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1 Doncaster Early Years Entitlements Autumn 2019 Newsletter Doncaster EYE
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Doncaster Early Years Entitlements
Autumn 2019 Newsletter
Doncaster EYE
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Welcome and Introductions
A warm welcome to the 2019 Early Years winter newsletter. We would like to begin by acknowledging what a difficult and emotive few weeks it has been for some of our Doncaster residents and communities affected by the recent floods. If you, or anyone you know, has been affected, we urge you to keep in touch with the latest news at: https://www.doncaster.gov.uk/News/latest-flooding-information/. In such times of difficulty, it has been amazing to see the huge community response; a huge thankyou from all of us for all of your wonderful gestures and support that has been provided to the families across Doncaster. Once again, the newsletter focuses on updates from across the Early Years and Childcare teams. This includes some crucial safeguarding information and news about the New Ofsted Framework for inspections. We will also share our plans for the next few months, which includes our ongoing funding audits, the ‘Inclusion Quality Mark’ and the newly launched ‘Free Emergency Childcare Voucher’ scheme, for families affected by the floods. Importantly, we will also highlight some of the forthcoming training opportunities, including the DfE funded professional development programme. We hope that you find the newsletter of interest and will forward it to relevant staff within your organisation or school.
Stephanie Douglas Head of Early Intervention and Localities Steve Lawson-Chamberlain Pupil Place Planning Manager Tracey Outram Information Pathways Manager
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Contents
News Headlines / Updates
Page
Business and Financial
Launchpad
The Growth Company
Take Up of the Entitlements (Borough wide)
Brexit
2 year Old Funding (new criteria)
4 Early Years Census
New 2 year olds to FIS
Term dates
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Operational Delivery
Ofsted
Children’s Social Care
Doncaster Safeguarding Children’s Board
Professional Development Fund
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Early Years Outcomes Project
Early Years Foundation Stage Profiles
Integrated Progress checks
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Seedlings 8
Information, Advice and Guidance
Families Information Service (FIS website)
Childcare Information Updates
GDPR Reminder
Doncaster’s TIE Register
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Family Hubs
Family Hubs support Literacy in Doncaster
Recent Floods in Doncaster
Baby Friendly Hubs
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Provider Information and Updates
Inclusion Quality Mark (Danum Daisies)
Mumbler Awards (Little Learners Day Nursery)
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Inclusion Quality Mark (Little Learners Day Nursery)
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Inclusion Quality Mark (Little Einsteins Day Nursery) 14
Useful Contacts
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Forthcoming Dates 17
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Business and Financial
Launchpad
Launchpad Doncaster provides fully funded support to pre-start and new businesses in Doncaster and the Sheffield City region. It is a fully inclusive programme designed to help ambitious entrepreneurs set up and run successful businesses and support SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) under 3 years old to take the next step and grow their business. Launchpad Doncaster is delivered by Doncaster Council and Doncaster Chamber. It brings together a wide range of start-up services including workshops, events and one to one support from business advisors and coaches. For more information contact: Irshad Akbar or Johnny Reay on 01302 736062 or email: [email protected]
The Growth Company Free training is available through Skills support for the Workplace. NVQ level 2 training is available for the following:
Business Administration
Customer service
Team Leading
Lean Operational Management
Business Improvement Techniques
Cleaning Principles Certificate
Hospitality & Catering Principles (Food Production & Cooking)
Conflict Management
Mental Health Awareness
Autism Awareness
Emergency Responder (first aid)
Active Responder (fire safety)
Food Safety Awareness
Award in Education and Training
Training is predominantly delivered in the workplace, therefore minimal disruption to the company. Training support is designed around individual needs and tailored to the team and their roles. Ashlea Peckham Business Advisor (Sheffield City Region) Email: [email protected] Tel: 0114 2122046 Mobile: 07384 546871
Take Up of the Entitlements (Borough wide) Well done for all of your work in supporting the increased take-up rates.
