This week's update includes information on:

• Nominate a Provider Portal User
• Food Standards Agency Warning About Ice Slush Drinks Containing Glycerol 
• Early Years Employment Reference Template 
• Early Education Entitlement
  • Introduction to WellComm Training 
  • WellComm Data Collection

Please feel free to share this update with anyone you think would benefit from accessing this content. 

If you have any questions or feedback, please contact familyinformation@birmingham.gov.uk

Nominate a Provider Portal User

As you may already be aware, the Early Years and Childcare Team has launched a new Information Portal for providers called the Nexus Provider Portal. 

Many providers have already nominated a Nexus Provider Portal user. If you haven’t already done so, please do this today using our online form. You can have accounts for up to four people within your organisation. 

The introduction of this portal will enable us to:

• strengthen the information that we collect from you to support our sufficiency data
• improve the information that we can provide to parents and third parties when they are looking for childcare options
• contact you more efficiently.  

Please note: Completing this form does not immediately create your account. After we verify the nominated user form, we will send you a link to create your Provider Portal account.

If you have any queries about the Nexus Provider Portal, please contact FamilyInformation@birmingham.gov.uk.

Food Standards Agency Warning About Ice Slush Drinks Containing Glycerol 

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has asked the Department for Education to draw attention to a warning it issued earlier this summer about the dangers of ice slush drinks (or ‘slushies’) containing glycerol. The FSA advises that children under the age of 7 should not drink ice slush drinks containing glycerol at all, and that children aged 7-10 should drink no more than one 350ml slush drink with glycerol a day – that is about the size of a fizzy drink can. This advice also applies to ready-to-drink slush ice drinks with glycerol in pouches, and home kits containing glycerol slush concentrates. Parents or carers should check with the vendor if their drinks contain glycerol. Please refer to this link for further information. 

A poster is also available at Approved additives and E numbers | Food Standards Agency

Early Years Employment Reference Template 

The DfE have published a template to help early years providers give references for current and former employees. It includes questions about the person’s role, safeguarding history, and suitability to work with children. 

Early years employment reference template - GOV.UK 

Early Education Entitlement

Introduction to WellComm Training 

WellComm is the approved screening tool in Birmingham, and it supports a consistent universal approach to assessing and supporting children’s speech, language and communication needs. From the autumn term it will be mandatory for PVI settings to add your WellComm screening results for each child on the EEE portal alongside headcount submission.  

If you are not yet using WellComm to screen your children’s speech and language, please attend one of our online training sessions. Birmingham City Council will fully fund one WellComm Toolkit for all schools, nurseries, pre-schools, and childminders registered to offer Early Education Entitlement (EEE) places. Early Years settings need to attend an ‘Introduction to WellComm’ workshop. During the workshop, you will be provided with instructions on how to receive your Toolkit. Settings that have received a WellComm screening tool can continue to send staff that are new or require a refresher of how to use WellComm onto the training. 

We have training sessions available until the end of the year. Please click the link next to your preferred date to book your place. 

• Tuesday 23rd September 2025: 1pm – 3.30pm https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/6686f6d4-41ba-4ff2-a817-df550de9cd77@699ace67-d2e4-4bcd-b303-d2bbe2b9bbf1 
• Wednesday 22nd October 2025: 6pm – 8.30pm https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/de602714-86ce-4e8c-bc29-bc7c5ec81207@699ace67-d2e4-4bcd-b303-d2bbe2b9bbf1 
• Friday 14th November 2025: 10am – 12.30pm https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/c3dc4828-3d0e-4f37-ac25-8da8feb96cdf@699ace67-d2e4-4bcd-b303-d2bbe2b9bbf1 
• Thursday 4th December 2025: 9.30am – 12pm https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/936487a7-89ed-4a19-b15e-c567f14064ad@699ace67-d2e4-4bcd-b303-d2bbe2b9bbf1 

WellComm Data Collection

The WellComm Data Spreadsheet is intended to assist in collating your WellComm screening results. The spreadsheet includes instructions for its use, a page for entering all of your children's screening results, and an automated analysis page. This analysis page offers a comprehensive summary of the data required for completing the WellComm Data Collection form. Using the spreadsheet is optional, as you may have already developed your own, and it is for your use only and not to be returned to us. We ask that you share your screening data through the online data collection form.

Thank you to the day nurseries, childminders and preschool playgroups that have shared their WellComm screenings on their EEE portal headcount submission in May. You will not be required to fill out the online WellComm data collection form as we already have your screening data.

If you are a school, maintained nursery school or PVI setting that has not shared your screening results on the EEE portal please complete the summer term WellComm data collection form.

The deadline for the form to be submitted is Sunday 31st August 2025.

To complete the survey, please click here.