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In the current difficult economic climate many settings are considering ways to increase income.  One which is increasingly popular (especially for school hours/term time only settings) is to increase hours by running a breakfast club and/or an after-session club, as well as perhaps a holiday club.  This may make the difference in a parent deciding to use your provision if they are working and need that extra cover.

If you are thinking of setting up an out of school club to meet the needs and demands, you first need to consider the existing provision in the local area. Are you located near a school or on a school premises which already has current provision?  Often schools run their own clubs for school aged children but it’s always worth checking how viable they are.  It may be that by combining early years and school age children you can make it cost effective where the school alone can’t, or you may find that you have enough demand purely from children within your setting and those attracted because of the extended hours.

If you are also thinking about running a holiday club remember it doesn’t necessarily have to run for the complete duration of the holidays.  For example you could offer three days at Easter and two weeks over the summer.

Below are some common questions.

Do we need to register the out of school club with Ofsted?

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/childminders-and-childcare-providers-register-with-ofsted/the-ofsted-registers

This link provides information on the different registers.  If you’re currently a registered EY setting and you intend to take school age children then you will need to add to your registration for the older age group.  If you are purely extending your hours then your settings nominated person must email Ofsted with the updated opening times.

If you are intending to run your additional hours (either extended or holiday club) somewhere other than your registered premises you will need a separate Ofsted registration for this.  For example if you usually run from a building on a school site, but intend to run the holiday club in the school hall this will require a separate registration.  

Qualifications required

If your out of school club is only for EY children then you continue to follow the requirements for staffing set out in the EYFS.  This includes ratios, SENDCo and Safeguarding Lead.  You will also need to have staff with paediatric first aid.

If you are caring for children at reception age or older, you must have a designated Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo) on your staff team, as well as at least one staff member with paediatric first aid and a safeguarding lead who has completed appropriate training (in Gloucestershire this would be Level 3 safeguarding through the local authority).   All staff should have some safeguarding training and be able to recognise signs and symptoms of abuse, be familiar with the setting’s policy and procedures for dealing with concerns. 

If you are providing snack or food options then the staff dealing with the food should have an up to date food hygiene certificate.    

Whilst there are no legal requirements (Since September 2014) for staff to be qualified for school age and older children, it is best practice for at least one member of staff to have a Childcare Qualification.

Number of staff required?

For EY children the standard ratios apply (see the EYFS for more information)

Although the staff to children ratio for school aged children has now been raised to 1:30 from 1:8, it is recommended that out of school clubs continue to operate at a ratio of around 1:8 for children up to the age of eight. A ratio of around 1:10 is recommended for children over the age of eight. Most insurers will require these ratios for you to operate safely and be properly covered for insurance.

Remember to always follow safer recruitment procedures when employing staff and carry out DBS checks and monitor Ofsted guidance as they may change over time.

Which Policies and Procedures are required?

If you are already an EY setting then you should have all the required policies in place.  You will need to review them to make sure that they cover both your extended hours and extended age range.  You may need some additional procedures to cover the running of the club and you will need to complete risk assessments of all activities.

How can we check if the premises are correct for an out of school club?

If you’re planning on running the club from your existing premises or from a school (e.g. if you share a site but the club will be in a school hall rather than your own setting rooms) it’s likely that you’ll already have an area which is suitable to use. You can tailor this to activities and add posters, furniture, rugs etc as necessary.

You’ll need to keep in mind that the EYFS sets out space requirements for EY children but there are no statutory space requirements for older children.  However, do keep in mind that older (and therefore larger!) children will need space to let of steam after a day in school!

What additional equipment will be required for setting up an out of school club?

Out of school clubs should be tailored to allow all children to play and a space should be created to encompass this. Many settings will already hold a large amount of equipment that is already recommended for out of school clubs, which includes:

• Craft materials
• Games (e.g. draughts, bingo, snakes & ladders, Connect4, chess, etc…)
• Construction (e.g. Lego, K'Nex)
• Sports equipment (balls of all sizes, goals, skipping ropes, bean bags, hula hoops, bats, etc…)
• Small worlds (e.g. cars, dinosaurs, Playmobil, etc…)
• Role play (e.g. dressing up clothes, bags, sunglasses, hi-vis jackets, play money, etc…)
• Quiet area (e.g. rugs, cushions, blankets, books)
• Den making (e.g. blankets, tarpaulins, camouflage netting, ropes, cardboard boxes)

If you are operating an out of school club with mixed aged groups, you will have to consider how you will run the club. Running mixed aged groups can be beneficial as younger children can build up strong bonds with their peers, encourage good behaviour, enhance their child development and create a happier more engaging environment. Whilst the challenges of how you separate or integrate the children into activities require careful planning in terms of space and activities, these can be outweighed by the benefits.

Here are some top tips for running out of school clubs of mixed ages:

• Older children can be put onto a junior training scheme where they mix with the younger children helping to run activities, pack away and effectively becoming an older sibling to the children they are assisting. Designating older children responsibilities engages their interest and can extend their confidence in social situations.
• Children can come together at snack time, or the beginning or end of sessions before they break up into activities, which mimics the social times within a family of varying ages.
• Role Play and the quiet area allow children of all ages to interact as the differing ages allow the children to take on different roles at the same time as developing the area of child development specific to their age, such as language, communication and social skills.
• Having the correct resources as listed above allows a range of activities to be carried out over a wider age spectrum. i.e., using open ended materials for sports equipment or den making, children can develop their own imagination and tailor the activity to their age.
• Looking at the setting through the eyes of a child can help you arrange the space i.e. is it appealing in terms or seating (cushions, chairs, tables), activities.
• Be flexible. Listen to and communicate with the children’s needs. This will lead the activities that the children will require for the session and engage their interest.

