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early years bannerearly years bulletin
*Bulletin 303*
*26 February 2024*
*Welcome to our Early Years and Childcare bulletin. Previous bulletins are available at: *Cheshire East Early years and Childcare Bulletin [
]
Business Support
*Provider Portal software upgrade and summer term data submission dates*
In preparation for collecting summer term data, the Provider Portal will be upgraded. Providers will then be able to submit the details of 2-year-olds from working families who are eligible for 15 hours of childcare per week from April 2024.
Due to the system upgrade, the Provider Portal will open slightly later than planned on Thursday 14 March for you to add your summer term data. The Provider Portal will then close on Sunday 24 March for interim (70%) payments to be calculated and paid by Friday 12 April.
Any late data will result in a delayed interim payment.
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*Free Early Education Entitlement Contracts*
Contracts for financial year 2024/25 will be issued electronically via DocuSign. To avoid any delays in receiving your contract, please log onto the Provider Portal and check the staff details provided. Each setting is required to provide the name and email address for the following members of staff:
* Designated Safeguarding Lead
* Free Entitlement Contract Signatory
* Free Entitlement Administrator
* Manager
* SENCo
Please follow the guidance notes [
] to submit your staff details. Childminders, please ensure your Free Entitlement Contract Signatory email and Free Entitlement Administrator addresses are correct. This can be checked by logging onto the Provider Portal and clicking on the Staff tab from the homepage.
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*Early Years Entitlement Funding for 2024/25*
The funding formula for 2024/25 has been approved by the Children and Families Committee. The rates below will be introduced from 1 April 2024.
*3- & 4-year-olds rates (5.2% increase)*
*2024/25*
*(per child per hour)*
Base rate
£5.06
Deprivation – Group based provision
£0.0066
Deprivation – Childminders
£0.80
Rural
£0.083
EYPP will be available to 2 year olds from April 2024.
*2-year-olds rates*
*2024/25*
*(per child per hour)*
Base rate
£7.11
EYPP
£0.68
*2YO Disadvantaged rate*
*£7.79*
*2YO Working families rate*
*£7.11*
The rates below will be introduced from 1 September 2024 as the entitlements expand to include children from 9 months to 23 months old.
*Under 2 rates*
*September 2024/25*
*(per child per hour)*
Base rate
£9.65
All rates applicable to all settings.
Government funding is intended to deliver 15 or 30 hours a week of free, high quality, flexible childcare. It is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, additional hours or additional services.
Providers are reminded that they can charge for meals and snacks as part of a free entitlement place and that they can also charge for consumables, such as nappies or sun cream, and for services such as trips and specialist tuition. However, providers should be mindful of the impact of additional charges on parents, especially the most disadvantaged. Providers, who choose to offer the free entitlements, are responsible for setting their own policy on providing parents with options for alternatives to additional charges, including allowing parents to supply their own meals or nappies, or waiving or reducing the cost of meals and snacks.
The purchase of additional hours of provision or additional services must not be a condition of accessing a free place. Charges for additional services should be fair and transparent.
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*2-year-old eligibility codes*
*Working families entitlement:* to apply for a code parents should go to childcarechoices.gov.uk [
] or call Childcare Choices on 0300 123 4097.
Eligibility codes will be issued in the same format as the 30-hour codes for 3- and 4-year-olds which are 11 digits and start with ‘50...’. The same code will remain with the child until they reach school age regardless of whether they drop in and out of eligibility.
Working parents who have a tax-free childcare account may have already received their 2-year-old eligibility code. Codes with an end date of 31st March will need reconfirming to make sure they are valid for summer term 2024. Please validate codes through the Eligibility checker in the Provider Portal.
Add the code, child date of birth and Parent/Carer NI number and submit. The data will not be stored at this stage but checking the end date of the code will provide assurance to providers and parents that 2-year-old working family funding will be available in summer term.
FEEE
*Current entitlement: *Parents of 2 year olds who are in receipt of certain benefits are able to check their eligibility for 15 hours funded childcare via our webpage [
], or by contacting the Family Information Service on 0300 123 5033.
Eligibility codes are 6 digits and are a mixture of letters and numbers.
Unlike the working family entitlement, parents who receive a 6-digit code will continue to be eligible for a 2-year-old place until their child turns 3 and receives 3-year-old funding.
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*Useful information for working parents of 2-year olds*
FIS
Please share the link below with your parents via your social media links
Useful information for working parents of 2-year-olds (cheshireeast.gov.uk) [
]
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*Expanded entitlements from April 2024 onwards*
The early education entitlement will be expanded for working families of younger children so they can access 15 hours per week, increasing to 30 hours per week by September 2025.
