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1 Feb 06Poole Early Years Newsletter - January 2006
Poole Early Years Newsletter Winter 2005
For all your local childcare, and childcare related services.
New Lead Officer for Early Years
Funding for Nursery Education
New Early Years Support Booklets
Childcare Calendar 2006
Every Child Really Does Matter
Youth Matters
Learning to Love Food
Free Books for Babies and Toddlers
Help is at hand
Premises Available
Childminding Chat
What's On
Update from the Children's Information Service
Picnic Time For Tots and Teddies
Training and Recruitment
New Childcare NVQ
Advertising a new job
Training Directory
Study for a qualification
Taster Sessions
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New Lead Officer for Early Years
My role is to lead the Early Years and Childcare team, supporting them in their various roles, as they in turn support the childcare settings in Poole, but also to look ahead to the future, and to develop strategy for the future of the sector.
I have moved over to Poole from the Dorset Sure Start team, where I have been working on strategic developments, including children’s centres, extended schools, information provision and childcare development.
All of this feels very distant from my early involvement in childcare when as a parent I became a member of a committee developing a new community nursery, long before the days of start-up grants or funding for nursery education.
This is an exciting but challenging time to be working in the early years and childcare field. Yet again we all face a period of change as we implement the DfES 10 year Childcare Strategy - the early education entitlement will be extended; children’s centres and extended schools will be developed; more childcare places will become available before and after school; the issue of sustainability will need to be addressed.
All of these changes will take place in the context of wider changes to children’s services. Change is never easy and there is hard work ahead, but it is good to be part of new developments which can meet the needs of children and families.
The last month has been just the beginning of a new journey for me, learning about Poole, meeting colleagues, visiting settings. As we work together for the future of Poole’s children, I hope I will be able to meet with many of you to learn about the services you are providing and the changes you would like to see.
Please do feel that you can contact me at the EarlyYears Team to share your knowledge and ideas. I look forward to working with you all.
Carol Jarvis
Funding for Nursery Education
From April 2006 the Borough of Poole will be extending the Nursery Education Funding to 38 weeks per year. Currently children between the ages of 3 to 5 years old are entitled to
subsidised nursery education funding for up to a maximum of 5 sessions a week of 2.5 hours in duration (a total of 12.5 hours per week) for a minimum of 33 weeks per year.
Over the next 10 years the Government will be developing the opportunity for nursery education funding through its 10 year strategy plan and has identified the following targets:
- from 2007 the entitlement to be increased to 15 hours a week
- from 2010 the weekly entitlement to be further increased to 20 hours
In June 2005 the DfES began a large consultation on the new guidance guidelines for Nursery Education Funding which would come into effect from April 2006. After reviewing the document and consulting with a cross section of providers the Borough of Poole made a response on behalf of providers in September 2005.
At the time of going to press, the new guidance guidelines are expected to be available shortly. For any queries on the nursery education funding please contact either Claire Lawrence or Dawn Butt at the Children’s Information Service on 01202 261999.
\nNew Early Years Support Booklets
The Early Support Programme has released two new booklets for parents.
Information for parents - Down Syndrome has been developed with the help of families who have a child with Down Syndrome. It tells parents in a similar position how they can help their child, and identifies the support and services available.
Information for parents - speech and language difficulties is for parents who suspect that their child is struggling to learn or talk, or have recenly been told that their child will have difficulties with communication. It gives information that will be useful to families in the early stages of recognising that there is a problem and helps them find a way forward. You can download both booklets – and others featuring different conditions – from the Dfes 
or obtain hard copies from DfES Publications on 0845 60 222 60.
\nChildcare Calendar 2006
Look out for the Poole Early Years Calendar - a must for all your 2006 planning. Packed full with lots of important funding and training dates, as well as a host of national celebrations. Our thanks go to all the children who sent their wonderful entries to Poole’s National Sure Start drawing competition, and made this calendar possible. These will be sent to you in the next couple of weeks, with our compliments and best wishes for a happy 2006!
Every Child Really Does Matter
A series of conferences designed to support early years settings in thinking through and implementing policies and practice on equalities and inclusion are being run by the National Children’s Bureau early next year. These conferences entitled ‘Participation and Belonging: ensuring equality for every child’ will provide an excellent opportunity for those working in the early years sector to reflect on current practices and to influence change. The cost is £79 + VAT per delegate, so book your place now by either emailing: conferences@ncb.org.uk or telephoning 020 7843 6441.
- 23 February 2006 Central Hall, Westminster, London
- 9 March 2006 Thistle Hotel, Exeter
- 21 March 2006 East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham
\nYouth Matters
In July 2005 the Government released a Green paper on young people called ‘Youth Matters’ with a consultation period running until the 4th November. Poole Youth Service co-ordinated the Borough’s consultation process and consulted with young people, parents and service units within the Borough.
During the consultation period we have reached over 1000 young people through a questionnaire and workshops, and over 100 parents have completed a questionnaire.