What does it mean for children under EYFS attending out of school clubs in terms of their learning?

The EYFS states (footnote 5, Paragraph 1.1) that,

”Providers offering care exclusively before and after school or during the school holidays for children who normally attend reception (or older) class during the school day do not need to meet the learning and development requirements. However, providers offering care exclusively before and after school or during the school holidays for children younger than those in the reception class age range, should continue to be guided by, but do not have to meet, the learning and development requirements.”

So if you are an existing Early Years setting, you must continue to meet the learning and development requirements for children who are registered with you.  If you are only providing before or after school provision for them then you should be guided by the requirements.  For older children there are no such requirements.  

Will funding be required to set up the out of school club?

Out of school clubs can be started up on existing funds held within the setting or applying for grants or charitable funds. A good place to start is by contacting your local councils Early Years Team. If you are looking for charitable funds the National Lottery Awards for all or Coop Local Causes could help.  Your main cost initially is likely to be staffing, and possible increases in rents (depending on your current building and lease contract). For further information on fundraising, refer to the PATA Members area of the website under Finance and Fundraising.

How much do I charge per session?

This will depend on wages, rent for premises (if any), cost of craft and food. You need to ensure you cover these costs against the number of children to attend per session. The PATA Cash Flow spreadsheet can help you determine your costs, whether you are able to offer discount to children who attend a number of sessions, or pay in advance etc. The cost per session does not necessarily need to be the same as fees already charged for attending sessions during normal operating hours and you can chose to charge per hour/half hour or session depending on what you think will best suit both your business position and your parents.   If you are running a holiday club it’s quite normal to charge a ‘per day’ price.  It’s worth looking at what other holiday club providers are charging as you might be surprised at how high it is!

Do I need a separate charity to run out of school provision?

If you are a charitable setting who holds the PATA constitution you do not need to change anything to run additional provision as it falls within the stated aims.  However, your committee should minute a decision to increase the provision at a committee meeting.   If you are a charity which doesn’t have the PATA constitution you will need to look at the stated aims and see if they are wide enough to cover extended provision (particularly children of school age if that is what you are planning on offering).  If your constitution doesn’t allow for this contact us to have a discussion about whether it would be in your interests to adopt ours.  For other types of organisation you will need to consider whether your governing documents allow for this.

How can I market the extended provision?

Obviously your existing parents are the first place to start.  Explain to them what you are doing and why and offer them the first option for registering.  Then use all other channels open to you!  If you have links with a local school ask them to send out your marketing to all of their pupils, even if you are only offering EY provision.  There may be families with younger children who are going elsewhere because they need longer hours.  Use your social media accounts including paid for advertising if necessary.

What if my staff team aren’t interested?

It’s always worth asking!  You may have staff who might prefer to work compressed hours, so doing 4 long days rather than 5 short but until you ask you won’t know (and they may not have ever thought about it).   If you are including EY children then you do need qualified staff (as explained above) so by far the easiest way is to use at least some of your current team.  You can take on additional staff though, including to mix in with your existing ones.  The same goes for holiday clubs where you may be able to pick up students (including student teachers) who are looking for a few weeks work. 

You can lead from the front by being excited about the new opportunities.  But ultimately if this is about sustainability and extending the provision is the only way to stay open then you may need to lay this out clearly for your staff.

It’s not a decision to jump into lightly but there are many benefits so definitely something worth considering.

We’ve had a few queries in from member settings recently that have made us a little bit concerned about the financial controls in place, particularly for committee run settings. 

We thought it might be helpful to just explain a little bit about why you need controls and also what those should look like.   This is primarily aimed at charitable settings because the committee is legally responsible for ensuring that the money is properly accounted for and wisely spent, but some of the principals will apply to other types of setting too.

For any charitable setting you must have a treasurer who takes the lead on ensuring that the finances are in order, but the responsibility for ensuring the financial position of the setting sits with every committee member.  Some settings have a paid financial administrator and they should work closely with the committee (through the treasurer). 

At the very least you should have the following controls in place:

• You should have a finance policy which sets out the expectation for all staff and committee and which puts in place enough controls to ensure that no one is put at risk.
• Annual budget forecast at the start of each year :

- Is prepared by the Treasurer/Manager/Administrator based on forecast child numbers and staffing levels, along with other projected expenditure.

- This budget should have been reviewed and agreed by the Committee.

- Allows committee to review cash flow for the year ahead.

- Allows the Manager/Administrator to work within agreed budget levels and ensures that non-budget items of income or expenditure are communicated to the Committee via the Treasurer’s finance report.

- Actual income/expenditure should be monitored against the original budget forecast.

• A short financial report should be presented at each committee meeting by the treasurer:

- This can be based on financial reporting information from the administrator.

- Should include information on current and reserve bank balances.

- Should report on any recent or future income or expenditure that has not already been forecast in your budget, or any amendments to the budget.

- Should review any potential cash flow issues.

• There should be at least two people with access to all bank accounts, including any Reserve accounts.  At least one of these should be on the committee (Chair or Treasurer). 
• You should have dual signing in place for all larger transactions.  Your finance policy should set any spending limits. This can be set up with internet banking. 
• At least two people should have sight of the bank statements on a monthly basis, and they should be available to any committee members on request.
• Bank reconciliations of all accounts, including petty cash, should be carried out monthly and countersigned by the Chair/Treasurer.
• If you are a PATA Payroll client, we should hold contact details for two individuals, for them both to receive the monthly payroll information.
• A receipt should be given for cash transactions, with a duplicate copy kept for finance records. Where large amounts of cash are counted and banked these should be checked and countersigned by a second person.
• Avoid keeping large amounts of cash in setting. All cash should always be kept in a locked cashbox, in a locked cabinet with key access limited to Manager/Administrator. You should check your insurance policy to see how much cash in setting you are covered for. 