2 year olds Spring 19 Summer 19 Autumn 19
78% 76% 80%
3 & 4 year olds (universal) Spring 19 Summer 19 Autumn 19
95% 91% 97%
3 & 4 year olds (extended 30 Hrs) Spring 19 Summer 19 Autumn 19
77% 76% 85%
Sue Morgan Quality & Service Improvement Officer
Brexit Have you considered the potential impact of Brexit on your business? Some points to think about:
Your workforce
Your customers and their employers
Suppliers
Information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/find-eu-exit-guidance-business Dawn Wood Senior Sufficiency & Sustainability Officer
2 Year Old Funding (new criteria) In September 2019 new eligibility criteria came into effect for 2 year old funding:
you are a Zambrano Carer
you have the right to remain in the UK under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and are subject to no recourse to public funds; or
you are supported under s4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
We have not yet had any requests for places under this new criteria.
Dawn Wood Senior Sufficiency & Sustainability Officer
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Early Years Census As well as Headcount Day, Thursday 16th January is also the Census Day for 2020. It is mandatory that all Funded Providers who have funded children in the Spring Term complete the Census. More information on how to complete will be sent in the New Year. Steph Clark Early Education Funding Officer
New 2 year olds to FIS From January 2020 please direct parents wishing to apply for a 2 year old funded place to the Families Information website: www.doncaster.gov.uk/fis Should parents require additional support they can be signposted to their local family hub where staff will be happy to help. Letters will still be sent out to eligible families from the DWP list. Steve Lawson-Chamberlain Pupil place Planning Manager
Term dates Following the recent survey regarding Term Dates, providers were given two options
1. To change the length of the terms each year (as we do now), with set dates within the terms 2. Terms to remain the same, year on year, with Providers setting their own dates within those terms.
We had 112 responses to the survey with the majority voting for option ‘2’, the term lengths to remain the same each year. Please see below the term dates, which start from 1st April 2020.
Term Dates funding to be used between
Number of weeks
Number of hours (15 hours)
Number of hours (30 hours)
Summer Term 1st April – 31st August 13 195 390
Autumn Term 1st September – 31st
December
14 210 420
Spring Term 1st January – 31st March 11 165 330
Totals – per year 38 570 1140
Steph Clark / Vivienne Copeland Early Education Funding Officer
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Operational Delivery
Ofsted Current inspections (following the new framework) have identified that although practitioners are aware of the wider safeguarding responsibilities; these are limited to FGM and Prevent. Please ensure practitioners have an awareness of all of the wider safeguarding responsibilities, and in particular the following: Contextual safeguarding Please ensure you attend the locality meetings at your local family hub to find out what the issues are for your area. Safeguarding knowledge Inspectors have found a common theme in practitioners safeguarding knowledge in terms of their understanding of mobile phones and camera policies and having the confidence to challenge parents who enter the setting whilst using a mobile phone. Please ensure all staff are aware and compliant with your policies. Ofsted documentation Ofsted will want to see a record of all staff members DBS information, training matric for mandatory training and first aid certificates – Please ensure this is readily available for Ofsted to view. Named Deputy “The provider must ensure there is a named deputy who, in their judgment, is capable and qualified to take charge in the manager’s absence” EYFS pg. 21 (3.23). Please ensure that if the manager and deputy are out of the setting due to training or attending meetings, there is a duty manager available and this is clearly displayed on the parent’s notice board. All practitioners must be aware of who the named duty manager is for that particular day and this person should, in the manager’s judgment, be capable and qualified to lead the setting. Tracey Fry Early Years Safeguarding and Welfare Officer
Children’s Social Care Children’s Social Care (Referral and Response team) has now changed to the Multi Agency Access Point (MAAP) and all contact details are exactly the same. Tracey Fry Early Years Safeguarding and Welfare Officer
Doncaster Safeguarding Children’s Board Doncaster Safeguarding children’s board has now changed to Doncaster Safeguarding Children’s Partnership. It is exactly the same but please note the name change in all of your documents. There is also a new website which can be accessed via https://dscp.org.uk. You will find a wealth of information there and you are also able to subscribe to their newsletter which will provide Doncaster updates hot off the press. Tracey Fry Early Years Safeguarding and Welfare Officer
Professional Development Fund The DfE funded Professional Development Programme for speech and language is now well under way. Seven Champions from our settings have been recruited and are about to embark on the first stage of their training for the project. The champions come from Little Einsteins, The Toddle Inn, Making Friends, Buttons, Bright Beginnings, Building Blocks and Little Oaks. By the end of the project 30 nurseries will be involved in the project with our champions cascading their training to colleagues across Doncaster. This will give us a highly skilled workforce in the Borough in order to support Speech and Language Development across the Early Years. If you would like further information around this project please contact: [email protected] Alison Leeming Early Years Inclusion Officer
