EYCC Noticeboard

Early Years and Childcare Update - 09 October 2025

Welcome to this week's Early Years and Childcare update!

This week's update includes information on:

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.

Wraparound Funding Opportunities

Millions in school funding still available.

Wraparound Childcare Grant Funding Opportunity  

As part of the government’s ambition, by September 2026 all parents and carers of primary school-aged children who need it should be able to access Wraparound childcare between 8:00am and 6:00pm during term time.  

Whether your school is planning to launch a new club or expand an existing one, we encourage providers to take advantage of the available funding. This is a valuable opportunity to establish new provision or increase the capacity of current clubs to better meet the needs of local families.  

What can you apply for?  

  • Creation of places: Create both new before school provision and after-school provision - where there is currently no provision.  
  • Extend hours: Extend the hours to meet full wraparound definition (8am to 6pm) - where you already provide wraparound, but it does not meet the 8am to 6pm expectation.  
  • Expand provision: Introduce before school provision or after school provision - where you have no existing provision in place to meet the full wraparound definition or increase the number of places currently on offer.  

Benefits of wraparound care provision  

  • Boost Attendance and Engagement - Children thrive with consistent routines and enriching activities that make school a place they love to be.  
  • Support Working Families - Flexible care options help parents balance work and family life, reducing stress and increasing satisfaction.  
  • Enhance Learning and Wellbeing - From homework clubs to creative arts, sports, and mindfulness — WAC offers holistic development in a safe, inclusive environment.  
  • Strengthen Community Ties - Your school becomes more than a place of learning — it becomes a trusted space for growth, connection, and opportunity.  
  • Makes your school more appealing to families - As more parents return to work, schools that offer flexible childcare options become increasingly attractive.     

Why apply?  

By applying for the Wraparound childcare grant you could receive:  

  • Thousands of pounds in funding to cover initial start-up costs for staffing, purchase of equipment, marketing and day to day premise costs.  
  • Tailored support from your own Development worker to support you through the application process.  
  • Parent survey templates to help ascertain parental demand  
  • Step by step guidance to support with hosting a PVI to run your Wraparound childcare provision  

Register to attend the Wraparound Drop-In session on the 22nd October 2025 at 10:30 - 11:50am to hear more about the funding opportunities and ask any question - https://forms.office.com/e/9vrZLr7Lkm?origin=lprLink

How do you get involved?  

We’re inviting you to be part of this exciting journey. If you recognise that this is an opportunity not to be missed, complete the quick expression of interest form to determine whether your application is likely to be successful and walk you through the process.  

Still have questions? Contact us at WAC@birmingham.gov.uk   

Let’s work together to make school a place where every child has the chance to shine — before, during, and after the school day.  

Cyber Hygiene for Early Years: Protect Your Setting from Digital Risk 

For the attention of Early Years Providers only.

You are invited to attend a free online session: Learn how to keep your early years setting safe from online dangers at our Cyber Hygiene event - it's all about protecting your little ones 

Book here: Cyber Hygiene for Early years: Protect your setting from digital risk Tickets, Thu 16 Oct 2025 at 19:00 | Eventbrite 

Would you leave your nursery keys under the doormat? In this 90-minute live session, Lucy Lewin shows early years leaders how to close their digital doors and strengthen cyber hygiene. Learn simple, low-cost ways to protect your data, staff, and families - from safer photo sharing to secure offboarding. You’ll leave with practical tools, including a Cyber Hygiene Checklist, 30-Day Action Plan, and Offboarding Template, to embed digital safeguarding in everyday practice. 

90-minute session on Cyber Hygiene for Early Years: Protect your setting from digital risk, and we’ve got expert guests from Active8 joining for the Q&A. 

Why now: 

  • Practical, safeguarding-first guidance (not techy). 
  • Off boarding checklist, 30-day action plan, staff poster. 
  • Focus on passwords, photos, personal devices, and insider risk. 

Supervised Toothbrushing (STB) Programme

We greatly appreciate your ongoing commitment to supporting children’s development and wellbeing. With this in mind, we are pleased to share an update on an important public health initiative designed to promote children’s oral health and overall development — the Supervised Toothbrushing (STB) Programme. 

About the Supervised Toothbrushing Programme: 

The STB Programme is a national initiative led by the Department of Health and Social Care in partnership with the Department for Education. It aims to address the high prevalence of tooth decay among young children, particularly in areas where oral health outcomes are poorest. 

The programme targets children aged 3–5 years and involves supervised daily toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste in early years settings and schools. This activity complements, rather than replaces, toothbrushing at home. Participating children will also receive a toothbrush and toothpaste to take home each term. Evidence shows that this simple, consistent routine can significantly reduce tooth decay. 

Why This Matters: 

Oral health remains a significant concern for young children in Birmingham, especially in our most disadvantaged communities. Currently, over 25% of five-year-olds in the city have experienced tooth decay. This can lead to pain, disrupted sleep, reduced self-esteem, and missed time from school or nursery — as well as time off work for parents. 

By participating in the STB Programme, your setting will play a vital role in reducing health inequalities and improving long-term health outcomes for children. 

Programme Rollout in Birmingham: 

Birmingham City Council has secured funding to implement the STB Programme across targeted early years settings and Reception classes in primary schools. The first deliveries of toothbrush packs are expected in September 2025, with the programme launching in selected settings during the autumn term. The rollout will be phased over several years. 

We are currently finalising delivery plans to ensure the programme is introduced in a way that is practical, sustainable, and supportive for all involved. 

