Dear Colleagues,
Updates from the Team
Upcoming Deadline – Setting level data (PVIs ONLY)
You must complete the questions module in your Wizard account by Friday 23rd January to ensure you can be funded in spring term 26. Failure to complete this information will affect your funding payment.
Please note –
- Answers should reflect what is occurring in your provision during headcount week.
- The number of children on roll must match or exceed the number of children you are claiming funding for.
- You should only include each staff members highest level qualification i.e. 1 qualification per member of staff, your total number of staff must not be less than the number of qualifications selected.
Publishing Your Fee Policy – Are You Ready?
Childcare providers must publish their fee policies online by January 2026, including the costs of chargeable extras and the structure of funded hours. These additional charges must be voluntary, optional, and not a requirement to access funded hours. Invoices must be itemized to clearly show free entitlement hours versus any top-up or consumable fees. DfE suggested template attached and further useful information here.
To ensure compliance you will need to provide a link to your settings published fee policy, when answering spring term census questions. This may be your own webpage or your listing within the Family Services Directory.
Instructions on how to register/update your FSD records here. If you need any support, please contact earlyyearsteam@northumberland.gov.uk
Early Years Leader Briefings Spring Term
Please find flyer attached for more information.
Important Wizard Update – Eligibility Checks
The Wizard has moved from the old ECS Eligibility Checking Service to the new ECE Eligibility Checking Engine. The Department for Education designed the new system to be more scalable, but the change introduces some challenges.
Checks are no longer processed instantly. Instead, each check is placed in a queue. This means you won’t get an immediate result unless the same check was completed in the last five days, in which case a cached result is shown.
When a check is queued, you will now see a new button on the eligibility checking page that lets you refresh the status to see if the result is ready. Usually, results appear within 5–6 seconds.
If a result doesn’t come back, there is now a new page called Summary of Incomplete Eligibility Checks in the provider portal where you can view any checks that are still incomplete. From there, you can click Check Result to see if the ECE has finished processing the eligibility result. Email earlyyearsteam@northumberland.gov,uk if you have any problems.
Golden Tickets
Another round of golden tickets has gone out to potential eligible parents this week. Please note Golden Tickets do not guarantee eligibility, you must check eligibility via wizard (codes will be generated by the system when found eligible). Guidance on how to process an eligibility check can be found here.
Parents potentially eligible to both the 2-year-old disadvantaged and working family schemes due to low income have been sent an email to encourage them to apply for both as DFE census returns require children to be flagged for both schemes if entitled.
If parents approach you with the new look email, please run a 2YO check via Wizard as well as validating their working family code. Eligibility to both schemes gives parents and providers certainty of 15 hours of support if parents fall out of eligibility for 30 hours at any point.
Updates from Partners
Secretary of State for Education message – New training to help every child and young person thrive
Please click here to view the message.
Child Safety Alert
Shared on behalf of Northumberland Child Safety reference group and Capt.
A safety alert has been issued warning parents and carers not to use baby sleep pillows for under ones.
These soft pillows and cushions are often marketed for baby sleep or as somewhere for a baby to be left unsupervised. But this can cause suffocation or overheating, and babies have even died.
We urge anyone who works with families to tell parents to stop using these products straight away.
Please visit https://capt.org.uk/baby-sleep-pillows-warning/ for more information and share as widely as possible with families. Please ask your families to share as widely as possible with friends and family.
Stronger Practice Hub presents- What does it really mean for a child to be “ready to write”?
Join us for a lively, myth-busting day that challenges assumptions, sparks new thinking, and puts joy at the heart of early writing.
Taking place on Friday 22nd May 2026, from 9:00am–3:30pm at Boldon Park Hotel formerly The Clarion Hotel- Holiday Inn, Witney Way, Boldon, NE35 9PE, this highly practical and evidence-informed day explores how children develop as writers from the inside out — from strong gross-motor foundations and embodied learning, to purpose, meaning, and writer’s voice.
You will:
- Rethink common early writing practices
- Gain a rich toolkit of practical strategies for the EYFS
- Leave with a clear, step-by-step action plan you can confidently take back to your setting
Expect clarity, creativity, and plenty of “aha!” moments in a day that is as inspiring as it is useful.
Places are limited to a maximum of two educators per setting.
Secure your place here: https://forms.office.com/e/ztx0XgCcha?origin=lprLink
NCFE Cache Level 4 PANCo Award
Are you ready to stand out, step into a specialist role and make a real difference to children’s health and wellbeing?
The Level 4 Physical Activity and Nutrition Co-ordinator (PANCo) qualification is designed for ambitious early years educators who want to lead positive change in their setting. This course equips you with the knowledge, confidence and practical tools to champion active lifestyles, healthy eating and wellbeing for babies, children and their families.
For more information, including time commitments and pricing, click the link attached here.
New grants are available for 2026 through the Frobel Trust.
The new Professional Inquiry for Practice Transformation grant enables early years professionals to research and develop an aspect of their practice based on Froebelian Principles over an academic year. The focus for applications this year (2026-7) is the Froebelian Principle ‘relationships matter.’ As well as financial support each successful project will be supported by a research mentor and will be part of an online community of research and practice.
To find out more and to apply, follow the link here: Froebel Trust | New Grants for 2026: Professional Inquiry for…
Upcoming Events
The National Year of Reading
Over the coming weeks libraries across Northumberland will be running ‘Bookstart Storytime’ sessions for families. Please promote these events with the families at your setting and encourage them to sign up. Click here for more information BookTrust Storytime by Northumberland Libraries | Eventbrite
Keep an eye out for further Northumberland Library events across the year as part of the National Year of Reading campaign.