The expanded offer for younger children will be introduced in stages:
* From April 2024 - working parents of two-year olds can access 15 hours
* From September 2024 – working parents of children aged 9 to 23 months can access 15 hours
* From September 2025 – working parents of children aged nine months upwards can access 30 hours
Parents must work at least 16 hours per week and each parent must not earn more than £100,000 to be eligible for this expanded funding. Eligibility can be checked on the Childcare Choices [
] website.
Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements
*Measles: Current management of cases and advice for staff re immunity status*
Please find below information about how suspected measles cases are currently being managed.
* Parents/carers who suspect their child has measles should contact their GP or call 111
* Arrangements will be made for the child to be seen and if measles is suspected a swab will be taken.
* This is then counted as a ‘suspected’ case and the parent/carer will be advised on care and isolation.
* If the setting wishes to inform other parents, then the phrase ‘suspected case’ should be used
* If the swab is positive, then is it a ‘confirmed’ case
* The clinician who obtained the test will be alerted to any *laboratory confirmed cases* – They will contact the setting to update and advise
* UKHSA will then contact the setting to discuss the case and give appropriate advice.
If there is a confirmed case in your setting, then please contact UKHSA if they have not already contacted you.
_Staff are advised to check if they are fully vaccinated against measles_
This can be done by checking on the NHS app
Anyone who works directly with children and who has not had 2 doses of the MMR vaccine is encouraged to do so. This may be possible through your Occupational Health provider or by contacting your GP surgery. A mobile unit will be visiting Cheshire East, dates and locations are below.
NHS
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Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements: Focus on...
Hands
Providers must ensure:
• Children are only released into the care of individuals of whom the parent has explicitly notified the provider.
• Children do not leave the premises unsupervised.
• They take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised persons entering the premises and have an agreed procedure for checking the identity of visitors.
National updates
National Wraparound Childcare Programme
The Department for Education has recently published Wraparound childcare guidance for schools [
]
This guidance is for:
* school and trust leaders educating primary school age children
* operational wraparound leads in schools
* governing boards in maintained schools, academies, trusts, and free school
It provides guidance to help schools offer new or expanded wraparound childcare, with support from the national wraparound childcare programme [
].
Our Wraparound project team can be contacted on earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk
We will be running provider engagement sessions at the beginning of the summer term, further details to follow.
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*Do something Big, recruitment campaign. *
DfE
The ‘Do something BIG, work with small children [
]’ early years early years campaign is now live. It aims to raise the profile of the sector and showcase the important contribution early years and childcare professionals make in preparing young children for learning in school and beyond.
Alongside this, the DfE have launched an early years careers website [
]. This includes information on all areas of early years work, routes into the sector and real-life stories.
It also directs people to Department for Work and Pensions’ Find a Job [
] platform to search for early years roles in their area. Watch the video tutorials [
] to help you list any vacancies in your setting on Find a Job. Please use the term ‘early years’ in the title of your job adverts and select ‘Education jobs’ for the job category.
The DfE would be incredibly grateful if you could help to promote the campaign through your channels and use the hashtag *#dosomethingbig* on social media.
*Useful links*
*YouTube playlist* – 15 second and 30 second adverts on a playlist
Be part of something Big (short version) (youtube.com) [
]
*Dropbox* - campaign assets
[
]
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The Nursery Milk Scheme
The Nursery Milk Scheme is operated by the Nursery Milk Reimbursement Unit (NMRU) on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. It entitles children under 5 years who attend approved day care facilities to receive 189ml (1/3 pint) of milk each day, free of charge.
Childminders and group based providers can register for this scheme. Milk that can be claimed for includes whole or semi-skimmed pasteurised cow’s milk and powdered infant formula for babies under 12 months from *a specified list of brands [
]*.
For further information and to sign up please see the link below.
*The Nursery Milk Scheme* [
]
EYFS Learning and Development
Bookstart World Wildlife Day
Bookstart
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World Book Day Tokens
Bookstart
SEND
*SENCo Contact Details*
Please ensure that the SENCo contact details for your setting are up to date. If you have referred a child at your setting to the Early Years Forum, the outcome of Forum will be shared with SENCos via the contact details held on the Provider Portal.
Please check the information held by the Early Years Team via the Staff section of the Provider Portal and add/delete SENCo details as required. Guidance notes [
] are available.
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SEND Consultations
If you would like to book an SEND, PSED or Communication and Language consultation, please email: earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk
You will be sent paperwork to complete, once that is finished and returned by secure email, including with a parent/carers signature, you will be offered a consultation slot.
