ebulletin 14 february 2017 - calderdale2017 -18: please send us your thoughts and suggestions to...
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Issue Number: 137 Date: 14th February 2017
This bulletin is sent out every other Tuesday. Items above RED dotted lines in each section are newly published; items below remain for ongoing information /
reference. To submit an item for the bulletin, please email [email protected] by 12 noon on a Friday.
NATIONAL NEWS
Are you ready for Tax-Free Childcare?: Childcare providers across the country are signing up for the government’s new offer: Tax-Free Childcare. Tax-Free Childcare will help working parents with the cost of childcare, offering up to £2,000 per child per year, or £4,000 if a child is disabled. Parents will be able to open an online account, which they can use to pay for childcare from a registered provider. For every £8 parents pay into these accounts, the government will add £2. Childcare providers must sign up to be able to receive payments from parents through the scheme. Sign up now at: https://childcare-support.tax.service.gov.uk To sign up, childcare providers should visit www.childcare.tax.service.gov.uk and will need:
● The unique code included in their invitation letter. ● The bank account details for the account they wish to receive payments into. ● Their Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number – or their National Insurance number, if they
don’t have a UTR. Tax-Free Childcare will be rolled out to parents from early 2017 but it is important that you as a provider sign up as soon as possible to be ready for the scheme’s launch. You can find more information on the scheme by visiting the Top things providers need to know on Gov.uk. Local authority schools, who provide early years clubs or after schools clubs, will want to sign up to Tax-Free Childcare but they are unlikely to have their own UTR. They can, however, use Calderdale’s UTR to sign-up which is 3399576804. They will also need to enter the following postcode to complete their sign up: HX1 1PS The Institute of Economic Affairs publish a report on what government should and should not do with regards to pre-school childcare: https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Getting-the-State-out-of-pre-school-childcare.pdf A summary of the report can be found here: https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Childcare-Paper-Two-Page-Summary-Final.pdf The Family and Childcare Trust publish a report on quality and the free childcare extension: https://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/no-shortcuts-quality-and-free-childcare-extension Pre-School Learning Alliance submitted a Freedom of Information Request to the Department for Education to request the data provided by Deloitte to inform the 2015 Cost of Childcare review: http://www.pre-school.org.uk/deloittedata The Lost Boys – Save the Children - How boys are falling behind in Early Years: The Lost Boys examines the scale of this hidden issue, and the consequences of falling behind in language and communication. It quantifies, for the first time, the impact of the gender gap at age five on primary school attainment. An independent team of experts have concluded that high-quality childcare is the best protection against the risk of falling behind. The research documents how more than 80,000 boys had fallen behind by the age of 5 last year and boys in England are nearly twice as likely as girls to fall behind. http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/The_Lost_Boys_Report.pdf --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Family and Childcare Trust publish a report about Local Offers: Childcare for all: the role of the Local Offer, funded by the Sobell Foundation, looks at the quality of information about childcare provided in all local authority’s Local Offer.
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Early years practitioners share good practice: A tailored curriculum and a skilled and self-reflective workforce are key to good practice in early years settings, reveals a new report published today by NatCen Social Research. http://natcen.ac.uk/news-media/press-releases/2017/january/early-years-practitioners-share-good-practice/ SEED publish several reports on different aspects of the free early education entitlement: http://www.seed.natcen.ac.uk/reports.aspx DfE publish a report on the views and experiences of childminders on funded early education: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childminders-views-on-funded-early-education
LOCAL NEWS
Congratulations to Innovations Children’s Centre who were inspected on 6th January 2017 and who received an Ofsted judgment of ‘outstanding’: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/CARE/EY382695 News from Hipperholme & Lightcliffe Day Nurseries Limited: Millie’s Mark awarded to Hipperholme & Lightcliffe Day Nurseries Limited! We are very pleased to announce that our nursery team has been recognised for excellence in paediatric first aid. We were notified on Thursday 26th January 2017 that we were one of the first nurseries in England to have achieved Millie’s Mark. Millie’s Mark is named after Millie Thompson who sadly died aged 9 months old after choking on food at a nursery in 2012. For our nursery it means we can:
provide peace of mind to parents whose children are in our care demonstrate that children’s safety is at the forefront of all we do demonstrates that we go beyond the minimum requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage
Our parents are delighted we have achieved this award and on 10th February 2017 Craig Whittaker MP will join parents, practitioners and children to celebrate the nursery’s achievement. The staff team would like to thank Mandy Kendall, Supporting Hand Training, for her skill, support and patience over the last 6 years. Without Mandy we could not have achieved this award. The link below gives nurseries all the information they need to sign up. https://www.milliesmark.com
Please email [email protected] for a copy of the minutes from the recent Early Years Support Group meeting. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PVI Early Years Schools Forum Representative: Alexandra Skvortsov of Greetland Private Day Nursery is now the Schools Forum Representative for early years providers from the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector. If you wish to communicate with Alexandra regarding the funding for the free funded entitlement for early education, her contact details are as follows:
Alexandra Skvortsov, Greetland Private Day Nursery, The Old School, Green Lane, Greetland, Halifax, HX4 8DB. Tel: 01422 370888 or via www.greetlandpdn.co.uk Early Intervention: Please use the following link to access information on early intervention. http://earlyintervention.calderdale.gov.uk/. The revised Early Intervention Single Assessment form (EISA) and the Early Intervention Statutory Safeguarding form can also be found on this link.