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Early Years Outcomes Project A DfE funded project around speech and language training and strategy. A regional team of experts from across the 4 Local Authorities in South Yorkshire have been working alongside the South Yorkshire Futures Project Group in order to identify gaps in knowledge and skills across the workforce. Using this information the team of experts have worked together to create an agreed framework that identifies the level of knowledge required for speech, language and communication depending on the role held within the workforce. The team are now busy devising a bespoke training offer for the workforce in order to ensure that everyone has the level of understanding and confidence required to provide all our children with the best start in life when it comes to communication. The next step for this project is to identify an improved pathway around speech and language to ensure that our families receive the right support at the right time and of high quality. If you would like further information around this project please contact: [email protected]
Alison Leeming Early Years Inclusion Officer
Early Years Foundation Stage Profiles For the academic year of 2018/19 we are thrilled to announce that we were above National average for the percent of children achieving a Good Level of Development. Well done and thank you for all your hard work relating to this. If you have a child who will be turning 5 whilst in your provision you may need to complete the Statutory return of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. If you think this may apply to you please contact Shelley Petta on 01302 737421 so that we can discuss what you will need to do for this process. The 0-60 month Moderation sessions were so popular last term we have decided to continue with them this year. These sessions will give you the opportunity to discuss and share evidence and ideas from each Development band of the EYFS. Participants will then leave with resources from which to conduct their own staff moderation meetings. Shelley Petta Early Years Inclusion Officer
Integrated Progress Check Checklist for the Integrated Progress Check in your setting:-
Check your Integrated Progress Check format - is it Doncaster Councils version? If not we recommend you change to this. You should at least ensure that all elements are covered in the format you are currently using.
Check the consent you ask parents to sign regarding ASQ3 data -is this at the point of admission? What do you do about those children where this consent has not been received? If you do not have written consent regarding sharing ASQ3 data look at the suggested consent on the Local Offer.
Check your privacy notice regarding how you use children’s ASQ 3 data - does it reflect how you will use this data? Have you linked it to the LA privacy notice on the internet about use of children’s data?
Check the Local Offer for updated information including information for parents. Are your parents aware of what the Integrated Progress Check is about?
Check who your link Community Nursery Nurse is - why not display them as partners on your staff board? If you are a Childminder/School are you aware of the Locality Health team and the SPOC?
Check that you have the most updated Integrated Progress Check protocol and flowcharts on the Local Offer
Shelley Petta Early Years Inclusion Officer
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Seedlings Seedlings nursery have recently achieved the Inclusion Quality Mark (IQM). This is a wonderful accomplishment as Seedlings nursery is one of a handful of early years settings to achieve this award. I have attached a photograph of some of the Seedlings staff who are receiving the Inclusion Quality Mark at the awards which took place in London. Below are some comments taken from the IQM report: ‘The Early Inclusion officer enthusiastically leads the specialist team of Area SENDCO and SEND Officers. Parents comment on the excellent work that she leads, and they feel that she endeavours to go beyond expectations for the benefit of the children. In addition to the work in Seedlings, there are other roles undertaken which include a key working service, outreach and a sleep practitioner to support families’. ‘The skills and qualities of the staff should be celebrated, through observation of their practice it is clear that staff get down to the children’s level and are proactive in engaging with the children, scaffolding their learning and use of language. Good behaviours and routines are fostered’. Mandy Haddock Early Years Inclusion Officer
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Information, Advice and Guidance
Families Information Service (FIS) website In August, we launched our improved Families Information Service (FIS) website. The website hosts our ever popular childcare and school search facility as well as providing a whole host of relevant information about the 15 hour entitlement for two-year-olds, the universal 15 hour entitlement for three and four-year-olds and the extended 30 hour entitlement for working parents of three and four-year-olds, along with the eligibility criteria for these entitlements. You can also find links to trusted sources of advice along with access to the FIS directory, which helps users to find a variety of local groups, activities and resources. The website is continuously being reviewed, and we will be adding further content which we hope families and professionals alike will find useful. As always, we welcome your feedback on the website so if you have any comments or suggestions, please email them to us at: [email protected] Please share the link with families and service users via your own usual methods of communication.
