January 6, 2020

Welcome from Julian Radcliffe 

I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Service Director with responsibility for Inclusion and Family Services, which has responsibility for Early Years, Inclusion, SEND and Early Help. These are areas where excellent work is already undertaken, however, it is clear there are opportunities for further improvements. 

Experience suggests that these are most likely to be achieved and sustained where strong partnerships can be secured, in particular with early years settings, schools and colleges. It is on this basis (as well as being new to BCP Council) that I am trying to visit as many settings as I can. I am very much looking forward to further and similar opportunities. 

Requires Action

BCP Early Years Funding Consultation 2020/21

BCP Council is currently consulting providers on the hourly funding rates to all providers supporting eligible 2, 3 and 4 year olds.  The consultation closes this Friday 10 January at midnight, so please consider this consultation document and letter and take part by clicking here. 

Please note the Christchurch consultation evening has been withdrawn due to lack of demand. If you have any queries regarding the consultation, please contact Jack Cutler Tel: 01202 456141

Early Years Census

The Early Years Census date has been set by the Department of Education for January 2020. To be able to complete the census by the fixed deadline date we require your assistance.  

Please log into the provider portal and complete the ‘BCP Census Form’ which can be found on the ‘Forms’ page by Thursday 16 January. Also, submit your Spring balance payments claim / changes to your estimate by Wednesday 29 January.

If you should have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact your funding officer.

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Safeguarding

Please see updated information on the Early Years Safeguarding web page.

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Ofsted Information

Early Years Education Inspection Framework (EIF) Roadshow Events 

These half-day events will offer the opportunity to learn about early emerging findings from the EIF. Two representatives from your settings are welcome to attend each session. Each person attending will need to register separately. Current Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) should not attend this event.

Please note that there is no charge for attending one of these events. Spaces are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.

If you are interested in attending one of these events, please register for your place here where you will be able to find timings, locations and venue details. When registering for an event, please select the ‘Early Years’ remit and then select your regional location.

Please do not hesitate to contact Ofsted should you have any questions.

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General Information

BCP Childcare Sufficiency

We have just published the first Childcare Sufficiency Assessment for BCP Council. This covers all registered BCP childcare at ward level and highlights current areas of concern for future action.

If you have any queries regarding the assessment, please contact either Darren Buckley Tel: 01202 261989 or Michaela Slatford Tel: 01202 456342.

Early Years and Childcare Quizzes

Test your knowledge in a range of early years and childcare topics with free interactive myNDNA quizzes. They could be used during staff team meetings or just to test yourself on all settings.

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CPD Opportunities

Please check for upcoming courses

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Childcare Jobs Dorset can be found here to search for / or add job vacancies, information sessions and progressing your childcare career in Dorset.

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We hope you have found this useful and informative, please email us with any feedback.