Essentially no one person should be doing anything finance related which isn’t seen by someone else.  This is not because of a lack of trust, but is a safeguarding measure protecting all those individuals who are involved in setting finances.  The committee as a whole are responsible (and potentially liable) for the financial health of the setting and can only fulfil this obligation if there is openness and accountability.  The best way to achieve this is with clear guidelines and procedures.

Even if you think you know everyone involved in your setting very well there are times when people are more vulnerable and you have a duty to remove any possibility of them feeling like a quick solution is to ‘borrow’ from the setting (which is often how financial fraud in charities starts).  You never know if someone is struggling financially at home, or is being pressured to find money elsewhere (e.g. if they are in a controlling relationship).  By putting in place robust financial controls you are protecting all those involved in your setting.

The most common issues that we see are:

1. Only one person has access to the bank account
2. Previous committee members are still on the bank account
3. Only one person (often the finance administrator) sees the bank statements
4. Committee don’t receive regular financial reports so only see issues when it’s too late to resolve

These are all fixable issues with just a little bit of work but will bring a lot of reassurance and protection both for individuals and the committee/management team. 

Have you ever wondered why your setting is a charity?  Gloucestershire has one of the highest number of charitable preschools in the country and at times you might be wondering why you bother!  At PATA we are passionate about the benefits of charitable settings but sometimes that gets lost in the day to day difficulties.  We thought we’d remind you!

• Being a charity means that you are there for the benefit of the community.  All money goes directly back into the community for the benefit of the children – you aren’t paying shareholders or directors.
• Being a membership charity means that parents are directly involved in the care and education of their children.  This could be by serving as a trustee on the committee, volunteering in setting or fundraising for you.
• You can raise funds for the setting both locally and by applying for grants.

We’ve had a few queries recently about settings that are thinking about changing from unincorporated charities (which most PATA Charitable Members are currently) to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) charitable structure.  On the back of this we’ve been doing some research to see if we think the benefits outweigh the amount of work involved.

 

There are two models of CIO structure, association and foundation.  According to the Charities Commission (CC) guidance you should chose the model which is closest to the current structure of your charity, which for groups using our constitution is the association model.  We have investigated two different approved CIO constitutions which have been specifically written for Early Years settings.  One of these is under the foundation model and one under the association structure. We would urge caution on following the foundation model as not only does this go against the CC guidance but also against the ethos of the community group.

The main benefit of becoming a CIO is that it reduces the personal liability of the trustees.  In short, with the current structure, the trustees are the employers and are in theory liable for any financial shortfalls that the group has (e.g. if you closed and needed to pay out redundancies or had debts, the creditors could chase the trustees for that money). Under a CIO, the charity itself is a legal ‘person’ and so that is the employer/debtor and not the individual trustees. In an unincorporated charity (most groups current structure) the liability can be mitigated with Trustee Insurance which we have always recommended that you have.  However, in both scenarios if the trustees have made unsound, reckless or illegal decisions they may still be personally liable. 

Many groups are looking at the CIO structure in the belief that it will reduce the number of trustees required, therefore making it easier to recruit and to retain a trustee board.  Under the foundation model that we have looked at, the requirement is still for there to be a minimum of five trustees, which is the same as our own constitution.  In fact, under our new constitution in extreme circumstances we can give permission to reduce this number further because the Charities Commission have given PATA authority to make changes where required.   Under the association model that we have looked at, the number is reduced to three, but the requirement is still that there is a majority of parent members.  This would require at least 2 parents and then one additional person, who could be a member of staff.  There is a further complication that the member of staff could only join as a trustee once the new CIO has been set up and approved by Ofsted, so this would in reality give you 4 trustees, at least for a cross over period. 

Another attraction for the CIO model is that there aren’t fixed officer roles.  However, you still need someone to act as Chair for each meeting, someone to act as secretary and someone to act as treasurer.  These could in theory change each meeting, but in reality it is likely that you will settle into roles as is the case currently.  We often see that the Chair carries the burden of the setting, but actually in our current constitution the Chair has no more or no less responsibility than anyone else.  The only specific roles for them are the chairing of meetings and holding a casting vote in the event of a tie.

A further issue with the association model is that parents must ‘opt in’ to membership.  In the current model parents with children at your setting are automatically members (one per family).  We feel that requiring parents to actively opt in may present problems and it isn’t clear what happens if the parents choose not to do this.

If you are interested in becoming a CIO you would need to register the CIO with the Charities Commission (having found a suitable constitution to adopt), and also register your provision with Ofsted.  Because it has a new legal ‘owner’ the Ofsted registration starts from scratch.  This means that you lose your current grading (e.g. if you are Outstanding you are no longer permitted to advertise that).  If someone searches for your setting it does link previous reports at the same postcode.  Ofsted will not necessarily come out straight away to inspect the setting (they can do the registration checks by phone), but you will be due an inspection within the first 30 months of operation. 

You will also need to consider that you must change the name on your bank account and with any suppliers.  You will also need to do this with your lease, or with the land registry if you own your property.  Some types of lease also require registration with the land registry which you are likely to need to pay a solicitor to execute.

If you have adopted our new constitution you should remember that it allows the following:

• 5 trustees minimum, of which 60% can be non-parents.
• Maximum service of 9 years (extended from 6)
• Ability for staff members to join the committee (but not be officers).  This means that your Manager can be the Nominated Individual for Ofsted, although there must be sufficient checks and balances in place if this is the case.