Kayla Fletcher Information Pathways Officer
Childcare Information Updates Families Information Service have recently emailed you requesting your Autumn information update; every term we are required to audit the information we hold on childcare providers and, where necessary, update this ready for the following term. For many of you, we understand that the information we hold will not have changed, however, we politely ask that you still submit the form as way of confirming that the information is correct. We also request that you update your vacancies as this helps families looking for childcare to see which providers are immediately available. Remember, you can update your information at any time by logging in to the FIS Provider Portal. Kayla Fletcher Information Pathways Officer
GDPR Reminder We have had a couple of providers tell us that they haven’t been receiving emails from FIS, such as updates from the Early Years’ Service, or invites to Network Meetings – in most instances, this is due to us not having permission to contact you following the update of our privacy notices to ensure that we are fully compliant with the General Data Protection Requirements. Email correspondence from FIS is the primary means of communication across the borough between Ofsted registered providers and council services, which include; the Early Years’ Service, Early Education Funding team and Family Hubs, therefore, if you want to receive information that is particular to your registration you need to ‘opt in’ to receiving emails* on the FIS Provider Portal. If you are unsure how to do this please give us a call and we will talk you through the process. *Please ensure that we also hold the most appropriate email address for these emails to be sent to. Tracey Outram Information Pathways Manager Doncaster’s TIE Register All local authorities are required by the Children Act 1989 to hold a register of disabled children and young people aged 0-19. In Doncaster, this is called the Together Information Exchange (TIE) register and it is administrated by Families Information Service. Registering on TIE is voluntary, and the information provided by families supports in planning for the future across all services that support families with disabilities. TIE members have the opportunity to receive a TIE membership card which grants them discounts at a variety of venues across Doncaster. Members will also receive a holiday activity timetable three times a year – the timetable is ran by Short Breaks. If you know of any families who could benefit from registering with TIE, please signpost them to
www.doncaster.gov.uk/TIE for more information, and to apply. Kayla Fletcher Information Pathways Officer
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Family Hubs
Family Hubs supports Literacy in Doncaster Family Hubs have supported the request to recruit Literacy Champions for Doncaster Stories. Literacy Champions are local volunteers who are keen to get involved and tackle the literacy challenge in Doncaster. Linking with our parent champions and local libraries to identify volunteers. The Hubs have supported the Golden ticket scheme across Doncaster where 10,000 tickets have been hidden for young people to find. When found they were presented at identified participating libraries to collect a Roald Dahl book. Family Hubs have contributed to the Doncaster Look for a book scheme by hiding pre loved books across all four localities. Over the summer, the Hubs supported Book start week by theming sessions around a specific book and giving away resources. Local libraries offer a venue for Hub sessions where we encourage families to become members. Karen Seaman South Locality Family Hub Manager
Recent Floods in Doncaster
Across Family Hubs we have supported families and the community since Doncaster was flooded nearly a month ago now. One off childcare vouchers were offered, for 5 hours, to families for children up to 5 years old. This was offered so that parents could start the clean-up process. Family Hubs were opened up to the community as a point of contact. We were part of a multi-agency package that all worked together to offer the best holistic offer to all victims of the floods across Doncaster. From the very initial stages, staff in the hubs have responded fantastically to demand and worked together to help support where needed. The family hubs are very proactive community recovery hubs. Community can access donated items which include cleaning items and food parcels. If you are worried about any families please call into any family hub. Karen Seaman South Locality Family Hub Manager
Baby Friendly Hubs Fantastic news just in from Unicef. Following their assessment of our Family Hubs, we have been awarded with Stage 2 Baby Friendly accreditation which involves the assessment of staff knowledge and skills. Congratulations to all staff working within Family Hubs and colleagues from Public Health for this achievement. Unicef found that the Family Hub staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills to implement Baby Friendly standards to support parents to have close and loving relationships with their baby, promote breastfeeding and support mothers with feeding their baby. Staff who were interviewed were extremely keen to highlight their knowledge and skills and discuss the range of services provided. Unicef said it was heartening to see a team so proud of their work and achievements, at all levels of the organisation. The staff knowledge and skills was also evident in the warm caring and emotive way they were able to discuss the importance of relationship building between mothers and babies. There is a clear commitment to the importance of the 1001 days from conception to 2 years, with new projects being piloted in the near future to focus on this.