SAFEGUARDING UPDATES
Calderdale SCB Newsletter: To receive a copy of the Calderdale SCB newsletter email [email protected] and ask to be put on the mailing list. CSCB Multi-Agency Learning Opportunities: Please see Calderdale Safeguarding Children Board website for more information forthcoming learning opportunities.
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Safeguarding Referrals: The Multi-Agency Screening Team (MAST) team of child protection professionals including: Police, Children’s Social Care and Health. MAST is a triage service for all safeguarding concerns and will give advice on the correct procedures for individual cases. You will need to update your policies and procedures to reflect these changes.
POST: Children and Young Peoples Services Multi-agency Screening Team (MAST) Halifax Police Station, Richmond Close, Halifax, HX1 5TW TELEPHONE: 01422 393336 FAX: 01422 392875 SECURE EMAIL: (from secure emails only): [email protected] The team consists of representatives from Children’s Social Care, Police, Health and the CAF Co-ordinator. All referrals into Children’s Social Care are received and screened by the MAST team within 24 hours. Further information is gathered in relation to referrals by screening social workers, and referrals identified at level 4 or 5 on the Continuum of Need are discussed in a daily Multi Agency Meeting or strategy discussion as part of the decision making process. Referrals not reaching this threshold may be returned to the referrer with advice for further action, signposted for other services and support, including a locality Early Intervention panel. The MAST team also offers advice on whether to make a referral or register a Single Assessment. Those cases requiring further social worker assessment and intervention will be transferred to Children’s Assessment Team who can be contacted on 01422 393340. As part of collaborative partnership working we would like to offer drop in sessions to explain more about our team and how we can work together with you to improve the quality of services children and families receive. Please email Selina Hare at the MAST team for further enquires. [email protected] The Emergency Duty Team’s (EDT) contact number is 01422 288000. The Local Authority’s designated Officer (LADO) is Cheryl Baxter: Please direct any LADO referrals or concerns to the following:
Telephone number: 01422 394088 Mobile: 07769 886090 Email: [email protected] Secure email: [email protected] Please remember to update policies and procedures accordingly. Prevent Duty Contacts: LA Contact for PREVENT - Sadia Hussain on 07702 656834 or by email: [email protected] (or the police via 101 should the PREVENT Co-ordinator not be available). You will need to update your policies and procedures to reflect the ‘Prevent Duty’ - if you have any questions; please contact your QISO. Safeguarding – Police contacts: Ed Chesters – Safeguarding and Partnerships Det Insp Allan Raw (Childrens’ Safeguarding) Det Insp Dave Shaw (Adult Safeguarding) Sergeants are: DS Helen Madden (CSE), DS Mick Richmond, DS Jayne Maiden, Temp DS John Moore (all 3 are the daily reactive teams), DS Sally Fletcher (Domestic Abuse) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TEAM (WDT) UPDATES
Early Years and Childcare Training and Development including DCATCH January & February 2017: Places are still available on the following courses: please book on using your Early Years and Childcare booking form. For full course descriptions please see programme: http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/education-and-learning/childcare/childcare-providers-support/learning-and-development Watch this space for the new programme April 2017 – March 2018! We are now taking bookings for the Early Years SEND conference – please email [email protected] for more information. We are currently developing the Early Years and Childcare Learning and Development Programme for 2017 -18: Please send us your thoughts and suggestions to [email protected] Training in February 27th February, 6.30 - 8.30pm, holy Trinity School: Supporting Children who are new to English 28th February, 6.30pm – 8.30pm, Shay: Are You as Inclusive as You Think You Are? Paediatric First Aid starts 28th February, 5.45pm - 8.45pm Shay Stadium, and following dates: 7th, 14th, and 28th March. 4th March, 9.30am - 3.30pm Central Library: Managing Feelings and Behaviour Using a Graduated Response ( Level 2) 18th March, 9.30am - 3.30pm Central Library: Understanding and Responding to Behaviours of Early Years Children with SEND (Behaviour Level 3) Moving and Handling Children 28th February 9.30am - 3.30pm (fully funded, limited places). Any queries regarding training: [email protected] (please label email – early years training query). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please contact: Workforce Development Team Telephone: 01422 288317 Fax: 01422 288306 Email: [email protected]
