#40/2026 - Wednesday 14 October 2026
This week's newsletter includes:
- Business Focus: Food from home arrangements and Early Years Funding Entitlements
- Free online Level 2 Early Years Practitioner diploma: enrol by 15 October 2026
- School-age Childcare Networks
- Early Years and Childcare Training Programme Survey
- SEND Reform Plan approval
- Benedict's Law
- West Sussex Early Years Education and Childcare Conference 2027: Closing Gaps Before They Grow - open for bookings
- Transition events
- Early Years Training
Difficulty viewing this bulletin? Click here to view in your browser.
Latest Ofsted news and updates here.
Following enquiries from providers and parents, and in response to updates to the Department for Education's Early Education and Childcare Statutory Guidance (April 2026), we would like to remind providers to review their food from home policies to ensure families can access EYFE without being required to pay for meals provided by the setting.
Where a setting charges for meals provided by the setting, parents must be offered a reasonable alternative if they choose not to purchase them.
For the purposes of delivering EYFE, West Sussex County Council considers a reasonable alternative to be one that:
|
- does not place an additional financial burden on parents
- is practical, simple and safe for the child, parent and provider
- does not reduce the child's access to, or quality of, Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision
West Sussex County Council does not consider the following to be reasonable alternatives to paying for food:
- expecting parents to fully replicate the exact nursery recipes, rather than encouraging them to provide meals that are similarly healthy, balanced and nutritious
- requiring parents to list all ingredients used in home prepared food. However, it is reasonable to ask for the 14 allergens and any other allergens or intolerances specific to the setting (for example, bananas or tomatoes) to be highlighted in line with safer food guidelines
- expecting parents to provide a specific brand of heat retaining containers
- expecting parents to deliver meals and snacks at specific times during the day
- requiring parents to obtain a food hygiene and safety qualification to provide food from home
Providers should continue to promote healthy eating, share menus and nutritional guidance, and work with families to support balanced packed lunches. Where concerns arise regarding food brought from home, we encourage settings to take a collaborative approach with parents to find practical solutions that support the child's wellbeing. This should avoid placing unreasonable or disproportionate requirements on parents regarding the food they can provide.
The EYFS statutory framework sets the standards that early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn, develop well and are kept healthy and safe. The EYFS nutrition guidance provides support on how to implement the existing EYFS requirement that states: ‘Where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, these must be healthy, balanced and nutritious’.
We encourage all providers to review their policies and parent communications to ensure they remain compliant with statutory guidance and the requirements of the EYFE Provider Declaration.
Do you have team members over the age of 19 who would like to complete a fully online Level 2 Early Years Practitioner diploma? 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 Professional Training 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.
Our free, termly School-age Childcare Networks provide wraparound childcare leaders with the opportunity to stay up to date with sector developments, connect with other providers, share ideas, and access practical advice and support from West Sussex staff.
Each session lasts 2 hours and covers key topics affecting the sector, including business sustainability, children's welfare and wellbeing, and high-quality provision.
To book your place, visit West Sussex Services for Education, search for 'School-age Childcare Network', and select the relevant date and location.
To ensure that the new training offer is responsive to the needs of the sector, we are asking staff at early education and school-age (wraparound) childcare providers to complete this short survey. We would like to hear from both those who have attended training in the last three years and those who have not. Your answers will help us evaluate and refresh the current programme by understanding what is working well and what can be improved.
The survey is open now until Saturday 31 October. Completed surveys with an email address will be automatically entered into a prize draw. If you prefer, you can complete the survey anonymously and forfeit your entry. Winners will be announced in early November. The prizes include:
- a free place on the 2027 West Sussex Early Years Conference
- a free place on the Strengthen, Grow and Future Proof Business Course (running on 29 January 2027)
- a free place on one of our £10 courses listed within the programme.
To complete the survey, please click here.
We value your feedback to help us shape the future programme and ask that you consider discussing responses with your deputies and/or staff team.
If you have any questions, please contact early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk.
On 2 October 2026, the Department for Education confirmed that West Sussex County Council's SEND Reform Plan has been approved. This approval comes with a £182.7m High Needs Stability Grant which will cover 90% of the West Sussex deficit. This is the deficit that arose because the cost of providing SEND support was higher than the funding the council received through the Dedicated Schools Grant.
The press statement can be viewed on the and further information to brief you more fully on next steps will be shared as we work through the feedback received from the DfE.
Benedict's Law, or also known as the School Allergy Safety Bill, was introduced to make schools a safer place for children with allergies. The law introduces a set of statutory requirements in England that makes allergy safety policies, staff training, and emergency adrenaline auto-injectors mandatory in schools. Benedict’s Law does not currently place equivalent statutory allergy requirements on private, voluntary, and independent (PVI) early education settings or standalone nurseries, as it applies only to schools in England.
The Department for Educations states that the principles behind the law serve as a recommended framework for PVI early education settings wanting to audit their safety policies. Settings must follow the regulations within the Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework. The current regulations do not recommend that PVI settings hold spare adrenaline auto injectors.
For more information, please go to Benedict's Law website.
This year's conference is focused on narrowing the attainment gap and improving outcomes for disadvantaged children with the underlying idea that every action has a ripple effect which has influence on future development for all children. We will have exciting workshops on why maths, movement and executive function matter most.
We are excited to announce that internationally recognised speaker and author, Helen Battelley, will be our keynote speaker. Helen’s speech, ’Understanding the importance and impact movement has on Early Education', combines theory and practice to explore how movement supports all areas of learning. We are subsidising this year’s conference price, so the cost per place is £20.
The conference will take place on Saturday 13 March 2027, from 9.30am to 3.30pm, at County Hall North, Horsham, Madeira Ave, Horsham RH12 1AB.
To secure your place, please book on the West Sussex Services for Education booking portal.
Each year, West Sussex County Council early years teams organise transition events to enable early educators in schools and settings to meet and briefly discuss the children who will be transitioning to school. This allows schools to prepare transition activities and identify any child who may need additional support. You can find more information about the transition process, dates of the events and paperwork on our Early Years transition web page.
You can book your place on the West Sussex Services of Education booking portal by searching "transition event". The events will take place in April and May 2027. Please book more than one event if you need to see schools in several locations. We are encouraging all schools to book an event and will update the website with attending schools booked over the coming weeks. Attendance at these events saves educators valuable time and supports children to make a strong start to their school life. The success of these events is dependent on high levels of attendance so please book on and prioritise them so your team can attend.
Childcare workforce supply, recruitment, and retention have been identified as a real challenge in the current market for all settings across the country. We have 2 courses to support you, covering safer recruitment and rethinking employment and retainment of staff. These courses are also part of our expansion support offer for this year, meaning it is part-funded and reduced in cost to only £10 per person. To book, please click on the course name below or log in to the West Sussex Services for Education booking portal.
Rethinking the Recruitment and Retention of Staff – Tuesday 3 November – 9.30am to 12.30pm – Online - £10 per person
Safer Recruitment Essentials – Thursday 5 November – 9.30am to 12.30pm – Online - £10 per person
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.
-
#39/2026 (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)
-
#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)
-
#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)
-
#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
-
#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)
Early Years and Childcare newsletter web page.
|