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The next step is to reach level 3 which assesses the implementation of the Baby Friendly standards in the care of pregnant women and new mothers.
Denise Beevers Locality Service Manager (Central & East)
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Provider Information and Updates
Inclusion Quality Mark (Danum Daisies) In September 2018, our nursery Danum Daisies were recognised for the hard work, effort and commitment we give to being an inclusive nursery. We have supported numerous children each year with various SEND and also many children with EAL and we give each and every individual child the support they need while working closely with our families to ensure all children's needs are met. It is evident with our children the progress each child makes. To strengthen our nursery and recognise our achievements, we have been working towards 2 awards which we have been successful in achieving since September 2019. Our first award was the IQM 'Inclusion Quality Mark', where we had the privilege of attending an award ceremony in London to receive this award by the governing body. Our second award was the National Portage Stamp of Approval. We could not have
earned these awards without the daily commitment and consistent hard work of all our staff who we are very proud of and a strong dedicated SENDCO team. Natalie McKechnie Nursery Owner
Mumbler Awards (Little Learners Day Nursery) Staff and children at Little Learners Day Nursery are celebrating as the nursery, based at Doncaster Deaf Trust, was named the Favourite Day Nursery at the recent Doncaster Mumbler Awards. Natalie Firth, nursery manager said: “We were thrilled to win this award. Our team works so hard to provide the best possible provision for the children and families who use our service. Alexis Johnson, executive principal of Doncaster Deaf Trust said: “We know that our nursery offers outstanding provision but it is always wonderful when this is recognised by external organisations and it is particularly important because it is an award that is voted for by parents who use the nursery. Our dedicated nursery team work hard to provide a fun, vibrant, learning environment for the children and are always looks for ways to develop the service.” Caroline Brooks, from Doncaster Mumbler, said: “I’m so pleased that the Mumbler awards can recognise childcare professionals in our town. Little Learners should be so proud of winning this category. We received around 2000 votes in each of the 10 categories so the competition was tough. To have so many of their customers vote for them shows what a great job they do.” Natalie Firth Early Years Manager
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Inclusion Quality Mark (Little Learners Day Nursery) Staff, parents and children at Little Learners Day Nursery are also celebrating the organisation achieving the Inclusion Quality Mark. Little Learners Day Nursery received a glowing report that captures the nursery’s high standards and commitment to quality. Natalie Firth, nursery manager, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have achieved this prestigious Quality Mark (IQM) for our nursery. The IQM and the report demonstrates the hard work our staff put into our provision each and every day.” The report recognises the nursery is prepared to ‘go the extra mile’ to enable the children to succeed and a range of needs are accommodated in the setting and staff work proactively with parents to support the learning process. It goes on to state that a determination and genuine passion for children’s education exists with managers and staff understanding the importance of identifying the interests and needs of children and providing them with meaningful experiences. Alexis Johnson, executive principal, of Doncaster Deaf Trust, who manage the nursery, said: “We are extremely proud of our nursery team and their dedication to providing the best possible start for all children. The report reflects that they provide a caring, stimulating and exciting environment created by staff and identifies the excellent relationships that exist with the children, each treated as an individual, their likes and dislikes noted, and parents are regularly consulted about the children’s needs and routines.”
Natalie Firth Early Years Manager
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Inclusion Quality Mark (Little Einsteins Day Nursery) On Tuesday 18th September 2019 staff at Little Einsteins Day Nursery in Wheatley travelled to London to
collect their well-deserved IQM (Inclusion Quality Mark) Award. By working towards and achieving this award
as a team the staff have come together and recognised the impact of their current practice and what this
means for our children; further embedding and developing this within their day to day practice. As a nursery
we are extremely proud to have achieved this award which symbolises the hard work, dedication our staff
have to meeting the needs of children within our care, showing our inclusive approach and positive attitudes.