30 HOURS FREE CHILDCARE UPDATE
We are pleased to confirm that we have arranged two workshops, aimed at maintained nursery schools but now also open to academies, who may be considering offering the extended free entitlement of 30 hours of free childcare to eligible working parents from September 2017: The workshops will be delivered by Hempsalls, who hold the government contract to support LAs in preparing for the 30 hours, and supported by Council colleagues in the Early Years and Finance teams. The workshops will cover:
Understanding the policy and the parameters of the extended 30 hour entitlement for working families.
Using market research to consider the specific needs of your school community, to ensure what is offered to parents is fit for purpose (flexibility).
Using market research to understand your strengths, weaknesses and the opportunities and threats of local childcare market including opportunities for partnerships.
Considering models of delivery and discuss the day-to-day practicalities of flexible partnership and direct delivery models.
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Understanding some of the key business monitoring tools to assist business and financial planning to support future sustainability.
Identifying a potential model / models of delivery which will work for the school. Creating a one page development plan setting out the next steps the school needs to take. Knowing who to contact in Calderdale for further support going forward.
There will be two sessions held on 4th April 2017 at the Shay Stadium, Shaw Hill, Halifax HX1 2YS. There is free parking available onsite. Places are limited to a maximum of two participants per school and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
- The session with available places will start at 1.00pm for refreshments with a 1.30pm prompt start and finishing at 4.30pm.
Please email [email protected] with the preferred session time and the names of your two participants. We will confirm by email that you have a place or will let you know if the session you have chosen is full. Should the workshops become oversubscribed, we will consider running additional sessions as soon as possible. The DfE publish a report on parents’ views on the 30 hours of free childcare: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/586231/Parents__views_and_demand_for_30_hour_s_free_childcare_-_RR611.pdf Local Authority Business Readiness Survey: All early years providers should have received a copy of the Business Readiness Survey by email. The deadline for returning these was 10.2.2017 but we are still happy to receive returns. If you can’t locate your email, please let us know via [email protected] and we will send you another one. The new national website to support providers in preparing for the 30 hours has now launched at www.childcareworks.co.uk. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The updated local Childcare Sufficiency Assessment has now been published: http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/education-and-learning/childcare/childcare-sufficiency-assessment We have developed a sample parental demand survey which you are free to use to with parents to establish likely demand for the 30 hours of free childcare: Please note it can be amended to suit your own personal needs. We would be grateful for any summary of your findings that you are willing to share with us. This will help us with our overall place planning and feedback to the DfE about likely supply and demand in Calderdale. If anyone would like any help with analysing the results of their survey, please get in touch and we can discuss the support available.