The proposals in the Green paper ‘Youth Matters’ aim to address 4 key challenges
- How to engage more young people in positive activities & empower them to shape the services they receive
- How to encourage more young people to volunteer & become involved in their communities
- How to provide better information & advice to young people to help them make informed choices about their lives
- How to provide better & more personalised support for each young person who has serious problems or gets into trouble.
The Government propose several ways for Local Authorities to address these challenges, they include:
- A set of National Standards that the Local Authority is required to offer all young people. It is suggested the local offer contains access to positive activities.
- A local discount card used for discounts, proof of age and paying for positive activities. The card can be topped up by a family member, young people, organisations
- Easier access to info, advice & guidance to help young people make life choices
- Personal health MOT’s for 12-13 year olds
- Encouraging young people to get involved in their local community - i.e. volunteering!
The report that went to Government is available from the youth office. However, a more detailed report outlining next steps and suggestions is being collated.
\nPoole Childcare Providers
Three nursery schools in Poole have been involved with a trial initiative to provide freshly cooked healthy meals to pre-school children. Inspired by Jamie Oliver’s recent drive to change the
eating habits of children in schools, Celia Manville, Poole’s Early Years Quality Assurance Officer and Tina Hayter, Poole’s Senior Catering Officer have joined forces to provide hot meals to pre-school children and offer the opportunity for children and nursery staff to eat together in family sized groups.
Celia Manville said: “We are hoping to provide these meals for more preschools and day nurseries throughout Poole and hope that parents and providers will enthusiastically support this initiative. The meals offer excellent value and introduce the children to a wide range of textures and flavours through varied and nutritious menus.”
This trial has been so successful that a new kitchen called ‘The Children’s Kitchen’ has just been refurbished to cope with the increased demand to provide meals to early years settings and special needs schools.
The kitchen, which aims to be a nut free and salt free zone, is using no processed foods to provide well balanced meals in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Caroline Walker Trust for children under 5 years of age.
Free Books for Babies and Toddlers
Did you know that babies and toddlers can receive free books this year? From September 2005 Poole Bookstart, part of the national books-for-babies programme, will be expanding to include ore young children in the scheme helping to develop reading skills at a younger age. Bookstart believe that babies who have been introduced to books benefit in lots of ways educationally, socially, culturally and emotionally.
At 8 months old a Bookstart Bag will be distributed from health visitors and again at the 2 year check they will be distributing a Bookstart Satchel. At 3 years old children will receive a Bookstart Treasure Chest directly from the childcare setting the child attends. Parents will need to bring their child’s health record book with them when they are collecting their Bookstart packs.
For children who do not attend a nursery education setting they will need to contact Julie Borthwich, Poole Bookstart Co-ordinator on 01202 261999 to arrange collection of the Bookstart Treasure Chest.
There is support available for settings with sustainability problems from our Early Years & Childcare Development Business Advisers and the Advice & Support Officer. In some cases we may also be able to offer financial help. For more information please contact Pat van Schagen, Childcare Advice & Support Officer on 01202 261940.
Bearwood Primary School have premises available on their school site for an Out of School and Holiday Club. The school are looking for a provider with experience in offering high quality care to independently set up and run this facility. For further information please contact Pat van Schagen, Childcare Advice & Support Officer on 01202 261940.
Items for Sale
Pre-school equipment available – for more information please contact Peter Horner on 01202 92806. Table top equipment for sale, puzzles books etc. plus books on play and craft ideas, contact number is 07779128914.
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Networking Childminder’s Double Success
Well done to Lesley Humphrey, the first of The Borough of Poole Accredited Childminders, who provides Nursery Education, to undergo the new integrated Ofsted inspection for both Care and Early Years Education. Only five childminders in the whole of Poole offer Nursery Education and regularly access Foundation Stage curriculum training from Borough of Poole Foundation Stage Advisory Teachers. The inspector was very thorough, spending 7 hours with Lesley observing and collecting information about her practice as well as additional time spent examining her paperwork. Lesley achieved a well deserved ‘good’ in all categories, a reflection of the standard provided by our Accredited Childminders. Well done Lesley - you’re a star!
Childminders make chatter matter
For National Childminding Week 2005 childminders across the country celebrated National Childminding Week 2005 with the theme “Childminders Make Chatter Matter.” Oakdale Childminding Group, pictured, had lots of fun with their children making sock puppets. They
enjoyed a picnic, then ended the day with a sing-a-long using their new puppets.
Registered Childminders receive ‘outstanding’
Two Poole childminders have just received an Outstanding Practice from their
Ofsted care inspection. Angela Lister and Kelly Evans ‘Daisy Chains’ are the first
in Poole to receive this grading and have worked hard to achieve their success
since registering in June 2004. The mother and daughter partnership said: “We
are very proud of our outstanding report which has been achieved through hard
work and dedication. We very much enjoy looking after children and find it a
challenging and rewarding experience.”
