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Early Years, Childcare, and School Readiness Service (CambsEYC)

News Round-Up

 March 2025

The new guidance is effective from Tuesday, 1 April 2025 and puts transparency at the heart of how the entitlement should be passed on to parents, including that all costs should be clear to parents upfront.

In the charging section, changes reaffirm that the 15- or 30-hours entitlements must be accessible free of charge to parents. They also reaffirm that there must not be any mandatory charges for parents in relation to the free hours. The updates also reflect changes to Ofsted inspection judgements for state schools inspected after Monday, 2 September 2024 and provide clarity on the eligibility criteria for two-year-olds, for both entitlements.

Open to all Early Years Educators the Spring Term Forum will focus on "Inclusion for All," exploring unconscious bias and its impact on Early Years practice. Additional discussions will cover recruitment, including safer recruitment practices and writing successful job adverts.

To book a place, visit the Booking and Reservations for Early Years Workforce Development, Forums, Networks & Briefings.

To learn more about this course, and further training opportunities, please view the CambsEYC Professional Development Programme.

The CambsEYC SEND team will be unable to process any Early Support Pathway requests received after this date. To meet this cut-off date, you should now consider submitting your Early Help Assessment’s for these children to allow time for processing.

When making a referral to Early Support, where possible please include supporting information such as the Cambridgeshire Early Years Developmental Journal, targeted observations, individual risk assessment/reduction plan, etc.

To access a user guide, within the Early Help Module (EHM), please click ‘menu’ then ‘useful links’ and access the ‘EHM Knowledge Centre.’ If you have any queries, please email early.support@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

They manage the Cambridgeshire Childcare Directory and offer one-to-one support for families with children and young people from birth to 25.

Their advice is free, confidential, and impartial.

The FIS can help with finding childcare, understanding childcare funding options, childcare for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and the SEND Local Offer.

For information on childcare and early learning, contact the FIS team; Lisa Watson, Families Information Coordinator, and Tracey-Ann Grant, Childcare Brokerage Adviser - SEND. Email fis@cambridgeshire.gov.uk, telephone 0345 045 1360, or connect with them on Facebook - please share the CambsFIS page.

New translated resources are now available to download from the Campaign Resource Centre.

The campaign aims to educate parents and carers about the importance of brain development in the first five years of a child's life. It highlights the crucial role of parents and carers and how all the little things they do together with their child like chatting, counting, reading, playing, or singing help to build their child’s brain.

By directing parents to the NHS - Start for Life website, they will find simple ideas on how to build these little moments into each day. It includes lots of examples of tips and activities for parents to do with children at different ages. It also signposts parents to the relevant in-person support available in their local communities.

Neglect is the most common form of child abuse and is usually the most common cause for a child being the subject of a child protection plan. The strategy aims to ensure there is a shared understanding of the impact of neglect and seeks to explain:

• How agencies in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough recognise and respond to “neglect”
• How agencies can work together to reduce the chances of children and young people being neglected.

including a new five-point grading scale to evaluate more areas of a provider’s work and short summaries of what inspectors found.

The DfE want to know what you think about their proposed plans for inspecting schools and other settings where children and adults learn, including early years, state-funded schools, non-association independent schools, further education and skills, and initial teacher education.

You can share your views on Ofsted's plans for report cards and inspection structures via GOV.UK - Improving the way Ofsted inspects education. The consultation closes on Monday, 28 April 2025.

Funded by the DfE the Childcare Works HUB for Providers and Schools supports providers delivering the early years entitlements expansion and wraparound childcare programmes.

The HUB connects providers implementing early years or wraparound childcare expansion to a wide range of high-quality knowledge and learning resources. It contains good practice guidance, case studies, upcoming events and resources such as early years toolkit and wraparound toolkit to support planning and delivery.

The DfE encourage you to share your views and ideas about the HUB via the Childcare Works HUB - Feedback form.

educators to create inclusive and safe environments that protect children with food allergies and foster confidence and understanding among pupils.

The DfE encourages settings to use such resources as part of their work to fulfil their statutory duties to manage allergy risks, as set out in the government’s allergy guidance for schools and the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework.

practical resources to support you in delivering high-quality early education and childcare.

Foundation Years is a unique digital resource for everything early years

Funded by the DfE, they deliver regular, relevant, topical information and sector news to support early years professionals in their roles.

Sign up to the Foundation Years newsletter to stay informed and up to date with the latest news stories from the early years sector. Get exclusive access to practical guidance and support, and receive updates directly in your inbox. Also, make sure you follow their socials for the latest news, insights, and opportunities.

There will be membership options available for all types of providers, additional specialist packages to develop themes and discounts available for multi-package membership. As in previous years, there will also be a ‘combined’ package for schools running provision for early years children in the birth to five age range. Many of the membership packages include credits which can be exchanged for places on essential (mandatory) courses free of charge. Details about these courses can be found under ‘Cambridgeshire Essentials’ in the Professional Development Programme 2025 – 2026 (to be published in June 2025).

Please note, that membership packages do not roll over year on year so make sure to sign up for support in 2025.

The Hubs provide advice, share good practices and offer evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners.

National Children’s Bureau is the delivery partner for the programme, which supports early years educators, including those in deprived areas, to improve the quality of their practice.

The extension means the programme will continue to provide funding support and advice to improve quality in early years settings, by sharing evidence-informed best practices to support early years education and childcare through their local networks.

