EYCC Noticeboard

Early Years and Childcare Update - 08 January 2026

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

Exciting Changes to Our Communications

Birmingham City Council’s Early Years and Childcare Service is refreshing the way we communicate with you. Early this new year, you’ll notice a new look and feel across our emails– designed to make information clearer and more engaging.

You will also begin receiving communications from a new email address. Please be assured that these messages are still from us, and part of our commitment to improving how we keep you informed.

Keep an eye out for these changes and thank you for continuing to work with us to support children and families across Birmingham.

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
  • 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.

Safer Sleeping for Babies 

Birmingham and Solihull CDRT would like to remind all practitioners of the importance of safe-sleep advice. It is important that safe sleep advice is also given to father’s and the wider family members if you see them, it is important that this advice is shared with anyone who will care for the baby. 

Please find below the link to the Lullaby Trust website which contains valuable resources and information to share with families:

Safer sleep information | The Lullaby Trust 

Please also find a link to support with keeping airways clear in babies:

Airways easy read card | The Lullaby Trust 

CDRT - Safe Sleep Newsletter:

Child death review team (CDRT) - Safe Sleep Newsletter | Birmingham City Council

Inclusion: Raising Awareness across all childcare settings in Birmingham (Free In person Workshop) 

Diverse Beginnings: Enhancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Childcare Settings is our free in-person workshop for all Birmingham providers of Early Years and Childcare. 

This workshop is suitable for all practitioners, managers, provision owners and directors, but spaces are limited.   

We are inviting early years and childcare providers across Birmingham to join us for a powerful in-person workshop designed to support and strengthen inclusive practice in your setting. We’ve listened to the sector and moved this workshop offer away from online formats to create a more impactful, collaborative learning space. 

Why Attend? 

This session is more than just a workshop – it’s a space for real connection, reflection and action.  Developed in response to sector feedback, Diverse Beginnings offers a rare opportunity to come together in person to explore how Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) can be meaningfully embedded across all aspects of early years and childcare provision. 

Together we’ll: 

  • Raise awareness of EDI within the context of early years practice 
  • Explore how EDI principles can be integrated into recruitment, routines, leadership and beyond 
  • Share experiences and reflect with peers in a supportive, face-to-face environment 
  • Feel empowered to champion inclusive and equitable approaches in your own setting 

Why Now? 

The new Ofsted Early Years Toolkit places a strong emphasis on inclusion. From November 2025, Ofsted will be considering: 

“The commitment of leaders and those responsible for governance to provide high standards of education and care to improve the lives of all children, especially those receiving statutory support, including disadvantaged children, those with SEND, those who are known (or previously known) to children’s social care, and those who may face barriers to their learning and/or well-being” 

This workshop will help you strengthen your inclusive practice, with confidence and enhanced clarity. 

Please note spaces are limited. 

This is a free workshop, but places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.   

Don’t miss out – book your place today and be part of the change. For more information about the venues and to access our booking links, please follow the links below: 

Other inclusion subject-based training and resources available to you for free include: 

Need support? Talk to us: 

If you need advice, guidance or support on any Early Years or Childcare topics, the Birmingham Early Years and Childcare Service is here to help. 

You can speak directly with an experienced Early Years Consultant who can offer support and expert insight. Contact us via our Early Years Duty Line on 0121 675 4996 or email us eyduty@birmingham.gov.uk Monday – Friday between 9am & 5pm except Bank Holidays. 

Two New Free Courses: Strengthen Inclusion with Dingley’s Promise 

Dingley’s Promise are thrilled to launch two brand new, expert-led training courses, fully funded by Comic Relief. 

  1. An Inclusive Approach to Curriculum & Assessment 

This course is designed to help practitioners build the confidence and knowledge to ensure their curriculum is underpinned by inclusive practice. You will learn to make necessary adaptations so your curriculum is accessible for all children and understand how to use effective assessment tools to identify needs early and accelerate learning. 

Inclusive curriculum assessment | Birmingham City Council

  1. Supporting Communication Development for Early Years Children with SEND 

Designed to respond to the growing number of children with early communication challenges, this course explores the stages of development and the barriers children with SEND can face. You will gain the confidence to identify needs and act quickly to support every child's communication journey. 

Developing communication in early years | Birmingham City Council

See the attached leaflets for further course information. 