*Please note that the SLCN and SEND paperwork has been updated. Please delete any old copies that you have saved and email for the latest forms.*
Cheshire East Chatters
Cheshire East Chatters
Have a look at the Cheshire East Chatters Facebook page:
Cheshire East Chatters | Facebook [
]
Family Hubs
Monks Coppenhall Family Hub with centre of excellence for SEND
Family HubsFamily Hubs
Continuous Professional Development
*New training opportunity! Trauma and Attachment in Early Childhood*
* *16th April 2024 9.30am-1.30pm (Oakenclough Family Hub) *
* *18th April 2024 9.30am-1.30pm (Apples and Pears Private Day Nursery)*
Join us for a new training opportunity to explore trauma and attachment in early childhood, delivered by an Educational Psychologist. This training will cover attachment theory related to early childhood, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and what they are, the impact of trauma on young children and attachment awareness and trauma informed practice in early years settings.
*Please book on through the ChESS Early Years Training Hub – spaces are limited!*
*Early Years training hub* [
]
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Spring Term Training now available on the Hub
The Chess hub has been updated with lots of training opportunities up for the Spring term, please take a look and book on now!
Upcoming training:
*Introduction to the Communication Pyramid - 28th February 2024 1-4pm (Teams)*
This training will provide a brief introduction to attachment and its links to communication development - including an overview of interaction, play and language development and speech sounds. This sessions offers a chance to explore these areas of communication and how you can support them in the Early Years.
*What is my behaviour trying to tell you? - 29th February and 7th March 2024 6.30-8.30pm (Teams)*
The sessions will explore how we can be curious about behaviours and what might be affecting the child at that given time, build a supportive, appropriate curriculum using the EYFS and development matters as a guide, consider current strategies and approaches to ensure they meet the needs of all children and embed behaviour conversations in your practice and develop a whole setting approach to supporting children’s behaviour.
*New Managers - Leading Through Change - 5th March 2024 9.30-11.30am (Teams)*
This training will look at statutory requirements and skills needed to be an effective manager. This course is suitable for new managers, deputy managers and senior staff, and those who aspire to be in a management position.
*Role of the SENCO - 5th March 2024 9.30am-3pm (Monks Coppenhall Family Hub)*
This course has been written for those new to the role of the SENCO and those wishing to refresh their knowledge. If you need information on Cheshire East’s graduated approach, Cheshire East’s SEND Toolkit, up to date and relevant paperwork, external advice systems and processes, then this is the course for you.
*Effective Interactions - 6th March 2024 9.30am-3pm (Oakenclough Family Hub)*
This one day interaction training course aims to: discuss and define terms relating to communication and why interaction is so important.
*Basic Safeguarding Awareness - 6th March 2024 6.30-8.30pm (Teams)*
This two hour training course will provide basic information and understanding about safeguarding children. It has been specifically written to address safeguarding in Early Years and Childcare Settings and covers practice and procedures used within Cheshire East.
*Learning Language in the Outdoors - 7th March 2024 11am-12.30pm (Teams)*
In this session Cheshire East Chatters discuss the research behind learning in the outdoor environment and introduce their new group activities booklet containing lots of exciting, practical activities to support children's communication skills in your outdoor space.
*Early Years Training Hub* [
]
Don't Forget!
Cheshire East Key messages regarding infections including colds, flu and Covid-19
The key underlying public health message for respiratory illnesses including COVID-19 and flu is that if someone is too unwell to attend school or work and carry out their normal activities or if they have a raised temperature, they shouldn't be in the setting. They should stay at home until they are well enough to return.
Most people no longer have access to COVID-19 tests but, if they do and they test positive for COVID-19, then the current NHS advice is to try and stay at home for five days (three days for children) after the first positive test result. After this time, they can return even if they have a positive test result, if they are well enough.
A few people may have a positive COVID-19 test but have no symptoms. It is likely that they are infectious and so can pass on the virus, especially during the early stages, so the advice would be to try to work from home for five days if possible. If they are unable to work from home, then a risk assessment should be done to explore what options are available.
*Actions for settings*
* Manage each infection in line with the NHS/UKHSA advice
* Contact UKHSA if necessary
* Report cases via the online form – request call back if further advice needed
* Issue parent/carer letters re measles and advice re illness
*Key links and contacts*
Health protection in education settings [
]
UKHSA – candmphu@ukhsa.gov.uk
or 03442250562
Cheshire East Cheshire East education settings infection reporting form [
]
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*Early Years Training Hub – reminder to sign up*
Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to the Early Years Training Hub. If you haven’t yet signed up, please do so now to book on to training. You can sign up by accessing this link:
Chess Early Years Training Hub (sla-portals.co.uk) [
]
Then click on the *sign up* button on the top right hand side of the login page.
The* ChESS Early Years Training Hub* button on our Early Years and Childcare Training Resources (cheshireeast.gov.uk) [
] webpage will also give you access to the Hub.
Through our Early Years training page, you can find information about the training and CPD offer available to Early Years practitioners in Cheshire East.
Please note: If you already have access to the ChESS Hub for schools, you do not need to sign up again, however, please email us to request additional access user rights to the Early Years Hub.
*Early Years Training Hub* [
]
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