And News Just In …
Jan Cooke has also received an Outstanding Practice from her Ofsted inspection.
Jan has been a registered childminder in Broadstone for 12 years and is delighted
to receive this grade for care. Congratulations to you all!
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Poole Information Event – 11th February
- Are you confused where to access local services?
- Do you know what help lines or websites are available?
- Are you aware of the support services for families?
Then all these questions and more can be answered at an Information Event being
held at the Lighthouse, Poole on Saturday 11th February from 10am to 2pm. A wide
range of services and support agencies for Poole, Bournemouth and Dorset will be
available to assist and guide you in getting the most from your local area. The event
is free and open to everyone - parents, carers, information workers, professionals,
students. There will be opportunities to find out about careers, including working in
childcare. So put the date in you diary and come and meet a whole host of helpful
people and let your local area work for you. If you would also like to attend this
event as an exhibitor or would like to arrange some children’s activities please
contact Poole CIS on 01202 261999.
A quick update from the Children's Information Service...
- Over the next few week the CIS will be updating all childcare staff profiles. The updated information will be sent round to all staff for checking in due course so please help us to help you.
- CIS staff are frequently attending Parent & Toddler Groups and Under 1’s clinics to assist parents with childcare information queries. If you would like a member of the CIS Team to attend your group please telephone the CIS on 01202 261999.
- Look out in January for the Annual Childcare Census and Audit. Please remember to complete your forms by the return date in order for us the claim the appropriate funding for vital local services.
- Please do remember to contact us with any changes to the information about your setting, so that we can keep parents correctly informed.
\nPicnic Time for Tots and Teddies
In celebration of National Bookstart Day, Poole Bookstart hosted a free Teddy Bear’s Picnic at Poole Central Library on 7th October. Toddlers and teddies joined in the fun with songs, stories and of course a wonderful picnic. The event was made even more special by the arrival of a giant Teddy Bear who truly delighted all the children present and made it an unforgettable day. Poole
Bookstart Co-ordinator, Julie Borthwick said “it was a fantastic event and an excellent way to introduce young children to the world of books.
To see so many children captured by the stories and participating with their teddies showed just how important it was to host such events.” For those of you who where unable to attend this vent Poole parents and carers can regularly participate in free story times sessions for babies and toddlers. All 10 libraries in Poole now host a monthly ‘Baby Bounce and Rhyme’ ession for the 0-2 year olds with nursery rhymes, action songs, bouncing and clapping.
‘Toddler Time’ for the over 2’s is held once a month at Canford Heath Library and twice a month at Rossmore Library and introduces toddlers to story time, songs and craft making. Full details of where and when these are held can be obtained from Poole Children’s Information Service on 01202 261999.
\nToys for All
The aims of the toy libraries are to give children positive opportunities for play and the opportunity to borrow toys for a couple of weeks or more. The toys can be played with at the toy library sessions but more importantly they can be taken home enabling children to have a much wider choice of play experiences. The toy libraries are suitable for all, including children with special needs, from birth to 16 years. Some are open during the school holidays and welcome older siblings during these times.
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Angel’s Network
The Borough’s additional support workers (Sue’s Angels!) met on Thursday 3 November at the Child Development Centre Poole for their 4th Network evening. Occupational Therapist, Janet King, gave a presentation on equipment and ideas to adapt activities for our children in settings who have physical disabilities. Everyone found it really useful and an ideal opportunity to ask questions, share ideas and generally support each other.
Sue Keenan said ‘I was delighted that 16 attended the evening and everyone really enjoyed it - along with the cakes and goodies that we always share at our networks!!! A big thankyou to each one of your for coming’.
Network 5 is being planned for January which on this occasion will be a social evening (bring a plate/buffet style!). The aim is to plan training needs and pool ideas for the coming years Network sessions. Invites will be sent out in December so pencil the date in your busy diaries! Remember the more who attend, the more support we can offer you! Well
done everyone for a fantastic year’s support to our children.
Recruitment and Training \n
New Childcare NVQ kicks off!
The new NVQ in Children’s Care, Learning and Development (CCLD) has now replaced the Early Years Care and Education quailification.Our local Training providers are all geared up for the
change. Weymouth College started its first CCLD course in November with Poole and Bournemouth students and many of the other colleges will be starting the new course in
January 2006.
The new qualification has been devised to reflect a host of developments in the childcare industry including, Birth to Three Matters, the Foundation Stage Curriculum and the Common Core, along with extended schools and children’s centres.
One of the key changes in the new course is the extended age range. The age span has gone up from 0 to 8 years to 0 to 16 years, to reflect what’s happening in the industry with many childcare workers working across a wider age group. Hence, the ‘Early Years’ title has been dropped.
Sue Parr, development manager at Edexcel believes the extended age range offers greater flexibility and gives childcare workers the ability to plan and expand their careers:“ It is important to attract m
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