Sign up to access the new courses here: 

https://forms.office.com/e/V3zvR1cPKr 

Other free courses available from Dingley’s Promise includes: 

  • An introduction to Early Years Inclusive Practice 
  • Early Years SEND Transitions  
  • Managing Behaviours that Challenge   
  • Having Difficult Conversations with Families 
  • Voice of the Child   
  • Leadership and Management for Inclusion 
  • Intersections within Early Years Practice 

You can access these other courses here - Comic Relief Early Years Inclusion Programme - Dingley's Promise but remember, free access to all of these 9 courses is only available for a limited time, so it's a good idea to prioritise completing them while you can!  

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  

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.  

Early Education Entitlements 

Headcount Information

Headcount day is Thursday the 15th of January 2026 and this is when the EEE Portal will open for you to submit your headcount claims.  All funded children must have started with you on or before headcount date, but you will have until the 22nd of January to submit your claim.   

Spring term is 12 weeks. 

To make sure that you are able to submit your claim as smoothly as possible please make sure you have done the following before headcount opens: 

  • The appropriate contact has portal access  
  • All children’s details are accurate and ready to enter onto the EEE Portal 
  • All overrides are requested the day before portal opens

Please also ensure: 

  • All codes for disadvantaged 2-year-olds and working codes have been checked and are eligible before allowing children to start
  • Existing children’s codes have been reconfirmed before the start of term 

If you need to contact us for any support please email earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk and remember to include your name, your setting name and your setting ID.  

Please ensure that all eligibility override requests are submitted no later than Wednesday 14th January.  

Thank you for your continued cooperation.  

NHS numbers Spring 2026

You will note that the NHS number is now required for headcount claims. You will need to add each child’s NHS number onto the EEE portal when you enter your headcount claim.  

Please ensure the following:  

  • You include a valid and checked NHS number on the portal submission 
  • You review official documentation to confirm the correct NHS number is recorded on the parent declaration form / submitted onto the portal 
  • You must not leave the NHS field blank 
  • You must not enter a false or made-up number  
  • If a child legitimately does not have an NHS number (new to country / not registered with GP etc), please contact us before portal opens so that we can provide them with a reference to use 

Please also refer to the following: 

If a family hasn’t registered with a GP or needs help finding their NHS number, the following links can be shared with parents - 

Consumables 

The Early education and childcare statutory guidance is clear that anything provided over and above the free hours must be voluntary to parents. Your chargeable extras need to be clear, up to date and easily accessible and from January 2026 they must be included on your website where you have one.  

Your invoices and receipts must be itemised and provide a clear break down of the free hours, additional paid hours, food charges, non-food charges, activity charges.  

You can charge for: 

  • consumables to be used by the child, such as nappies or sun cream 
  • meals and snacks consumed by the child 
  • extra optional activities such as events, celebrations, specialist tuition (for example music classes or foreign languages) or other activities that are not directly related or necessary for the effective delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework 
  • additional, private paid hours according to your usual terms and conditions provided that taking up private paid hours is not a condition of accessing a free place 

You cannot make the following charges:  

  • top-up fees (any difference between a provider’s normal charge to parents and the funding they receive from the local authority to deliver free places)
  • the supply of or use of any materials, including, but not limited to, craft materials, crayons, paper, books, instruments, toys, or other equipment or learning resources that are necessary for the effective delivery of childcare
  • business running costs, including, but not limited to, rent, staff wages, cleaning materials, insurance, or utility bills such as energy, gas or water 
  • registration fees as a condition of taking up a child’s free entitlement place 
  • non-refundable deposits as a condition of taking up a child’s entitlement place 
  • general charges, including but not limited to, non-itemised enrichment charges, sustainability charges, business continuity charges, additional charges, enhanced ratios, hourly rates, or any other supplementary charges on top of the free hours 
  • any additional fees that are not specifically identified and itemised as being for chargeable extras as described in A1.33

You cannot ask parents to collect their children in the middle of a funded day to feed their children and return them back to the setting, or for example, only offer 10- midday and 1-3 entitlement hours with only private hours in between, as this is not reasonable and creates an artificial break in the day. 

All providers (PVI’s and schools) will have received an email this week about consumables charges with additional information included.

Speech, Language, and Communication

‘Introduction to WellComm’ training dates for Spring 2026

For the attention of all EEE registered providers. 

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. All PVI settings are now required to submit their WellComm screening data on the EEE funding portal during headcount. 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. Please click your preferred date to book your place. 