How the Programme Will Work: 

  • The activity supports the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requirements, particularly in promoting health and self-care. 
  • Targeted settings will be contacted directly by the Public Health team or a designated representative. 
  • Face-to-face training and support will be provided to ensure staff feel confident in delivering the programme. 
  • All necessary resources and materials will be supplied. 
  • Daily brushing will be supervised by a member of staff — this does not need to be a teacher. 
  • Ongoing support will be available, including a dedicated point of contact for any queries. 
  • We will follow up after implementation to provide additional guidance and address any challenges. 

See the Programme in Action:

To get a sense of what supervised toothbrushing looks like in practice, please watch this short video: Brilliant Brushers 

Contact: 

We understand that introducing new routines can be challenging, especially during busy periods. Our aim is to make this process as smooth and supportive as possible — you will not be doing this alone. 

If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact the Birmingham City Council Health Protection Team at: hpteam@birmingham.gov.uk 

Thank you for your continued dedication to helping children grow, thrive, and stay healthy. 

Early Education Entitlement

Sector Consultation: Review of Eary Years Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funding (EY SENIF)

Thank you to all those who joined us for the sector consultation sessions to review early years special educational funding. In Birmingham this is known as ISEY. 

It was particularly good that some from primary schools with nursery classes came along as, from December, applications will be welcomed from these providers of early education. 

We had such an encouraging number, of those who attended the sessions, volunteer to participate in working groups to review the ISEY application form and associated scoring process. You will already have received an invitation and we look forward to working with you going forward. 

Once the form has been agreed, it will be shared widely so that all eligible providers use this for December applications. We will also offer a specific session for primary schools with nursery classes that are new to the process. 

Please find the PowerPoint slides that were presented at the sessions over the past fortnight here:

WellComm Data Collection and Training 

Autumn Term WellComm Data Collection on EEE Portal 

From this term all PVI settings will add the WellComm screening results for each child on the EEE portal alongside headcount submission.  

To assist you in planning your WellComm screenings for the Autumn Term the EEE portal will open for headcount on Thursday 2nd October and close on Thursday 9th October. If you require any support with this, please contact eyduty@birmingham.gov.uk  

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. If you are not yet using WellComm to screen your children’s speech and language, please attend one of our online training sessions to receive your free WellComm 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 your preferred date to book your place.

Schools-based Nursery Programme – Phase 2 

For the attention of Schools, Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS), and Early Years Providers.

You may have already seen the 5th September 2025 announcement from DfE regards the roll out of Phase 2 of the Schools Based Nursery Capital Programme. 

Key Headlines are: 

  • Up to £150,000 Capital Funding is available to support the expansion or creation of onsite nursery provision. 
  • This phase supports projects ready to offer new childcare places in 2026/27. 
  • Funding is available to support childcare managed by School governing bodies on primary school sites, Maintained Nursery Schools, PVI providers and Childminders delivering nursery provision on a school site.
  • The online application process opens on the 22nd September 2025 and closes on the 11th December 2025. 
  • Schools have to apply to DfE direct. 
  • Local authorities will have a key role to play in assessing the suitability of proposed projects in line with their sufficiency duty. 
  • Schools will need to submit an LA Approval Form signed by the LA to support their application.  

 Please follow the following links for more information: 

If you want to discuss your proposal, share information and seek LA approval please contact: Kevin Caulfield, Childcare Sufficiency and Early Education Entitlement Strategy Manager. 

Email: Kevin.caulfield@birmingham.gov.uk

Early Talk Boost Training Sessions - New Dates Added for Autumn Term 2025

For the attention of EEE, Schools, Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS) and Early Years Providers.

Early Talk Boost is a targeted intervention aimed at 3–4-year-old children who need help with talking and understanding words, helping to boost their language skills to narrow the gap between them and their peers. The programme aims to accelerate children’s progress in language and communication by an average of 6 months, after a nine-week intervention. 

Children selected to take part in the intervention will attend three sessions per week during circle/story time, each lasting 15-20 minutes delivered by an early year’s practitioner. The sessions include activities that cover the foundation skills in speech, language, and communication that children need for learning and understanding new words, as well as having conversations. The training is delivered face to face and each setting will receive 2 boxes of Early talk Boost resources.

New Dates Added for Autumn Term 2025:

09.30 – 15.00 – Face to Face training at venues listed below:

  • Friday 17th October 2025, Selly Oak Family Hub (Chinnbrook Children’s Centre), 213 Trittiford Rd, Birmingham, B13 0ET
  • Monday 20th October 2025, Edgbaston Family Hub (Doddington Children’s Centre), 28 Doddington Grove, Birmingham, B32 4EL
  • Tuesday 4th November 2025, Perry Barr Family Hub (Rookery Children's Centre), 60 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Birmingham, B21 9QA
  • Monday 10th November 2025, Erdington Family Hub (Lakeside Children’s Centre), 22 Lakes Rd, Birmingham, B23 7UH
  • Monday 17th November 2025, Erdington Family Hub (Lakeside Children’s Centre), 22 Lakes Rd, Birmingham, B23 7UH
  • Tuesday 2nd December 2025, Perry Barr Family Hub (Rookery Children's Centre), 60 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Birmingham, B21 9QA
  • Monday 8th December 2025, Edgbaston Family Hub (Doddington Children’s Centre), 28 Doddington Grove, Birmingham, B32 4EL

Please note: There is a limit of 20 places per venue.

Settings to fill out a Microsoft form and choose their preferred date via this link: Expression of Interest for Early Talk Boost Training.

This training is suitable for Birmingham EEE Funding Registered Day Nurseries, Nursery Schools and School Nursery Classes.

This entry was posted by Jessica Wykes on 08/10/2025.

Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

  • Share on google plus
  • Share on linked in