EARLY YEARS & CHILDCARE SUFFICIENCY TEAM (EYCST) AND FINANCE TEAM UPDATES
Please find below a briefing sheet on the proposed funding rates for 2017/18, subject to Schools Forum and Cabinet approval: On 1 December 2016, the Government published its responses to the Consultation on an Early Years National Funding Formula, the Operational Guidance for the Early Years National Funding Formula for local authorities and the Early Years funding allocations for 2017/18. The government confirmed its intention to implement an early years national funding formula from April 2017. The government now acknowledges the concerns expressed over funding rates, particularly by those local authorities and providers with lower rates, and has considered these carefully. In response, the government has provided further support by guaranteeing that every local authority will receive a minimum funding rate of at least £4.30 per hour. With the high pass-through of funding to the front line, this will give local authorities the scope to pay providers an average funding rate of at least £4 per hour. As a result of the minimum funding guarantee, Calderdale will receive slightly more funding and it will remove some of the uncertainty over future funding. We are proposing to pay Calderdale providers an average funding
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rate (excluding deprivation supplement payments) of £4.11 per hour. Alongside the introduction of an early years national funding formula, there are a number of new requirements on how local authorities allocate funding to providers from 2017/18. Calderdale already meets many of these new requirements but it was expected that there would need to be changes to the use of supplements. Following the government’s decision to allow authorities discretion to use a supplement to recognise workforce qualifications and system leadership, we propose to continue to offer the Quality Supplement. Following the confirmation of Calderdale’s Early Years funding allocation for 2017/18 the new proposed hourly funding rates for providers are as follows;
EEF for 3-4 year olds Base 3.92 Deprivation Supplement 0.53 Quality Supplement 0.23 EYPP 0.53
Funding for eligible 2 year olds
Base 4.90 Deprivation Supplement Quality Supplement 0.23
The government are introducing two new measures for 2017-18 to support children with disabilities or SEN:
the Disability Access Fund (DAF) aids access to early years places by, for example, supporting providers in making reasonable adjustments to their settings and/or helping with building capacity (be that for the child in question or for the benefit of children as a whole attending the setting);
the SEN inclusion fund requires local authorities to set up a fund to help providers better address the needs of individual children.
From April 2017, the government will introduce the new targeted early years Disability Access Fund to enable a fixed lump sum payment of £615 per eligible child per year to be paid to early years settings that are providing a free entitlement place for three- and four-year olds. The government will require all local authorities to establish SEN inclusion funds for three- and four-year olds in their local funding systems from April 2017. Currently, Calderdale allocates funding to support an inclusion fund that is managed as part of Disabled Children’s Access to Childcare (DCATCH). Links to the government documents: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/early-years-funding-changes-to-funding-for-3-and-4-year-olds https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-national-funding-formula-allocations-and-guidance Spring 2017 Actual Task: The Spring Term Actual Task opened on 23rd January 2017 and closed on Friday 10th February 2017. We are now working on checking your submitted data ready to make your payments. Link to Headcount Guidance on the Council’s Website: http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/education-and-learning/childcare/childcare-providers-support/early-education-funding-eef For dates of tasks, please use the link above and check the EEF Funding Periods link. Early Intervention Childcare Funding: We currently receive a high number of incomplete referrals. We reserve the right to close those referrals which remain incomplete after a period of 6-8 weeks if we have not received the required information from the referrer. Please also ensure that your electronic timesheets are submitted to Viv Starkey via [email protected], no later than the end of each month, in order for your payment to be processed promptly. Timesheets older than three months will not be accepted for payment. You must inform Viv Starkey of any EICF funded children who no longer attend your setting / cease attending for any reason. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2YO children without eligibility checks: Please be aware that any 2YOE funding children, who have not had a check carried out regarding eligibility, will be removed from any headcount and EYCST will not be contacting providers to inform them that a child has been removed due to no check being carried out. Settings are
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reminded that funding is not backdated and will only start from the date the child's eligibility is checked (within a term they are eligible from). Completing your registers and meeting current requirements: Between 1st April 2016 and the end of December 2016, from Ofsted inspections across Calderdale, registers have been mentioned in 7 actions / recommendations. Of these inspections, six have resulted in an ‘Inadequate’ outcome and one has resulted in a ‘Requires Improvement’ outcome. 3.76. of the EYFS states;
a daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises, their hours of attendance and the names of each child's key person.
Furthermore in the last 18 months appropriate completion and maintenance of registers has been identified as a significant issue during an Early Education Funding Audit in 11 settings, of which 7 have been considered in Breach of the Provider Agreement and as such have been at risk of being removed from the Directory of Providers. 2.17. of the Provider Agreement states;
Show evidence of maintaining appropriate registers for children’s attendance showing times of arrival and departure.