You have probably gathered from reading this that we aren’t really convinced that the benefits of becoming a CIO outweigh the work and time involved.  Our new constitution has been written/amended in response to the issues that we know you, our members, face.  We firmly believe that it is a strong constitution for you to have in place, and if you use it, along with the guidance notes, you will have a strong committee in place to support your setting.

Do get in touch if you want to discuss this further!

Energy saving tips

The government's Energy Bill Relief Scheme came into effect on Saturday (1st of October).  This is to support businesses and charities (including early years settings) with the rises in energy prices.  You can see the full details here, but although this reduces the anticipated increases, costs will still go up significantly.  Whether you pay for your own energy or it’s included in your rent, you will need to look to ways to reduce your energy use – and of course it’s good for the environment too!

Last year a lot of settings spent a lot of time outside to minimise the spread of Covid.  Not only is it good infection control, excellent for children’s development and behaviour but it’s also a great way of reducing energy costs as for the most part you aren’t using any power while you’re out there!

Here are a few suggestions – you’ve probably thought of most of them already but it’s worth being reminded.

Audit your energy use

As many settings are in shared buildings with bills included, you may not have access to bills or be able to monitor your consumption but you can still go round the setting systematically and look to establish where you could be using a lot of energy.  

You could create a plan of the setting marking where you have appliances and rate them for (estimated) energy use (high/medium/low).  Then you can see if there are ways that you can reduce their use or whether it would be more cost effective to find an alternative.

If you do control your energy contract, do you have a smart meter?  If so you could even get the children involved in working out what is power hungry!

Get smart with heating (and aircon if you have it)

Consider when the heating is on and see if you can adjust it down both in terms of temperature and the time that it’s on for.  It might take a few weeks to work out the optimum time for it to come on in the morning for opening up to be warm and welcoming.  Could you set it to turn off a little bit earlier?  It will usually take a while for a building to cool down so it doesn’t necessarily need to be on until the end of the session.   Also think about how you use your rooms.  If you are always outside until mid morning do you need the room warm until then?  If you have active sessions in the course of the day can you schedule those to coincide with cooler periods in the building.

Are you loosing a lot of heat?  There’s a balance with having free flow between inside and outside.  One of our PMGs is in a purpose built setting with large bi-fold doors.  We realised that it was hard to keep warm with the doors open so we installed some PVC strip curtains to help keep in heat while maintaining access.  If you want details of who we used please get in touch!

If your building is old and draughty are there things that could be done to reduce heat loss?

Last year was all about keeping ventilation up to control the spread of Covid, and we still need to do that to an extent.  This is about ensuring that you are getting the most out of your heating and controlling where the airflow is.  That might mean that you open the windows at certain times in the day to ‘flush’ the air through, or it might be that you decide your windows/doors are always open and actually everyone just needs to add an extra layer!

Lighting

Energy saving light bulbs can make a big difference in energy consumption.  If you have your own space consider replacing bulbs (either on mass or as the current ones come to the end of their lives) for LED ones.  If you share a building perhaps you can raise it with other users/owners.

Warm and Dry

Obviously we need to provide the best environment for our children and also our staff.  Damp clothing can make everyone feel uncomfortable and colder so it’s a good idea to consider what you can do about this.  For children having good waterproof trousers/coats or puddle suits can make a big difference, along with wellies, duck boots, or even snow boots which keep the feet a bit warmer too.  Some of our settings have done fundraising events to purchase these for the settings rather than asking parents to provide them. 

We provide our staff with waterproof trousers and jackets as part of their uniform. Perhaps this is something that you might like to consider if funds allow.   

If you’re worried about getting things dry then a heated dryer (often available in Lidl or Aldi at some point in the Autumn) can be a cost effective way of doing this.  They cost a few pence per hour to run and can be very effective.

A warm drink at snack time if you’ve been out in the damp can also be very welcome.  Some of our settings offer warm milk or even sometimes a hot chocolate.  There’s nothing more exciting than a hot drink sat on a log outside!

Hot water

Usually there is a thermostat for hot water, could this be turned down slightly?  Do you have a boiler or gas combi?  If using a boiler, what are the timings, could this be shortened to optimise usage time? Does it need re lagging?

Washing

If not greatly soiled, could a shorter cycle suffice?  Lower your wash temperature – modern detergents mean that generally you don’t need to wash on more than 30⁰.   Always do a full load.  This might mean that you need to rotate resources until you’ve got one!  If you have a tumble drier think about if you really need to use it.

Overall auditing our energy use is a good idea regardless of cost increases as we know that the less energy they use, the better for the environment. If you can get children involved in auditing that’s a great learning opportunity and you’ll be helping to support the next generation of eco warriers!

We’ve had a number of questions recently about training and funding options for settings looking to help their staff to get qualified.  We also noticed in the Fees & Wages survey that several settings said that to help the recruitment crisis they had recruited either non or low qualified staff with the intention of helping them to get qualified.  This is an excellent solution if you can manage it within ratios!

There are also a number of calls we had where people have done qualifications in the belief that they will make them qualified to work in a setting, but when it comes to checking, they don’t count as full and relevant.  Having to tell someone who has applied for a job (and in some cases has been working in the sector) that their qualification isn’t full and relevant is not a nice job!

Is the qualification full and relevant?

The starting point in checking qualifications is always the gov.uk site here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-qualifications-achieved-in-england  This gives you the spreadsheet which now has three tabs: Guide to using the document, Pre 2014 qualifications and post 14 qualifications.

