EYCC Noticeboard

Early Years and Childcare Update - 02 April 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

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.

Boost Your Recruitment – Make the Most of National Campaigns 

The Department for Education (DfE) is ramping up its England-wide recruitment campaign: “Do something BIG. Work with small children.” 

As an Early Years or Wraparound Childcare provider, you can benefit from the reach of the DfE marketing machine by listing your vacancies on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Find a Job website – completely free of charge. 

How to Get Started 

  • Create an employer account on the Find a Job website: https://findajob.dwp.gov.uk/employer 
  • Post your vacancies under the Education & Childcare Jobs category. 
  • Include “Early Years” in the job title to ensure your roles are highlighted in any current and future campaigns. 

Where Job Seekers Will Find Your Listed Vacancies: See Current Early Years & Childcare Jobs in Birmingham 

Access Recruitment Resources 

The DfE has created a range of specific recruitment resources to help you attract the right candidates: https://earlyyearscareers.campaign.gov.uk/recruitment-resources/ 

Extra Support from Childcare Works 

Childcare Works offers free toolkits for Early Years and Wraparound providers via their Hub for Providers and Schools: https://childcareworks.org.uk/.  

Resources are organised into six categories: 

  1. Business Planning 
  2. Running Your Childcare Provision 
  3. Business Growth 
  4. Leadership and Management 
  5. Partnership Working 
  6. SEND and Inclusive Practice 

Every resource is free of charge and includes guidance from membership organisations, government-funded bodies, banks, and sector specialists. 

Explore the full toolkit here:  Home page - childcareworks.org.uk/early-years-toolkit 

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 and 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 and 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!  

NEW Inclusive Practice in Early Years Resources From a Collaboration Between Childcare Works and Dingley’s Promise 

Creating an inclusive environment is essential for every child to thrive. To help you achieve this, Childcare Works, in collaboration with Dingley’s Promise (England’s largest specialist provider of nursery education for children under 5 with SEND) has developed a collection of practical resources designed to support inclusive practice in your setting. 

What’s Included? 

Note: Birmingham’s Ordinarily Available Provision document is called Ordinarily Available Guidance (OAG). 

We have three versions available: 

  1. Early Years Ordinarily Available Guidance 
  2. School Age Ordinarily Available Guidance 
  3. Post-16 Ordinarily Available Guidance 

The Early Years version is currently in draft form but can still be used. 

How to Access: 

Click the links or visit: Dingley’s Promise and Childcare Works: Inclusive Practice in the Early Years 

Speech, Language and Communication (SLC) and the Home Learning Environment (HLE)

Introduction to WellComm training 

For the attention of EEE 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. 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. 

Please click the link next to your preferred date to book your place:

New Funded Opportunity: Boost Children’s Early Maths & Good Level of Development (GLD) Outcomes!

For the attention of Maintained and school-based Nursery Schools, Private, Voluntary or Independent (PVI), and Early Years Providers only.

The Department for Education (DfE) has released 5,000 additional fully funded places for the National Day Nurseries Association’s (NDNA) Maths Champions programme - a programme that ordinarily costs £1205!  The Maths Champion programme is a nationally recognised, evidence‑based approach to strengthening early maths across group and school‑based early years settings.

Why this matters?

Strong early maths isn’t just about numbers - it’s a key driver of wider learning.  An independent evaluation by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) stipulates that children in participating nurseries made, on average, three months’ additional progress in maths and language, with an even higher impact on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Direct impact on children’s outcomes & their achievement of a Good Level of Development (GLD):

Improving the quality of everyday maths interactions supports:

  • Higher confidence and engagement in early maths
  • Stronger communication and language skills
  • Secure foundations across multiple EYFS areas

These are all critical ingredients for raising achievement and improving GLD - particularly in Numeracy, Communication & Language, Literacy and Understanding the World.

Put simply: stronger maths talk = stronger learning foundations = stronger GLD outcomes.

What the flexible year‑long programme offers:

  • Practical strategies to embed maths throughout the day
  • Targeted support that builds practitioner confidence
  • Ready‑to‑use tools and guidance that benefit the whole setting

How to apply?

Funded places are limited so act now so that you do not miss the chance to secure a place for your setting.

Apply for funded places here: Maths Champions Expression of Interest

For more information about the programme, please click here.

Register Your Interest: Fully Funded Specialist Baby Room Practice Training for Birmingham Practitioners (Limited Spaces)

This training is for Baby Room Practitioners in Birmingham Early Years Settings. 

Birmingham Early Years practitioners are invited to register their interest in attending a fully funded specialist Baby Room training programme, designed to strengthen practice for babies in Birmingham by enhancing the work of existing baby room practitioners across the city. 

This five session programme, funded by the Department for Education, will be delivered through the HEART Midlands Early Years Stronger Practice Hub by Clare Stead.  Clare is an Early Years specialist, trainer and researcher with over 20 years’ experience in education.  Clare is also internationally recognised for her work on baby brain development and the first 1,000 days.  She’s experienced in helping practitioners to move baby room provision beyond care routines to environments where babies can truly thrive. 

About the Training Programme 

This programme will explore how high-quality baby room environments, interactions and partnerships can support babies’ learning, development and wellbeing. 

Participants must be able to commit to attending all five sessions. 

Programme Structure 

  • Day 1 – Full day (in person) - Wednesday 20th May 2026 - 9.30am to 4pm 
  • The First 1,000 Days & Neural Growth 
  • Day 2 – 2 hours (online) - Wednesday 10th June 2026 - 10.30am to 12.30pm 
  • Connecting Through Communication 
  • Day 3 – Full day (in person) - Thursday 25th June 2026 - 9.30am to 4pm 
  • Space, Movement & Rhythm for Development 
  • Day 4 – 2 hours (online) - Wednesday 8th July 2026 - 10.30am to 12.30pm 
  • Observation, Planning and Partnership 
  • Day 5 – 2 hours (online) - Wednesday 22nd July 2026 - 10.30am to 12.30pm 
  • Sustaining Curiosity & Growth: Reflection 

Who Is This Programme For? 

  • Baby room practitioners working with children aged 0–2 
  • Practitioners currently based in Birmingham Early Years settings 
  • Staff with a specific responsibility or interest in baby room practice 
  • Practitioners who can commit to the full programme including the completion of pre and post training questionnaires 

Spaces are limited to 30 practitioners to ensure high-quality learning, discussion and reflection. 

How to Register Your Interest 

If you would like to be considered for a place, please register your interest via the following Microsoft Form: 

Click here to register your interest 

Deadline: This form will close at 12:00 noon on Thursday 30 April 2026, or earlier if high levels of interest are received. 

Submitting the form does not guarantee a place. If demand exceeds capacity, places will be allocated to ensure a spread across Birmingham settings and to maximise impact. 

This programme is being delivered through the HEART Midlands Early Years Stronger Practice Hub and is funded by the Department for Education (DfE). 

 

This entry was posted by Jessica Wykes on 01/04/2026.

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