Dear Colleagues,
Updates from the Team
REMINDER – SUM 2024-25 Headcount (PVI Providers)
The deadline for submitting your summer term headcount return is this Friday (16th May)! If you require a password reset, or cannot locate your file, please email earlyyearsteam@northumberland.gov.uk
2, 3 & 4 year old children need to have had their birthday by 31st March to be eligible for funding this term. Please remember to check your wizard summaries for validity before claiming.
Inclusion Stories – Week 2
Week 2 of celebrating all things inclusive practice. This week we’re sharing a story here from Morpeth Stobhillgate First School who have embedded a range of strategies and approaches to improve the language skills of children in their early years.
Updates from Partners
Recruitment
A reminder from DfE, when using the FREE DWP website ‘Find a Job’ to advertise for staff providers should use the term ‘early years’ in the title of the job advert and select ‘Education and childcare jobs’ for the job category.
Self Assessment Tax Return On behalf of HMRC
If you haven’t filed your return, you don’t have to wait until 31 January 2026, you can do this anytime. This means you’ll avoid the last-minute rush as the deadline approaches. Filing early means you:
- can get your money sooner if we owe you a refund
- will know how much tax you need to pay, so you can budget or set up a payment plan with us
- might be able to pay what you owe through your salary or pension the following tax year
- can use your tax calculation as proof of income for a mortgage, loan and any benefit claims
And, you’ll still have until 31 January 2026 to pay what you owe.
How to get help with filing your return
Watch our useful YouTube videos or read our hints and tips on GOV.UK.
You can also register for our live and interactive webinars:
- Starting your online tax return
- The employment section of your online tax return
- The self-employment section of your online tax return
- Finishing your online tax return
- Your Self Assessment calculation and payments
DfE invite to the Early Years and Childcare Provider Roadshow for the northeast region.
When: Thursday 26 June 2025
Venue: Copthorne Hotel, Close, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3RT
Times: starts at 10:30 (registration from 10am) and closes at 3:30pm
The event will include an overview and update from the Department for Education, opportunity to share your experiences and views in roundtable discussions, and a best practice session.
Refreshments and lunch will be provided.
Register your place for the roadshow
This event is a great opportunity to help shape this government’s plan for change and hear about the strategy and activity underway to meet the pillar in its Opportunity Mission to give children the Best Start in Life.
You will have a chance to engage with DfE colleagues on the work we’re doing to meet the expanded childcare entitlements from September 2025 and share your ideas, concerns and challenges. You will also hear how the department is working on the government’s new vision for early years education and childcare.
Throughout the day there will be opportunities to network with external membership organisation and partners who support early years providers. These roadshows, which started in January 2024, are an important part of shaping early years and childcare policy and delivery.
Further communications will be sent to registered delegates leading up to the event. When registering, please choose from the following roundtables (there will be 3 roundtable sessions)
Being ready to provide expanded childcare places in September 2025
Hear from DfE about the work in train and planned to support the sector to deliver the expanded entitlements for eligible working parents from September 2025, including the availability of regional data. Share your specific challenges, lessons learnt and opportunities that you would like DfE to reflect upon and consider in our planning, support and delivery.
The government-funded childcare entitlements system and future childcare delivery
Hear from the team that manage the government funded childcare entitlements system and the roll out of the new entitlements for working parents, including the delivery of the HMRC, DfE and LA digital systems and the overall policy. You will also have the opportunity to hear about considerations for the future of the entitlement system and feed in your views on how the provider market can support future childcare delivery.
How the early education and childcare funding system works
Hear from the early years and childcare funding team how the early years funding system works and tell us how you are preparing for this coming financial year and your reflections and challenges. You will also have opportunity to hear options being considered for the future of the funding system and to feed in your views.
Providing school aged childcare (Wraparound and Breakfast Clubs)
Encouraging successful partnerships between schools, trusts, PVIs and childminders is at the heart of successful and accessible school-aged childcare. Meet DfE’s wraparound and breakfast club team and find out more about the expansion of childcare for primary school-aged children and tell the team how the programme is working for you, your barriers and the opportunities this programme has created. You will also have opportunity to hear options being considered for the future of school aged childcare and to feed in your views.
Building the early education and childcare workforce with the right qualifications
During this session you will have the opportunity to find out more about the department’s work to support, grow and develop the early education and childcare workforce, including our ‘Do something BIG’ marketing campaign, Early Years Skills Bootcamps our financial incentives pilot and the Early Years qualifications landscape. We want to hear about the barriers and challenges you face when it comes to staff recruitment, retention and development. You will also have opportunity to hear options being considered for the workforce and to feed in your views.
Supporting quality practice in early education
On the early education and quality practice table we will be introducing you to the free support the department offers to help you deliver excellent education and care in your settings. We will cover training and resources from Early Years Child Development Training, Help for Early Years Providers website through to the networks and evidence-informed practice you can access via your local Early Years Stronger Practice Hub. We also want to hear from you! We’ll be seeking your feedback on the Government’s support offer to date, and your input will help shape what we provide in future.
Joining up family services
Find out about the Departments current policy on providing joined up services for families, focusing on the Family Hubs & Start for Life programme. Understand the important role of early years and childcare providers in facilitating that join up and connecting families to local support. In particular, how family hubs and EY settings can work together to improve take up of childcare entitlements and support for disadvantaged families, as well as identifying and connecting families who would benefit from targeted support. This is an opportunity to tell us what the strengths of the current policy are, any identified gaps and how Government can support the EY sector to join up better with family services.
Upcoming Events
Nurturing Nutrition: Building Healthy Foundations in the Early Years
This free event is your chance to hear from inspiring speakers and discover fresh ideas to enhance nutrition practices in your early years setting.
Thursday 22nd May
Microsoft Teams
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM
What to expect:
✨Expert speakers, including representatives from the DfE and Ofsted
✨Gain valuable insights to improve nutrition and wellbeing outcomes for children and colleagues in the early years sector.
Spaces are limited – register now to secure your spot: Get your tickets here
EYFS Safeguarding and Welfare Reforms – Bitesize Briefing Sessions
As you will be aware, following a recent Government consultation there are changes and updates being made in the Safeguarding and Welfare requirements section of the EYFS. These are due to come into force in September 2025.
In order to help you understand the impact these changes may make to your policy and practice we have put together a series of 15 minute bitesize briefing sessions which will be delivered at 1pm on a Wednesday starting on the 11th June and finishing the last week of term.
We will be covering the changes to both the group provider and childminder versions of the EYFS.
We have been made aware that a number of providers had difficulty accessing the poster that was shared for these sessions last week – to register your attendance please complete the form here.
Please note that you only need to register once to attend all six sessions.
Free virtual event
Shaping the future of childminding: have your say
Wednesday 21 May, 7pm – 8pm
The Early Years Alliance are running a free virtual event for childminding professionals looking at:
- Current childminding trends and what is driving them
- Areas for potential policy change (such as removing restrictions on childminders claiming funding for related children)
- The key challenges and opportunities facing childminding professionals
- How the Alliance can represent and support you and your childminding provision moving forward
The event will include a policy update from Alliance CEO Neil Leitch, and will be led by early years development manager Richard Knight and early years development officer Ruth Richardson. Attendees will also have the opportunity to share their views, ideas and concerns with fellow childminding professionals.
You can book your free place at bit.ly/CMConnectEYA.