There are many reasons why we want young children to come regularly to their setting. As well as supporting their learning and development, we want to try to make sure that children are kept safe, their wellbeing is promoted and they do not miss out on their entitlements and opportunities. This is why good attendance is included in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework & within Appendix 3 of the Provider Agreement. At the very least, good attendance practice promotes good outcomes for children. In a small minority of cases, good attendance practice may also lead to the earlier identification of more serious concerns for a child or family and may have a vital part to play in keeping a child or other family members safe from harm. When completing your registers you must ensure that;
a daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises accurate hours of attendance are recorded for all children the name of each child's key person must be recorded the use of pencil or tippex is not permitted.
It is also good practice to record which parent/carer was responsible for dropping off and picking up the child. This information can be important where safeguarding concerns arise. You must also ensure that where parents/carers are responsible for signing their own children in and out on the register, that staff verify this has been completed in all instances and complete and initial where they have completed this in place of the parent/carer. Knowing when children have attended provides vital information to keep children safe from harm and help tackle underachievement. Children’s and staff safety can be seriously put at risk by failure to effectively complete registers, i.e. in instances of fire evacuations. Settings may also find themselves liable where accidents occur and appropriate registers have not been completed. Having clear accessible attendance records helps identify children at risk and helps multiagency teams to understand, assess and support the widest possible range of needs for a child and his or her whole family. To ensure that attendance records support the work of safeguarding young children and promote their learning and development, it is important for senior managers and staff at all levels to pay attention to the following:
Keep full registration details for every child, as specified in the EYFS Keep accurate information about parents, carers and others who may accompany the child to and from
school or pre-school. (Remember, too, that it is vital to have up-to-date records of who does/ does not have a legal right of access to each child and to make sure that key people know the situation for each individual child.)
Make clear and accurate entries, whether you are using manual or electronic registers. Consistently and thoroughly investigate all absences for individual children and keep accurate records
of the family’s explanations. Please refer to Appendix 3 of the Provider Agreement for guidance on Attendance Management Processes. For further support please contact the Quality & Improvement Support Team on 01422 394109, or the EEF Auditor, Rachael Burdin, on 01422 392581. Provider Update Module: The new childcare website allows providers to register and update their own
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information. You will have received an email advising you of how to do this. If you need any more advice, please contact us or visit https://search3.openobjects.com/kb5/calderdale/fsd/sign_in.page Early Years & Childcare Sufficiency Team Contact Details: [email protected] is to be used when contacting the team in relation to all enquiries/queries/information on the headcount process, changes to funding arrangements, checking eligibility for 2 YOE, Provider Agreements etc.
[email protected] is to be used when contacting the team in relation to all enquiries/queries/information on local childcare, brokerage, EICF timesheets etc.
General Enquiries: 01422 392576 / 392695 2 YOE & EEF: 01422 392695 / 392576 Early Intervention Childcare Funding: 01422 392524 or [email protected] or [email protected] for Timesheets. Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/calderdaleearlyyears/
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT & SUPPORT TEAM (QISOS) UPDATES
IT’S HERE - The Safeguarding Self Audit for Early Years and Schools (Self-audit) SURVEY: Many of you have now completed the self-audit and are working on actions that you have identified through this process. The next part of the process is for you to consider how completing the self-audit and the safeguarding visit have impacted on your safeguarding practice. We would then ask you to complete this short online survey as thoroughly as possible, this will enable us to measure the impact that the safeguarding self-audit and the support given has had on practice across Calderdale. Benefits of completing the survey
Provides evidence that safeguarding is a priority within your setting. Provides evidence that your setting reflects on practice and identifies gaps. Provides evidence for Ofsted. Demonstrates compliance with relevant legislation e.g. EYFS, Working Together 2015. Supports Improvement / Development Plans for your setting. Identifies and measures good practice and areas for development within your setting.
Why we are asking you to complete the survey
Provides an understanding of the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements across the early years sector in Calderdale.
Enables future training and support to be planned. Develop priorities to support leadership, learning and improvement, and sharing things that work well.
