Virtual School autumn updates
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Latest Ofsted news and updates here.
For children to engage in play and learning experiences, they need to feel safe and secure. Supporting all children to feel that they belong and are valued is key to enabling them to thrive.
Some children come into an early education and childcare setting with good emotional wellbeing and others will need more support. Building positive relationships with parents to understand their child’s personal circumstances is an essential element of building a sense of belonging and meeting each child’s needs.
There are a range of tools available for early educators which can help them to build children’s resilience and wellbeing:
Staff training
Evidence based strategies for early educators from the Education Endowment Foundation
As a team, we have been working with early educators to develop some tools to help our early education providers. You can find these on our Supporting children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing web page. The new resources include:
Supporting young children and their families is one of the most rewarding aspects of working in early years, but it can also bring emotional challenges. Ensuring staff feel supported and valued is key to maintaining a happy and resilient workforce. Setting leaders are encouraged to consider how they promote staff wellbeing and where additional support may be needed. You can find helpful resources and guidance on our Staff wellbeing web page.
Early Years Training: literacy and phonics
Early years is the perfect time to get young children used to identifying patterns in sounds and recognising different words and letter formations. This can be done in a number of inventive ways.
By laying the groundwork early, you support children in their future for learning to read their own spoken language. We have a selection of courses to support you to lay the foundations of phonics.
To book, please click on the course name below or log in to the booking portal, West Sussex Services for Education.
If you experience any issues when booking your course, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk.
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Families First CIC and Dingley's Promise are inviting early years educators to join a meeting to learn more about the new Department for Education funded early years SEND CPD programme. The free programme offers over 20 hours of flexible, self-paced online learning to help practitioners strengthen inclusive practice and improve outcomes for children with SEND. It is open to practitioners, SENCOs, childminders, room leaders and managers working with children aged 0 to 4 years.
During the meeting, educators will find out what the training covers, how to access the programme, and what additional support is available from Families First CIC and Dingley's Promise. There will also be an opportunity to explore how the training can support inclusive practice across settings, ask questions and connect with other educators. The meeting takes place on Wednesday 14 October from 6.30pm to 7.30pm. There is no need to register, simply join using the meeting details below.
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3562177327380740?p=sGi3nQfPOAlDk95ngr
Meeting ID: 356 217 732 738 074 0
Passcode: uw2yi2ew
The school applications process is now open for families with children born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023 who are due to start school in September 2027.
You should have received a pack of Starting School leaflets and a Starting School poster for your setting. Please display the poster in your setting for parents to read and distribute the leaflets to the families of children who are due to be starting school in September 2027.
If you need additional copies of the poster or leaflet, please print using the attached PDFs. We also have included a poster from the SEND Information and Advice Service, which you may wish to display for parents who might need additional support with the application process.
You may have some parents who have a child in this age range who are unsure if they want their child to start school in September. Please talk to these families about the potential benefits and risks of delaying their child’s start to school and make sure that they understand the need to apply for a school place, which can be declined later if no longer needed. It is important that all families with a child in this age group apply for a school place before the deadline of Friday 15 January 2027, even if they are unsure of their decision.
Parents should be aware that their child must legally be attending school from the term after their fifth birthday, although they can defer their school entry until they are of statutory school age. Children born between 1 April and 31 August can delay their start until the following September and start in Reception year (this will need to be requested and agreed by the school). If their child is eligible for Early Years Funded Entitlements, this can be accessed until they are of statutory school age (at the beginning of the school term following their fifth birthday). More information about the ages that children start school can be found on the school admissions web page.
If a family are considering delaying their child's school start and remaining at your setting, it is important to discuss this so both parties understand what is happening and agree expectations. If the family are expecting their child to attend the same sessions as they have been, they will need to reserve this place so it is not filled by another child. Open communication can avoid surprises and difficult conversations later in the process.
The cost of Disclosure and Barring Service checks is reducing from 5 October 2026. These changes will lower the cost of recruiting and maintaining a safe workforce.
The new fees are:
- Basic DBS check: £20.00 (previously £21.50)
- Standard DBS check: £20.00 (previously £21.50)
- Enhanced DBS check: £41.00 (previously £49.50)
- DBS Update Service subscription: £15.00 per year (previously £16.00)
- Volunteer DBS checks: remain free of charge
Providers who process DBS applications directly or through a registered body should ensure that any recruitment information, internal procedures, and customer facing materials are updated to reflect the new fees before 5 October 2026.
For more information about DBS checks and the Update Service, visit the GOV.UK web page.
Congratulations to the following West Sussex winners in the recent Nursery World Awards:
- Early Years Apprentice of the Year - Highly Commended: Evie Anthony, Cranbrook Clover Court
- Early Years Apprentice of the Year - Shortlisted: Charlotte Smith, Royal George Road Day Nursery and Pre-School
- Team Development Award - Winner: Little Barn Owls Forest and Farm School Nurseries
Some children may miss routine vaccinations, but they can catch up at any time. Early years settings play an important role in reassuring families that it is never too late to get back on track.
Please encourage parents and carers to contact their GP practice to book any missed doses and signpost them to the Childhood Immunisations web page for more information.
Please see 3 key reminders from the West Sussex Virtual School.
Autumn newsletter
The autumn term newsletter can be found here. As you have been welcoming new and familiar faces back to your settings, the Virtual School hopes that the focus on belonging feels relevant to what you are already exploring in your team.
Free training opportunities
Did you know that all training sessions are provided for free by the Virtual School? To browse their full training offer, please have a look at the 2026/27 Training Programme Brochure. The brochure includes several new sessions based on topics that settings have said are relevant to the work you do. All courses can be booked via the training and events web page and can be accessed by all education providers, irrespective of whether they are currently supporting Children We Care For.
Personal Education Plan (PEP) deadlines
The PEP deadlines for this academic year are as follows
- Autumn term: 27 November 2026
- Spring term: 5 March 2027
- Summer term (for years 6, 11,13): 7 May 2027
- Summer term (for all other year groups): 30 June 2027
For any support throughout the PEP process, please contact the champion listed on the PEP or email wsvs@westsussex.gov.uk.
Useful information
- w/c 19 October - autumn 26 actuals due to settings who are paid twice termly
- w/c 26 October - monthly estimate payment due
- 6 November - deadline for submission of Inclusion Funding Actions Plans
- w/c 23 November - actuals payment due for settings who are paid monthly
- 18 November - portal opens for settings to submit spring term 27 estimates
- w/c 21 December - spring 27 estimate payment due
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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#38/2026 (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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#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)
Early Years and Childcare newsletter web page.
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