The Pre-14/Post-14 split is because on 1st September 2014 Level 3 qualifications were ‘simplified’.  Anything started Post-14 (and it is the start date not the end date that matters) must include Early Years Educator in the title.  Slightly confusingly Level 2 qualifications weren’t similarly changed until 2019 so anything started before then will be on the Pre-14 list.  You will need to know the exact title, awarding body and level.  It’s often best to work from a copy of the certificate because the wording is very specific.

Options for Training and Funding

If you’re looking for someone to get qualified there are a few routes most of which can now be completed on the job, without the need to attend college.

Level 2 and 3 courses for Early Years Practitioners

We asked South Gloucestershire College (who are based in Stroud and Bristol) for information on their current courses and funding options.  They sent us the following information:  

Diplomas 

Level 2

The Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner 

This Level 2 course can be funded for any learner who earns below the threshold of £17,374. The applicant applies for a fee waiver as either a low income or benefit waiver. The college will support the learner to do this. 

Links to the course content and enrolment process can be found on the college website here. 

Learners apply through the website and the college will then contact them for initial advice and guidance.

Level 3

Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner (Early Years Educator)

This popular course can be funded via the National Skills Fund if the applicant meets the following criteria:

• Ages 19 or over
• Lives in England. (Home postcode evidence will be required)
• This will be their first Level 3 Qualification in any subject. (2 or more A Levels are considered a Level 3 equivalent)
• NEW FROM APRIL 2022 An applicant may now be funded through the National Skills Fund if they have already achieved a Level 3 or higher if they earn below the threshold of £18,525

Another alternative is that the applicant utilises an Advanced Learner Loan to pay the course fees of £2,495. Applicants do not commence repayments to the loan until at least the April which follows the completion of their course and until they earn in excess of the income threshold of £27,500.

Learners will need to have achieved or be willing to achieve their Level 2 or equivalent in Maths and English before completion of their Diploma. Stroud College can provide functional skills classes at college, or these can be sourced from a venue more suitable to the applicant.

Applicants can apply directly via the website which will prompt an advice and guidance call. 

Other routes

Apprenticeships: 

This option only costs the setting a small amount in fees and the learner pays nothing. 

• The learner also gets Maths and English qualifications as part of the apprenticeship.
• The employer can pay a lower pay rate if they are recruited as an apprentice (for the first year). 
• There’s no age limit on apprentices.
• The employer has to pay for 20% of their time as ‘off the job training’ although this can include things like attending staff meetings if there is an element of training in them, someone showing them how to do a certain thing (circle time etc), so it doesn’t mean they definitely aren’t in setting. An apprenticeship has to last a minimum of a year and a day. 
• Apprentices have to work a certain number of hours although this has become more flexible in the last few years, but fewer hours will mean a longer course length.

This is a link to the official information on apprenticeships (here) but you can also ask the training provider.

Level 5 Early Years Lead Practitioner (Apprenticeship)

This is a new qualification which is run as an apprenticeship and is aimed at those working in a senior role such as Room Leader, Early Years Lead, Deputy Manager or Manager.  There are various providers offering this, for example you can see information from one here.  

Early Years Initial Teacher Training

There is also an option for anyone who has a degree (in any subject) to train under the Early Years Initial Teacher Training route.  This is a one year qualification which is an employment based qualification, but will result in a Level 6 qualification and the ability to be used in a 1:13 ratio for children 3+.  This is a great option if you’ve got someone with some experience and a degree level qualification.  There is funding available for this which covers the learner fees and also pays up to £7000 towards their wages in setting.  You can see more information about it with the University of Gloucestershire here.   

Other training opportunities (not full and relevant)

PATA in conjunction with Stroud College are offering a Level 1 course from the 9^th to 27^th May which will take place in our offices in Gloucester.  This would be an ideal introduction for any helpers or parents who might be interested in a career in childcare.  The hours are school friendly and the course is free of charge.  Contact mary.jennings@pataglos.org.uk for more information.

Stroud College also offer a suite of online Level 2 courses relating to the Early Years sector which are attached here. These are great courses for staff to use as Continuing Professional Development before they start their Level 2, between Level 2 and Level 3 or once qualified at Level 3.  Attached here is a brand new course Stroud College are offering called L2 Certificate in Understanding Mental Health in Early Years.

We hope that this is helpful.  Obviously there are other training providers including Gloucestershire College, Adult Education in Gloucestershire and various private providers such as the Childcare Company.

You might have already had conversations with children in your care about what is happening in the world at the moment but it can be hard to know how best to respond.  We asked Colette Ricuard from Child Behaviour Solutions here in Gloucester to give us some expert advice...

"As a child growing up, I had no appreciation of the fact I only had a choice of 3 TV channels to watch and no idea at all of what a mobile phone was or, for that matter, what social media was.   As an adult, I know there were still some very scary things happening in the UK and the world when I was a child, but I was very protected from it.

So in today’s world, what can we do to support the little eyes and ears we work with from the tragedy that is occurring in Ukraine?  And how do we answer any questions their parents may have in terms of how to explain it all?  After all, in today’s world, with everything we have at our fingertips, there is no getting away from the fact that some terrible things are happening in another part of the world and, given the last couple of years, this may be feeding into pre-existing anxiety, or even creating new anxiety.

Our job is to help the children we work with (and their parents if they need it) cope with what is going on and support the idea that their part of the world is still a safe place to be.

So how do we do this? 

It is important to be honest with the children if they have questions.  Keep your responses age appropriate and think about the context of what you are saying – young children only need an outline of what is going on.   Explain that Putin has been thinking about this and preparing for it for a long time – to dispel the idea that bombs can just be dropped at anytime without any warning.  Use appropriate analogies to help the children you work with to make sense of what is happening – maybe, just as an example, somebody they know being mean and unkind to them. 

