Early Years team update

Letter dated   02.09.20

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you managed to take a well-deserved break over the summer period and are feeling refreshed and ready for the term ahead. We acknowledge that welcoming new children into your setting may bring many additional challenges this year and  wish to remind you that the Early Years central team and Lead Teacher area-based teams are available to provide support and guidance, as needed. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries, or would just welcome a listening ear.

Updates from the Early Years team are included below. Please note that LA updates and any further latest Early Years news are regularly posted on the Bristol Early Years website: www.bristolearlyyears.org.uk. If you haven’t done so already, please access this site and our Twitter feed (@BristolEarly) to keep fully informed and connected with us.

Updated DfE guidance

As you may have already seen, the following key government guidance document has been updated:

What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges in the autumn term – see September 1^st updates:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-in-the-autumn-term

We are currently liaising with local teams to provide further guidance in relation to Covid-19 early outbreak management. Further information will follow shortly.

Paediatric First Aid

Updates to the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework to reflect the extension of the validity of current paediatric first aid certificates can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework–2?utm_source=3%20August%202020%20C19&utm_medium=Daily%20email%20C19&utm_campaign=DfE%20C19 If paediatric first aid certificate requalification training is prevented for reasons associated directly with coronavirus (COVID-19), the validity of current certificates can be extended to 25 November 2020 at the latest. Employers or certificate holders must do their best to arrange requalification training at the earliest opportunity. This applies to certificates which expired on or after 16 March 2020.

Return of children with complex health needs

We attach a letter from Sirona Care and Health, our local health partners, to Heads and leaders of early years settings regarding the return of children with complex health needs. This highlights the need for individual risk assessments and provides further information and contact details should additional support or further concerns arise. (please see attached )

From September, Ofsted will be visiting some nurseries and childminders to ensure that standards are being maintained and that safe and effective childcare is available for all who need it.  Ofsted has published guidance on interim visits https://www.gov.uk/guidance/interim-visits-registered-early-years-providers that sets out how the visits will work in practice and which providers they will be visiting. The visits are part of a phased return to routine inspection. They are not inspections and will not result in an inspection grade, though inspectors will still be able to use regulatory or enforcement powers if appropriate. Please let either a member of the central team or your Lead Teacher know should you be notified of an interim visit in order that we can be ready to support you.

The LA has now launched it’s ‘Back to School’ Campaign. This aims to help parents, carers and children best prepare for the September return.  We appreciate this is school-focused, but have included it for your information. A new hub of resources for parents, carers and children will be available on the council’s website at: www.bristol.gov.uk/backtoschool, and a range of communications are planned including radio adverts, a video update from Cllr Anna Keen and an advertorial in The Voice newspaper. If you would like access to any of the campaign graphics/GIFs to share on your social media, please contact: sophie.johnson@bristol.gov.uk

To support the campaign, please encourage your families to walk or cycle where possible, and use Better by Bike https://betterbybike.info/

and Travel West for journey planning. More information on new and upcoming walking and cycling routes is available at: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/transport-plans-and-projects/covid-19-road-changes

We wish you a settled return and look forward to working in close partnership with you over the coming months.

With our best wishes,

The Early Years Team

Attachments

BNSSG CCG Sirona Letter to ALL Education Setting Leads