Deadline Extension for Schools and MNS Autumn WellComm Data Collection 

For the attention of EEE providers. 

Thank you to the schools that have returned the Autumn Term WellComm Data Collection Form. If you have not yet had chance to submit your screening results, we have extended the deadline for submission to Friday 16th January 2026. 

To complete the survey, please click here. 

Early Words Together

Early Words Together by National Literacy Trust is a DfE approved programme that aims to support the communication, language, and early literacy of young children age 3-4 through evidence-based activities which lead to improvements in their home learning environments. The programme is delivered to small groups of families over 6 weeks, led by practitioners and volunteers. It empowers parents to develop and enrich the home learning environment and support their child's early language and literacy.

This training is FREE and suitable for all Birmingham Early Years Providers, EEE Funding Registered Day Nurseries, Nursery Schools and School Nursery Classes, Childminders, Family Hubs and Children’s Centre settings.

Please complete the expression of interest form below to apply for a place on the Early Words Together programme by National Literacy Trust. Please note that spaces are limited, with capacity for only 13 settings to participate in Birmingham. The programme is funded by the DfE's Family Hubs initiative and all resources for families will be provided at no extra cost. To take part, your setting must have adequate space for families and children to work together. The programme is expected to begin in Spring term 2026. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Expression of Interest for Early Words Together - Academic Year 2025-2026 (Cycle 2) – Fill in form

Programme Aims

  • Support communication, language, and early literacy of children aged 3–4 through evidence-based activities.
  • Improve confidence and understanding of children’s language development.
  • Support sustained positive changes to the home learning environment (HLE).
  • Foster partnerships between practitioners and families, and across local systems.
  • Close the language gap among children of different socio-economic classes.

Programme Objectives

  • Close the language gap among children of different socio-economic statuses.
  • Improve HLE as parents feel empowered as their child’s first educator.
  • Foster educator-parent partnerships.
  • Build practitioner networks using evidence-based strategies.
  • Raise community expectations for children’s communication, language, and literacy (CLL) development.

Programme Content

  • One-day practitioner training by the National Literacy Trust.
  • Toolkits with six detailed session plans.
  • Project management support including training, implementation, QA, and network facilitation.
  • Volunteer training for peer support.
  • Pre- and post-surveys for evaluation (provided by the Trust).

Benefits

  • Parental Engagement: Improved communication and mutual understanding between parents and practitioners.
  • Parental Awareness: Parents learn the importance of play and conversation.
  • Home Learning: Parents gain ideas and confidence to support learning at home.
  • Child Development: Improved school readiness and classroom outcomes.

Access Free Bitesize Training Suitable for Everyone Who Encounters Families During their Workday

Do you, or members of your team, meet families as part of your role, even if that contact is indirect or very minimal? 

If you answered “yes,” you’re invited to join a free, short training session: Help Children Talk and Understand Words Where You Work, delivered by Speech and Language UK. 

You could be one of the following: 

  • Administration staff 
  • Transport driver 
  • Contact support staff 
  • Sport coach 
  • Librarian 
  • Shop assistant (or somebody else) 

If you have some interaction with families as part of your role (no matter how big or small), then this free, short training session is suitable for you.  The bitesize training provides information about how children learn to talk and communicate and explores five simple strategies that you can use, from within your job role, to help. 

Speech and Language UK will also share some useful links, both locally and nationally, to signpost families to if they are concerned about their child’s speech and language development. 

Where can I access this bitesize training? 

Dates for the sessions are: 

  • Friday 16th January 2026:  9:30-10:00 
  • Tuesday 20th January 2026:  2:00-2:30 
  • Wednesday 28th January 2026:  2:00-2:30 

Sign up here: https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/educators-and-professionals/booking-form-helping-children-talk-and-understand-words-where-you-work/  

Why attend this session? 

In Birmingham, our goal is for every child to have the best possible chance to thrive and achieve.  We recognise the vital role that strong speech, language and communication skills play in achieving this goal.  We also understand that every minute matters - no matter how much or how little contact we have with children and families in our individual roles, if we can each take just 20 minutes out to enhance our own understanding of how to support them well, we can collectively make a positive, meaningful difference in the lives of all children and families we interact with. 

If you know someone who would benefit from this training, please share the information with them.  Thank you for your continued support in helping Birmingham’s children and families thrive. 

This entry was posted by Jessica Wykes on 07/01/2026.

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