Don’t deny and/or avoid any questions – somebody somewhere else will provide the answers!   And they may not use age appropriate language in doing so.  And remember, even toddlers are very good at picking up on our body language and when we try to cover things up – so simple and age appropriate honesty is key.

Practically, we can limit how much we talk about the situation in Ukraine in front of children and parents can limit how often the news and/or tv programmes discussing the situation is on.  Remember, children often seem disinterested when we are talking and we can mistake this for them not hearing what we are saying – but children do pick up on a lot more than we ever give them credit for!

Finally, look for the positives with the children.  There is a lot of kindness and bravery being shown in the face of adversity and it is important our children are aware of this …. For example, the Ukrainian mums offering captured Russian soldiers food and drink and the opportunity to call their own parents; the aid that is being sent to Ukraine by other countries in the world; a large portion of the world coming together to support the Ukrainian people; the countries offering shelter, etc, etc.   There is always good to be found, even in the most inhumane of situations.  

By finding the good with our children, we can help to restore faith that the world (and in particular our part of the world) is, on the whole, a good and safe place."

We are currently registering interest for our course 'The World Is Still A Safe Place: Supporting Children's Wellbeing' which we first ran at the height of the pandemic. If you would be interested in attending now, obviously with a slightly different focus then please click here. 

More than just covid…

What has your term been like so far? For us it’s been a hard term…not only dealing/coping with covid and everything that brings - such as keeping up to date with the latest guidance, cleaning and sterilising toys and surfaces constantly - but we’ve also had the ‘common’ cold, hand foot and mouth and the dreaded diarrhoea and vomiting bug to contend with.

We know we have to err on the side of caution and therefore with every cough we think…is this a new cough? Is it continuous? Do we need to ask the parents to get the child PCR tested to be on the safe side? But we also know we are coming into the winter months and the ‘normal’ winter bugs are still around. This is where our practitioner instinct comes into play. We know what is normal for that child and we need to follow what we think is best to protect all the other children, staff and families that attend our setting. We know it can sometimes be inconvenient for parents to collect their child but we only call if the child is not well enough to be in setting.

We have kept many of our systems of control in place such as hand wash stations in the rooms and outside, taking the children’s temperatures when they arrive to work out a child’s ‘normal’ the first few weeks of term, as well as cleaning all toys at the end of each session. All of these are now standard practices, which help to reduce the ‘common’ illnesses we see in the winter months too. By being proactive and armed with knowledge, by updating our risk assessments and procedures, we can ensure we are ready for whatever winter ailments come our way!

Hand, foot and mouth

We have had cases of hand, foot and mouth in setting and it’s so frustrating that it is not excludable. First things first, we always notify our parents as we know it ‘could’ be dangerous at the beginning and end of pregnancy. We are covering all bases with our systems of control, and we just make sure the child is fully well in setting as it affects different children in different ways - but we do understand the frustration from some parents when they see a child in setting who has hand, foot and mouth. All we can do is make sure the child is well enough to stay in session and make sure we clean during, as well as at the end of each day.

Common symptoms of hand, foot and mouth

The first signs of hand, foot and mouth disease can be:

• ·         a sore throat
• ·         a high temperature
• ·         not wanting to eat

After a few days mouth ulcers and a rash will appear.

Find more info at:  Hand, foot and mouth disease - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Common cold

We all know the winter months bring on coughs and colds, and this winter is no different apart from trying to distinguish between a ‘common’ cough and cold and covid. The symptoms of a cold are not too dissimilar to that of covid (for many children covid seems to present mainly like a cold rather than necessarily the three listed symptoms) which is making our job harder. We need to err on the side of caution and make sure we do what’s best for the children, staff and families of our setting. We hope most parents understand that if we call and ask them to collect their child it is because they are not well enough to be in setting. Additionally, we also ask parents to be completely honest and tell us if their child has had calpol before coming into setting as we can normally tell when it’s wearing off!

Some children struggle more in the colder months with coughs and may need an inhaler to help them. We make sure any child who has an inhaler has their own individual inhaler care plan that states when they need it and how many puffs etc. This is completed with the parent and signed. This is checked each half term (more if needed) and displayed for all staff to see.

Cold symptoms

They often come on gradually and can include:

• ·         a blocked or runny nose
• ·         a sore throat
• ·         headaches
• ·         muscle aches
• ·         coughs
• ·         sneezing
• ·         a raised temperature
• ·         pressure in your ears and face
• ·         loss of taste and smell

The symptoms are the same in adults and children. Sometimes symptoms last longer in children.

More information can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/common-cold/

Vomiting and diarrhoea

We are always so strict and make sure we always stick to the 48 hour rule if a child has had any vomiting or diarrhoea. We all know how fast this spreads through children. Again, we hope by having our current systems of control in place these will help reduce the spread this winter.

More information can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/diarrhoea-and-vomiting/

We recently found this poster  and think it’s nice and simple to share with parents:

All childcare settings work so hard to make sure they are safe and secure for children to attend. We always go above and beyond as we have rigid risk assessments and policies and procedures to keep everyone as safe as possible. Every day is a new day, with new challenges to face, but we meet them with smiles on our faces knowing we have the best job in the world. We have made it through a very tough 18 months but we are still standing and ready for the next wave to ride.

When should we notify an illness?

The Statutory Framework for Early Years (EYFS) states that settings ‘must have a procedure, discussed with parents and/or carers, for responding to children who are ill or infectious, take necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection, and take appropriate action if children are ill.’ (EYFS Point 3.45)

It then refers providers to the Government publication: A practical guide for staff on managing cases of infectious diseases in schools and other childcare settings. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities

This details prevention and control measures (Chapter 3: prevention and control) as well as the threshold of when illness is deemed an outbreak (chapter 4: what to do if you suspect an outbreak) and whom you should contact. It is therefore important that this document is referenced in your policy/procedure so that all staff and committee are aware of the need to follow it with regards to illness within the setting.