The data will be analysed to see what is working well and how this knowledge can be shared and replicated to support all settings in their safeguarding procedures and practices, thus empowering settings to create safer cultures for their children. The link can be found below and please contact your QISO if you have any questions. You only have until Monday 6th March to submit your responses. Thank you in advance for taking time to complete this survey. http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/survey/safeguarding-audit-early-years-and-schools/ Don't forget that as from August 2016 the revised 'Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings' states that:- 'Designated members of staff for safeguarding need to have safeguarding training every two years and their knowledge and skills should be refreshed at least annually'. 'All staff and leaders to recieve regular updates on safeguarding at least annually'. Childminders are automatically classed as the 'designated safeguarding lead' and if working with assistants must adhere to the relevant requirements. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/547390/Inspecting_safeguarding_in_early_years_education_and_skills_settings_change_document_Aug_2016.pdf
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Calderdale Oral Health Team “Cute Fruit Plus” Dental Health Award: Training event held at Laura Mitchell Health & Wellbeing Centre, Halifax on Thursday 16th February 6:15pm - 7:30 pm. This training is fully funded and open to all providers. To find out more or confirm your attendance you must contact Viv Harlow on 07766 366755 or by emailing [email protected] Invitation to all childcare practitioners to attend our Sharing Good Practice Network - Supervision in the Early Years to be held on Tuesday 28th February 2017 – 6.30-8.30pm at Savile Park School Heath Campus (What was Heath Training Centre), Free School Lane, Halifax, HX1 2PS. This event is facilitated by the Quality Improvement & Support Team and is your opportunity to share with each other:
Organisations tips for supervision What should we include in supervision How we ensure supervision is a reflective process How supervision assists with developing practice
You will need to bring with you any templates you use or any anonymous samples of written supervision you have permission to share. To book a place on this event – please email [email protected] or phone 01422 394109. Places are initially limited to 1 person per setting. Additional places may be available nearer the time, please let us know if you would like extra places. The workshop is fully funded however if you do not attend or cancel, within less than 24 hours’. Out of School Club Support Group: All Playwork & Practitioners, Out of School Club Managers and Deputies are invited to attend the Out of School Club Support Group. Learning and Development - Time to discuss learning and development, best practice for OOSC and meeting the EYFS requirements, compare knowledge and good practice, meet other OOSC practitioners and network. Held at At North Bridge Leisure Centre Halifax on Tuesday 1st March 2016 from 6:30-8:30 and facilitated by Liz Sykes QISO, this is your opportunity to
To discuss learning and development in your OOSC How to meet EYFS requirements Share and support ideas and best practice in learning and development in your OOSC Meet other practitioners Plan for the next meetings
This is an interactive meeting so you will need to bring with you ideas or examples about your practice and any questions. To book a place on this event – please email [email protected] or phone 01422 394109. Please let us know if you would like extra places. The workshop is free however if you do need to cancel please contact as above. Whilst it is free there may be a charge if you book and fail to notify us that you won’t be attending. Your Quality Improvement Support Officer can also support you during your Ofsted inspection feedback. Managers and Owners have told us that they have found it useful to have someone from the Local Authority there to demonstrate working in partnership and to talk about developments during the past few years. In order that we can organise out attendance at Ofsted feedback please telephone the Quality Improvement Team office as soon as you are aware you are having an Ofsted inspection. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have you completed your Safeguarding Self Audit? Have you had your support visit?: Many of you have completed the self-audit and are working on actions that you have identified through this process. In February you will be required to complete an ‘Impact Evaluation’, we will ask you to consider how completing the self-audit has impacted on your safeguarding practice. You will need to provide information about; What difference has it made, what changes to practice have you made? RAG at beginning of process RAG at end of process Actions identified (at the start of or throughout the process) Actions completed or progress made Training needs identified Originally we intended to do this through a printed document distributed via email however following some
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brief consultation we have now decided that the most effective way of gathering this information is through an online survey. This means that in February we will be asking all providers to complete this online survey to measure the impact that the self-audit has had on your practice. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Quality Improvement and Support Team (QISO) for help or advice. Risk assessing hot drinks and hot foods: Your setting should consider and risk assess as to how to manage the risks of children not being scalded by hot drinks, liquids or foods. For example allocating designated safe areas for staff, parent’s, carers and visitors to consume hot drinks for example in the staff room or areas where children are not accessing. You should also risk assess; the use of hot water and hot food being transported in your setting, for example only moving hot drinks/kettle’s in an area where children are not accessing; How you safely move and serve hot food in your setting. EYFS 3.54 3.64 What is the real impact of a scald on a child from a hot drink? Hot drink scalds are one of the most common childhood injuries and the leading cause of children being admitted to burns services. Every day, 45 children in the UK are taken to A&E departments with scalds from hot drinks – that’s 16,500 a year. As you’d expect, under 5s are most at risk. Babies and young children are particularly vulnerable to scalds from hot drinks because their skin is much thinner than an adult’s. Most people are simply not aware that a mug of hot drink with milk, left standing for as long as 10 minutes, can still scald a baby or toddler in less than one and half seconds. At this age children are very inquisitive. The majority (6 in 10) of scalds in children under 5 are the result of the child reaching and pulling a hot drink down on themselves. And they’re just too young to understand danger or to follow or remember instructions reliably. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are three times more likely to be admitted to hospital with burns and scalds. So getting accessible safety advice to parents and carers is vital to both prevent hot drinks scalds and tackle inequality. Sharing information with Parents Your next step in engaging parents effectively; You could do a short supportive promotion, include some safety tips; poster on your parent’s board or information in your newsletter’s, considering safety in the home etc. Staff Recruitment: Did you know that if you are in the process of recruiting new staff in your provision you can advertise on the Calderdale Council Website? To advertise a vacancy on our website you will need to send your advert along with any supporting documents that you would like attaching to [email protected]. What’s included?