Laura Richmond Managing Director
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Useful contacts
Learning Provision Organisation
Name Title Contact:
Steve Lawson-Chamberlain Pupil Place Planning Manager [email protected]
Dawn Wood Senior Sufficiency & Sustainability Officer [email protected]
Sarah Martin Financial Planning & Sustainability Officer [email protected]
Michelle Wagstaff Pupil Place Planning Officer (Childcare) [email protected]
Stephanie Clark Early Education Funding Officer [email protected]
Vivienne Copeland Early Education Funding Officer [email protected]
Matthew Lamb Pupil Place Planning Officer (Schools) [email protected]
Kirsty Prigmore Pupil Place Planning Officer (Schools) [email protected]
Jo Buckler Pupil Place Planning Officer (Analysis & Monitoring)
Andrew Ashurst Learning Provision Co-ordinator [email protected]
www.doncaster.gov.uk/learningprovision www.doncaster.gov.uk/fundedchildcare
Early Years
Name Title Contact:
Stephanie Douglas Head of Service Early Intervention and Localities
Shelley Petta Early Years Inclusion Officer (South) [email protected]
Joanne Hager Early Years Inclusion Officer (North) [email protected]
Alison Leeming Early Years Inclusion Officer [email protected]
Ann-Louise Lowe Early Years Inclusion Officer [email protected]
Rachael Summerscales Early Years Inclusion Officer (East) [email protected]
Mandy Haddock Early Years Inclusion Officer (Central) / Seedlings Manager
Diane Dalton Childminder Support Officer [email protected]
Jayne Bloodworth Early Years Quality Assurance Officer – Safeguarding & Welfare
Tracey Fry Early Years Quality Assurance Officer - Safeguarding & Welfare
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Families Information Service
Name Title Contact:
Tracey Outram Information Pathways Manager [email protected]
Kayla Fletcher Information Pathways Officer [email protected]
Inclusion Team / Portage
Name Title Contact:
Sadie Mercer SEN Development Officer [email protected]
Sarah McMahon SEN Development Officer [email protected]
Emma Haywood SEN Development Officer [email protected]
Lisa Hill SEN Development Officer [email protected]
Georgina Lightfoot SEN Development Officer [email protected]
Bev Downes Area SENDCO [email protected]
Sarah Thurston Area SENDCO [email protected]
Abigail Smith Area SENDCO [email protected]
Sarah Thurston Area SENDCO [email protected]
Lynne Tomlinson Area SENDCO [email protected]
Sindy Hinchliff Portage Home Visitor / Keyworker [email protected]
Jane Lovett Portage Home Visitor / Keyworker [email protected]
Jennifer Thorpe Portage Home Visitor / Keyworker [email protected]
Nicky Brettoner Portage Home Visitor / Keyworker [email protected]
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Forthcoming dates:
Team Activity Purpose Start Date Deadline Format Pupil Place Planning Childcare
Occupancy Data Collection
Assessment of supply and demand of local provision
04/02/2020 03/03/2020 Online Survey using Survey Monkey
Early Education Funding
Pre-Payment Task (Spring Term)
To receive advance payment for Spring Term
06/12/19 12/12/19 Online using Early Years Headcount Portal
Headcount Task (Spring Term)
To receive headcount payment
10/01/20 16/01/20
Adjustment Task (Spring Term)
To receive late starter payment*
14/02/20 20/02/20
The Spring Term is 11.4 weeks (171 hours) starting Monday 06/01/20 to Tuesday 31/03/20
Families Information Service (FIS)
Families looking for childcare use Doncaster Families Information Service (FIS) website. Therefore, it is crucial that information FIS hold on your business is up to date and provide families with a good overview of your service including your vacancies. You can update your information at any time throughout the year by logging into the Provider Portal at https://fis.doncaster.gov.uk/Synergy/Login.aspx
* Deadline for late starters to be registered at setting 14 February 2020