In addition to this there is The Spotty Book which is from Public Health England: https://www.england.nhs.uk/south/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2019/09/spotty-book-2019-.pdf

And of course don’t forget that you can always give us a ring at PATA for a quick chat to discuss your options!

We’ve all heard of the term CPD (‘Continuous Professional Development’) but what does it mean to you and your staff.  CPD plays a vital role in the success of your setting, your staff and the children within it. Without it, you and your staff won’t be able to give the children in your care the best start in life nor will your staff be able to effectively support you or one another.  Every role (whether it be paid or volunteering, supporting the children or in the background doing admin support) within a setting should be valued as it plays an important part in the whole jigsaw puzzle – if a piece is missing or doesn’t fit well then it can cause issues in the long run.

As a childcare professional you are expected to look after the mental, social, emotional and educational development of babies and young children so that is why ongoing CPD for you and your staff is so important.

The Ofsted Inspection Framework criteria for Management and Leadership at Outstanding level states:

“Leaders ensure that they and practitioners receive focused and highly effective professional development. Practitioners’ subject, pedagogical content and knowledge consistently builds and develops over time, and this consistently translates into improvements in the teaching of the curriculum.”

So it’s not just identifying the CPD required (Intention), not just having staff attend (Implementation) but also how this impacts on the setting (Impact).  As part of reflecting on your setting and practice it’s good to keep a log of what CPD training you and your staff have completed, why you undertook it and what benefits attending has had on you as an individual and the setting.

Ideally every staff member in your team should be expected and encouraged to undertake regular CPD opportunities to enable them to upskill and maintain their existing knowledge. However, this takes time and money, which as we all know is always limited. However, when you deliberate the cost of sending staff on training, try to balance your budget against the benefits any training will have long term on your provision and staff.  Some training is costly, especially to send all team members on it, but in the long run the benefits should far outweigh that initial cost.

Remember, your setting is only as good as the staff within – you can have all the best resources but without outstanding staff to support the use of those resources then it’s not going to work to its full potential.

So what counts as CPD?

CPD isn’t all about attending training courses. It can be covered with any of the following:

• Training          

- whether this be in person (face to face), interactive on-line (both of which PATA regularly offer), webinars, pre recorded training (watch this space for PATA’s first pre recorded training which will be available shortly)  and on-line training that can be undertaken at an individual’s own pace and time (e.g., Noodle Now training – see our PATA Members offer for Noodle Now training)

- Both CPD training courses and accredited training should be offered

• Attending conferences
• Group staff training sessions (e.g. bespoke training) and cascaded training (e.g. in a staff meeting someone reports on training that they’ve attended or something they’ve read and learnt and shares this with the whole team).
• Coaching and mentoring
• Observing others
• Professional discussion with other Early Years Practitioners
• Reading relevant articles – books, journals, magazines, newspapers (including physical publications and on-line)
• Blogs – just like this one.

What are the benefits of CPD?

CPD enables individuals to enhance and reinforce their current skills and addresses any knowledge shortfalls and gaps.

Engagement, morale, self-confidence and commitment within the workplace will increase and should result in happier and more committed staff! By having a variety of employees undertake CPD, concurrently or over a period of time you will allow the sharing of best practice and support. Staff potential is maximised and retention of good staff is also improved. CPD also gives you the opportunity to ensure staff’s understanding of practices.

• Benefits for the Employee

It ensures their skills are valid and up to date in their current and any future roles. It gives them aims and aspirations to work towards and a sense of purpose. It builds an individual’s confidence and will help them cope positively with change.

• Benefits for the Employer

It ensures that your setting’s standards are consistently high, you will see high morale, commitment and wellbeing improved within the workplace. By sharing training amongst all staff enables sharing to take place which helps with team building. You really will get the best out of your staff. You will also be ensuring that you are meeting all legal requirements.

How should you manage CPD within your setting?

• Ideally, you should have a planned CPD approach for each of your staff – this is a two way system where you can address areas of CPD that you would like a staff member to attend and staff are also able to advise you of CPD training they would like to do. Ask yourself regularly “where are the gaps?, What does that particular staff member know and do they fully understand it?”  Then you should regularly reflect on the gaps and the impact they have on your setting, the other staff and the children you care for. If the same gaps keep being highlighted then it’s time to address them.
• Ensure everyone gets the same opportunities for their CPD – staff may have preferences as to how they want to develop – one person may prefer face to face or on-line interactive training whereas someone else may prefer to read books or undertake training at their own pace and time. Sometimes it’s the same staff member asking for training but ensure everyone has the same opportunities and is encouraged to do training.
• When recruiting staff try to find out what the applicant’s career development and aspirations are and ensure they are willing to upskill and keep their current skills up to date. With recruitment currently causing challenges, it’s also a key staff benefit for someone to choose working for you if you can demonstrate to them that you will invest in them with CPD. 
• Staff development is also about listening to all staff, hearing their ideas for improvement and balancing any weaknesses with strengths.
• Ask your staff to regularly update you with their CPD – if you are aware they are reading an Early Years publication then ask them about it. It’s not just about the theory learnt at the training and having a certificate to say you attended or what they have learnt from reading a publication – it’s understanding how the theory that was learnt fits in with the children in the setting and how it can be applied to every child.  Ofsted will ask your staff questions and whilst it can be easy to give facts and figures it is important for staff to show they truly understand why they are doing something. A great way to check staffs understanding of what they have learnt is to ask a staff member who has attended training to ‘feed’ back to the rest of the team what they have learnt, perhaps in a staff meeting.  It’s all well and good having a certificate of attendance for a particular training session but what did they learn and gain from that training that can benefit the setting and children.

