Dear Colleagues,
Updates from the Team
Farewell to Lesley Kelly
A little message to let all providers know that our colleague, Lesley Kelly, will be taking her retirement at the end of this term. Lesley has worked for the County Council and Early Years Team for a long time and as such, I know many of you will have had the pleasure of working with her over the years. She has played a pivotal role in much of the team’s work, often working quietly in the background to support the delivery of key aspects of our work including the training programme. Lesley will be a huge miss to the team and we hope you will join us in wishing her well for the next chapter.
Deposits for nursery places
We are getting a few parental queries about deposits for nursery places. Reminder – Your contractual arrangements to receive funding via The Local Code of Practice state;
6.29 Providers can charge a refundable deposit to parents/carers wishing to access the extended entitlement for working parents/carers. The purpose of the deposit is to give providers certainty that a parent will take up the place. Deposits should be refunded to parents/carers by the end of the week following headcount date. It should be made clear to parents/carers that if they fail to take up their place, the provider is not obliged to refund the deposit.
Deposits should not be charged for those accessing 15 hours for disadvantaged 2 year olds or for the universal 15 hour entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds.
Updates to Early Years Inclusion Support
Please find attached letter for updates to the early years inclusion support offer.
Upcoming Events
Home Learning Environment Toolkit Training by the Early Years Alliance
The Early Years Alliance is continuing to offer training to providers on the Home Learning Environment (HLE) Toolkit. This training is free and designed to support providers to become HLE Champions. We had excellent attendance from Northumberland providers in the last round of training. If you’re interested in attending the training this time round, please see the pdf document attached.
Rise Active Start sessions
Rise are running some Active Start sessions. Active Start is a programme of training and resources for staff who work with children aged 2 to 5, to support them to integrate physical activity and movement into all areas of the EYFS to support children’s physical and holistic development.
Active Start sessions open to people working across Northumberland and Tyne & Wear
To find out more and book here.
8th July, Richardson Dees Park, Wallsend
16th October, Blyth West Family Hub
For more information, please contact dani.crispin@wearerise.co.uk
Family Corner: helping your families to develop positive home learning environments
Did you know that the Alliance offers FREE family learning sessions, delivered virtually by early years experts, for all parents and carers? These free courses cover early development, language learning, baby brain development and more.
They are currently offering the following courses for free, sponsored by the Department for Education:
- Family Connect online sessions
- Confident communicators to tiny talkers
- Being Together, My Baby and Me
- Bumps to Babies: supporting learning through pregnancy and beyond
If you would like to spread the word to your families, please share the poster attached above in your weekly communication platforms. Parents and carers can also find further information about the family learning sessions here.