Online advert. Unlimited attachments. Live advert until the closing date. Direct link to your website. Job bulletin. Information emailed to registered users, schools and job centres. Logo included. Twitter notification. Sent out to our 1200+ followers. Posted onto national job boards.
We aim to get adverts live on the website within 48 hours and into next job bulletin. The cost of advertising on the Calderdale Council website is £90 + VAT, or £45 for registered charities. When you send an advert you will need to include your invoice details. If you have any questions about advertising with us, please don’t hesitate to contact the recruitment team on 01422 288477 or email us as the address above. Contact your Quality Improvement Support Officer for support and advice about the good practice tools we have available that will help you to:
• Prepare for your next Ofsted inspection. • Continue developing the quality of provision and planning for children’s learning. • Make effective use of self-evaluation, supervision and staff development. • Make effective use of leadership and management strategies to drive forward improvements in quality. • How we can support you during your Ofsted inspection feedback. • Our Sharing Good Practice Networks Steps to Quality. • Steps to Quality – the Calderdale Quality Assurance scheme.
While the Quality Improvement and Support Team strive to ensure that we have someone available during the
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office hours of 9am – 5pm to take your calls, due to the nature of the QISO role it is not always possible to do this. Therefore, if you ring the QISO office and there is no answer, you can contact your QISO through email: [email protected] or you can ring the mobile number of your QISO listed below and they will get back as soon as they are able. QISO Team:
Amanda Cioch – 07824 311147 Donna Pendergast – 07824 416510 Kathy Norris – 07734 460159 Liz Sykes – 07766 9239097 Tracy McAspurn – 07823 537249 Caroline Longhurst – 07824 461246 Linda Coleman – 07824 476510 Victoria Patterson - 07823 444364 Administration and Support Officer – Danielle Golubovic: 394109 Senior Quality Improvement Officer - Gill Holden: 394193 / 07824 474471
If you have an urgent query, please leave a message on the office answerphone and / or ring any of the QISOs on the telephone list and they should be able to assist your query.
PORTAGE & EARLY YEARS SUPPORT TEACHERS (PEYST) UPDATES
Early Years SENCO Drop In Sessions: The Portage and Early Years Support Teacher Team have launched SENCO Drop In Sessions, available in locality areas. These sessions are an opportunity for Early Years settings to book individual half hour sessions with a Portage and Early Years Support Co-ordinator to discuss any aspect of the Early Years SEND agenda. This could be individual support around a particular child where you may have concern about developmental progress etc, support with ILDPs or advice around making referrals for DCATCH support or into other services. We are hoping to run the next drop in session in the Lower Valley during October (date and venue to be confirmed). If you are interested please email [email protected] as an appointment will need to be booked. The PEYST Dedicated Email Address: General enquiries for the Team can now be directed in the first instance to [email protected]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONSULTATION ON THE CALDERDALE WORKFORCE STRATEGY
Gill Holden, Senior Quality Improvement Officer, is currently leading on developing a Workforce Strategy for Calderdale, which aims to dovetail with the DfE strategy when it is launched. The overriding themes of the strategy are recruitment into the sector; staff development / training; retention of staff; professionalism and specialisms. As part of the strategy development in Calderdale we are consulting with young people, careers advisors, secondary schools, early years and childcare providers, Training providers and FE and HE providers. We would be very grateful if you could take the time to answer the following questions and email them in to [email protected] Please feel free to give as much or as little information as you like to each question and/or to miss out questions that are not applicable to you. The questions are generic; please feel free to adapt them to fit your situation. We want your views and opinions in whatever format you find easiest to get them to us. Please also feel free to forward this on to any colleagues who you feel may want to express their views or opinions. The deadline for submitting responses is Tuesday 28th February. Many thanks in anticipation of your support. Every submission will be entered into a prize draw and could win one of the following prizes:-
A bespoke 2 hour whole team training session.