What is important to remember is that CPD is continuous – it is a cyclical process which doesn’t end as there will always be new things to learn, changes taking place. CPD comes in various forms and it’s not always about sending staff on training as it can be addressed in other forms. You need to invest time and money in staff so that they can be the best they can be for you.

We will always aim to provide training which is high quality, relevant and affordable and if there is a subject or area that you would like to see covered please get in touch and let us know on training@pataglos.org.uk

With everything that has happened over the last 18 months, Britain leaving the EU has slipped down the news feed somewhat. But did you know that an important deadline is looming and one that might affect you if you have staff from EU countries?

The current employment rules around staff from EU (or referred to here as EEA) countries end on 30^th June which is also the deadline for EU citizens who are resident in the UK to apply for settled status.   After 30^th June it will be much more difficult to employ EU citizens who don’t have either pre-settled or settled status as they will need to meet the same criteria as those coming from all other countries. In order to employ them you would need to have a Home Office Sponsor licence. 

If you have any staff who are EU citizens it would be worth reminding them of the deadline for applying for settled status but you don’t have the right to ask to check it until after 30^th June.  If they don’t apply for settled or pre-settled status they could lose their right to live and work in the UK after 30^th June.

There is no mandatory requirement for retrospective checks on EEA nationals who were employed on or before 30^th June 2021. However, you are only protected against penalty if you can provide robust evidence that you carried out an initial right to work check in line with correct guidance at the time of employment. Therefore, we recommend as good practice, and in order to ensure you meet legal obligations, that you audit all your existing staff team (to prevent discrimination) and check their right to work after the 30^th June.

There is a legal obligation on employers to check the right to work in the UK for all new employees. To prevent discrimination you should do this for anyone who you are employing, even if it seems obvious that they are British or because they may be known to you. For those who are British Citizens this is as simple as asking to see their passport or if they don’t have a valid one, their birth/adoption certificate in conjunction with an official document showing their National Insurance number.  For the full checklist of suitable documents see here but please note that we expect this list to be updated after 30^th June: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/774286/Right_to_Work_Checklist.pdf 

You must make a copy of these documents in a format that cannot be altered (e.g. a photocopy) and you must keep this for the duration of their employment and for two years afterwards.  You should note on the document the date that it was checked.  You may already have some of these documents as part of your DBS checking procedure.

If you aren’t able to use actual documents, you can also check an employee’s right to work digitally here: https://www.gov.uk/employee-immigration-employment-status

If you have undertaken these checks and followed the Code of Practice (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/969123/An_employer_s_guide_to_right_to_work_checks.pdf) then you have what is known as a ‘statutory excuse’ if it’s later found that the employee had been working illegally.  This means that you wouldn’t be prosecuted.  If you haven’t done them, or aren’t able to prove that you did, you may be liable for fines of up to £20,000 per employee.

As this legislation requires staff to hand over a lot of personal information they need to be confident that you will deal with it within data protection legislation and store it safely and securely, so it’s very important that your data protection policy and practices are in place and adhered to.

It is expected that the government will issue further guidance closer to 1^st July so keep an eye out for this – we will also flag this via Facebook.

If you’ve started looking into the new EYFS or you’ve been on any of our training over the last few weeks you’ve probably wondered about oral health and the requirement for settings to include and promote it. In this blog we’ll take a short look at what that might look like in settings.

Government guidance says that oral health has been included in the EYFS because:

“Nearly a quarter of 5 year olds in England have tooth decay, with 3 or 4 teeth affected on average. Tooth extraction is one of the most common procedures for children under 6 in hospital. Extraction is also the most common reason for hospital admission for children aged 6 to 10. Children from more deprived backgrounds are more likely to have tooth decay.

Children who have toothache, or need treatment, may have pain or infections. This can have a wider effect and lead to problems eating, sleeping, socialising and learning.”

It is therefore important that the early experiences a child receives in your setting promotes oral health in a positive way. These early experiences can have long term impact and will help children understand the importance of keeping their mouth healthy. Obviously as early years practitioners you are well placed to meet these needs.

Part of your role will involve investigating, along with the children, mouths and teeth and how to treat them well, promoting good cleaning and eating habits and ‘normalising’ dentist visits.  It’s important that children understand that the dentist is someone to trust who takes care of them and their personal health and hygiene.  

It doesn’t mean that you have to have a teeth cleaning programme. Some settings may chose to - although be mindful of current Covid guidance that you should only be dry brushing. It does mean that you should be making and taking opportunities to talk about oral health and to promote all the elements (including tooth brushing) that support it.

Here is some helpful government advice on how you can promote it with additional useful links below - https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/get-help-to-improve-your-practice/oral-health 

We are looking into training to see if there are any local providers who could deliver something to support practitioners - we’ll let you know how we get on! In the meantime you could:

• keep on promoting healthy food choices that support oral health,
• make learning interactive and encourage the children to get hands on cleaning the teeth of your toys,
• have books and activities available around teeth cleaning and dentists, and
• consider how you may improve parents awareness so that what you do in setting is reinforced at home.

Additional information/resources:

https://www.dentalhealth.org/downloads-and-resources

https://www.dentalhealth.org/childrens-teeth

https://www.bristolearlyyears.org.uk/health/public-health/supervised-toothbrushing-in-early-years-settings/

This site has some good infographics that you can share on your social media: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-child-dental-health/health-matters-child-dental-health