Early Years Latest News

Please print and display the following poster in your setting for families to use.

Steps to starting school

The DfE’s Early Years recruitment campaign launched on Friday 2nd February 2024.

The campaign aims to highlight the difference EY professionals make to children and how rewarding working in the sector can be.

The campaign will direct applicants to use the Department for Work and Pensions’ Find a Job platform to search for EY roles in their area. The DfE are asking for your support to ensure as many EY vacancies as possible are listed on Find a Job ahead of the campaign launch. To upload your vacancies go to Find a Job and click on the employer tab at the top of the page.

Please watch these video tutorials to help you create an employer account, and post any current or upcoming roles in your setting. You should use the term ‘early years’ in the title of your job adverts and select ‘Education jobs’ for the job category.

The Find a Job service is free to use and will ensure your vacancies are seen by a large pool of candidates. Please note this will be in addition to the free advertising service. Early Years Jobs we offer on our website.

To read more, please click here.

The Childminder Start-up Grant Scheme is now open for applications using this link. This will be available to all new childminders who have completed their registration on or after 15th March 2023. Individuals who have previously been registered as childminders and wish to re-register into the sector may also apply for the scheme. There must be at least a 12-month gap between the date of their previous registration being cancelled and their new registration being finalised.

As previously announced, we will offer £600 to new childminders registering with Ofsted, and £1200 to new childminders registering with a childminder agency. £1200 grants will be paid in two instalments, with a 6-month limit on claiming the second instalment. Childminders must apply for the grant within two months of registering as a childminder, or within two months of the Scheme launching.

FAQs

Eligibility Criteria

Applicant guidance

Application process

As announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, the government is investing £289 million to support the expansion of wraparound childcare. In October 2023 we published the wraparound childcare handbook for local authorities.

Guidance will be published on GOV.UK for schools and trusts on their role in providing wraparound childcare to children of primary school age shortly. This guidance will also offer a practical guide for setting up wraparound provision on a school site.

You can email wraparound.programme@education.gov.uk with any enquiries about wraparound childcare.

There are 2 statutory EYFS frameworks: 

• EYFS statutory framework for childminders 
• EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers 

Providers are responsible for ensuring they follow the current version of the framework for their provider type.

To read more please click the link Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Measles cases are rising across the country, with over 102,000 children starting primary school in England being at risk of catching the disease. The DfE are asking education settings to share key messages from the NHS about MMR / measles and how to get vaccinated.

The Back to school MMR Guidance from the NHS includes information to share, as well as example social media posts which can be found here: NHS Vaccine Poster and NHS MMR Poster.

Measles is highly infectious and if left unvaccinated nine out of ten children in a classroom/setting can catch the disease if just one child is infectious. Please share these resources with colleagues, parents, and where suitable, community organisations to increase awareness and encourage parents to get their children vaccinated.