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A full Steps to Quality package (S1, 2 or 3). A bag of resources worth up to £50.
Recruitment / attracting people into the profession
What is your experience of recruiting L3 practitioners? What skills do you think a L3 practitioner needs to successfully carry out their role? What are the barriers for people coming into the EYL&C sector? Is this an attractive career?
o For young people o For those considering a career change
Does the sector need support with interview / recruitment skills? Are providers getting the right people applying for jobs (why)? Any other comments on recruitment?
Staff Development / Training / Motivation
What development opportunities do you participate in or offer for your staff? What motivates you to develop practice / keep doing a good job? What things do you do to motivate your staff? Do you / your staff have any specialist / lead areas? Do you have or give any peer support or networking? Would you like opportunity for peer support / networking / mentoring / coaching? Other than pay – what do you feel are the reasons that people are leaving the childcare sector? What, in your view, is most important for parents when choosing and EY provider?
Retention
Why do you think that practitioners leave the sector? To how much of an extent is poor pay or low status a factor in people leaving the sector? What impact does Government over regulation of some areas and under regulation of others have on
the sector? Do you carry out exit interviews when people leave? If so, what reasons do people give for leaving? The EY sector is renowned for having a high staff turnover (including practitioners who move around
from setting to setting across the borough) why do you think this is? What is important about EY that makes you stay?
Professionalism
Is there anything that is stopping the sector from stepping up, being proud? Since 2007 – the Government has made moves to professionalise the sector – not just about money –
what is the impact? Is this successful – what are the measures? What are your views on EYT compared with QTS?
Specialisms
• How could this be progressed in the sector – what does the sector need? • How can specialisms be recognised? Not necessarily just about pay • Some suggested specialism areas are SEND, Designated Safeguarding Lead, Forest School etc. In
what way do you think this would benefit the sector? What other specialism areas would it be good to develop?
Do you have any other comments you wish to make that are relevant to the development of our workforce strategy?
AND FINALLY….. Healthy Early Years is a newly created website, featuring downloadable content, along with a free mobile app packed with top tips to support parents, carers and frontline staff caring for children aged from 0-5 in Calderdale to be healthy, happy and safe: Launching on Tuesday 15th November, the resources
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have been developed by NHS Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group and Calderdale Council in partnership with members of the public and local organisations as a major project within the Calderdale Vanguard. Visit www.healthyearlyyears.co.uk
Calderdale Early Years & Childcare Team run a Facebook page for parents and carers of children and young people aged 0-19 in Calderdale: ‘like’ us to keep in touch with news about topical issues affecting families today, activities and fun things to do and chances to win prizes! https://www.facebook.com/calderdaleearlyyears/ Social Media: The QISO team have now set up a Facebook page and Twitter account for all childcare practitioners across Calderdale. We hope that this will enable easier access to the updates and planned events. The social media accounts do not replace the E-Bulletin so please keep accessing that for more in depth information. To access the Facebook page search Calderdale childcare providers like the page and turn on notifications! All childcare providers can access our Twitter account by going to https://twitter.com/teamQISO and following us. Childminders still have an independent Facebook page at Childminders Calderdale. If you haven’t already done so please like the page and turn on notifications. Any further questions please contact the QISO office on 01422 394109.
PLEASE NOTE: We receive and pass on information from a wide range of sources and therefore Calderdale Council cannot be held responsible for content and inaccuracies within information supplied from external partners. We do not necessarily agree with opinions voiced in any articles publicised or endorse any entries in the “And Finally” section of this Bulletin.