EY News 2 – September 24
September 12, 2024
FAO: Early Years and Childcare Leads
Early Years Team visits to settings
Every year at this time we share the Early Years and Childcare Adviser focus for our visits. The letters for all early years and childcare providers are now here…
We are adding guidance to support you. Let your attached adviser know if you would like an early visit. We will contact you over the year as we have in previous years. Area SENCos are also offering support to SENCos in group settings.
We are due to share the next Leaders and Managers Briefing on 18th September…. This will be a recorded briefing to highlight some key information.
FREE offer from Speech and Language Uk.
There are a range of free courses for settings. This includes the following for people who work with families It will give ideas on how to support families in the home with speech, language and communication, including supporting typical development (workshop 1), identifying needs (workshop 2) and social communication skills (workshop 3). These are all at quite an introductory level but are packed with useful info!
https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/educators-and-professionals/training-courses/eysend-partnership/ [the course detailed above]
S&L UK are also about to start delivering a much more in-depth training package for practitioners in Early Years settings specifically about supporting children with social communication differences:
More details about all of the training, including the booking link is here: Free training – EYSEND partnership – Speech and Language UK
S&L Uk have also updated their child’s progress checker to help parents to support their child’s skills. It provides FREE how-to videos, resources and guidance developed by S&L UK’s team of Speech and Language Advisors.
Solihull Early Years Team also provide Makaton Training which you may want to attend
Parent Carer Surveys 2024- on behalf of Dingley’s Promise
Dingley’s Promise has asked us to distribute these to parents and carers of children who attend a setting and those who don’t. The deadline for completions is 31st October 2024…
Non settings survey – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K5K7NP7
Settings survey – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YTFMQ8B
Dingley’s Promise uses this information to inform practice and as part of their conversation with DfE to inform their early years SEND picture.
Free physical activity early years training in October
Youth Sport Trust’s Healthy Movers physical activity course is on Wednesday 16 October at Elmwood Family Hub, Elmwood Place, B36 0UG, 9.30am to 3pm.
The course is free to Solihull early year’s providers and there is an online booking form. You can find out more from the Youth Sport Trust.
If you have any questions or want more information, please contact
Emma Sadula emma.sadula@solihull.gov.uk.
Health protection in children and young people settings, including education
A practical guide for staff on managing cases of infectious diseases in children and young people settings, including education has been updated with mpox information…link in title.
Hong Kong mid-autumn festival starts next month
The mid-autumn festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a harvest festival celebrated in Hong Kong. It is held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar. You may find the attached information useful.
National Association for Special Education Needs- free early years training
Sign up for free to access this NASEN SEND training.
FREE Early Years training now available! | Nasen https://nasen.org.uk/news/free-early-years-training-now-available
Baby week is in November 2024
This is a chance for you to check everyone has the training they need to support babies in your care. 14th-20th November marks Baby week and you may want to promote ICON, ensure staff have watched the safer sleep guidance from Lullaby Trust, book to attend the Leading a Room training, or to make you smile ……watch the videos here – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bt7v0j
You might want to attend a SSCP training if you are near the Family Hubs at Elmwood or Hatchford Brook – training.solihulllscp.co.uk/Course/CourseDescriptive.aspx?id=187
I recently did some maths to work out how much money people had saved by engaging with the Dingley’s Promise training. This was just for one module on the Child’s Voice, and I reported it in the Solihull SEND Newsletter…..
122 people have completed the Dingley’s Promise Voice of the Child training, 22 are part way through and 409 have just started. This training costs £50 per person through usual routes. This would save providers in the local authority £27,650 if all 553 providers complete this module alone. We will have access to 10 modules which, if we make the most of this free access, will be a great investment in our workforce.
If you are part of those numbers who are yet to finish the module it will help you gain knowledge and application of this understanding….
· the importance of listening to the voice of every child with SEND, no matter which method they use to communicate.
- various methods of communication and how to create a communication rich environment.
- how behaviour is always a form of communication and ways of interpreting this correctly.
- the importance of ‘Play’ and how this supports and encourages communication.
- the influence of effective positive relationships with children and families and how these aid when interpreting the voice of the child.
- international perspectives and how to support good listening.
https://www.solihull.gov.uk/children-and-family-support/localoffer/SEND-Newsletter – sign up to the SEND newsletter
I am off to Touchwood to see if I can buy a pastry to join in the celebration of the Moon Festival 🙂