You can find your nearest Hub and how to get involved on the Stronger Practice Hubs website.

The framework describes the social and emotional skills that start developing in early childhood and are important throughout our lives. It aims to improve awareness of and knowledge about these skills to inform action which can create a happier, healthier society.

Social and emotional skills shape who we are, how we manage our emotions and thoughts, how we communicate with and relate to others, and how we explore the world around us. These skills help us build positive, meaningful relationships that are at the heart of a healthy, happy life.

The framework has been designed to help give social and emotional skills greater priority and to encourage organisations across the UK to use it in their work.

Eligible children can get up to 16 hours of fully funded fun activities and participate in enriching experiences at a registered holiday scheme, where they will also receive a free daily meal. Eligibility vouchers have been sent to parents and carers on Monday, 3 March 2025 via email and text. Please use the Easter HAF Poster 2025* poster to publicise the scheme.

For more information, eligibility criteria details can be found in the HAF Provider Directory. To request a booking code, please complete the HAF Booking Code Request Form. Should you have any questions, please email HAF@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

*Size: 1.09MB File format: pdf.

Developed by the National Day Nurseries Association, Maths Champions delivers high-quality professional development to early years educators to support improvements to early maths provision in PVI, maintained and school-based settings. The programme trains a Maths Champion and Deputy Maths Champion in key mathematical concepts and increasing staff confidence. Practitioners receive online training and one to one support with reviewing current maths provisions and planning and implementing steps to improve maths practice over the one-year programme duration.

EEF’s most recent independent evaluation found that children taught by practitioners who received the programme made, on average, three months’ additional progress in both maths and language development. There are places for early years settings to start the 12-month programme in April, May, and June 2025. Nurseries can find out more and register interest on the EEF website.

switched off from Monday, 30 June 2025 and may negatively impact residents and businesses. In some cases, the switch-off could mean that the heating and hot water supply stops functioning as normal, or energy bills could be stuck at a higher peak rate.

A major national advertising campaign was launched in January 2025 calling for RTS customers across Great Britain to urgently upgrade their electricity meters. You can find out more about the RTS switch-off via the Ofgem press release ‘Energy sector taskforce unites to tackle Radio Teleswitch challenge’ and on their information for consumers webpage, where you can also view the campaign video.

If you are unsure whether your workplace has an RTS meter, contact your supplier who will be able to confirm whether an RTS meter is in place, and therefore whether an upgrade is required.

The Early Years Programme offers grants between £5,000 and £80,000 for projects that support early childhood education and childcare settings to meet the needs of young service children. The programme aims to help Armed Forces families access quality early childhood education and childcare near their homes or bases, addressing barriers they may face. Projects can last up to two years and must meet one of four outcomes: expanded capacity, enhanced learning environments, improved staff skills, or collaborative networks.

Applications are open for providers serving Armed Forces families, with at least 50% of children on roll being from these families. Providers with less than 50% can form clusters to apply. Funding can be used for staff training or shared resources. Application deadlines are midday, Wednesday, 4 June 2025, and Wednesday, 8 October 2025, with decisions by the end of August and December 2025, respectively.

Over Community Centre – Conference, Community & Sports Centre.

PACEY invite childminders, nannies, childminding assistants, nursery managers and nursery workers to attend and learn more about key topics and practices.

With great speakers this is a chance to network with your peers and hear from providers about their own experiences, this event aims to support you and the incredible work you do.

The event is free for PACEY members, but booking is required. For non-members, early bird tickets are available. Book your place at pacey.org.uk/events.

Equalities Named Co-ordinators for early years provision interested in discussing any matters relating to equality, diversity and inclusion practice can book a free slot with an adviser who will be able to support them in more depth.

To book a place, visit the Booking and Reservations for Early Years Workforce Development, Equalities and Inclusion.

Visit the Learn Together website to learn more about Equalities and Inclusion and further training opportunities.

Your News

Child and Family Centres share how they celebrated LGBT+ History Month.

Last month, Cambridgeshire Child and Family Centres celebrated LGBT+ History Month – Founded by Schools OUT and celebrated each February.

LGBT+ History Month was founded to celebrate the activists who helped shape and create social change by ensuring all LGBT+ people feel safe, seen, and supported to thrive in education and beyond.

Since the first UK LGBT+ History Month in 2005, the campaign has highlighted the incredible things LGBT+ people in all our diversity have achieved throughout history in all areas of life. Each year the campaign highlights five historical figures in line with the theme and this year the chosen were LGBT+ people who have created social change from across the centuries in progressing change for women, the environment, housing, nuclear disarmament, preserving heritage, abolition of the slave trade, and immigration, among many other causes. One of the five historical figures the campaign chose for 2025 was Cambridgeshire’s Octavia Hill (1838 - 1912), an English educator from Wisbech.

The Wisbech Child and Family Centres shared Octavia's work around social reform, welfare housing, the founding of the National Trust, and their impact on history as a lesbian. The children enjoyed learning about the English reformer and of course painting and decorating their LGBT+ hearts to take home.

You can learn more on the LGBT+ History Month website.

Share your good news with CambsEYC

Contributions for News Round-Up should be between 150 and 300 words and include a high-resolution image. All photographs must have parental permission to publish for any children shown. The editors reserve the right to edit articles for length and content to meet the audience's needs. Please submit your news items to eycinfo@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

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