EYCC Noticeboard

Early Years and Childcare Update - 21 May 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.

Register to Attend – Best Start in Life Launch Event

Registrations are now open to attend the launch of Birmingham’s Best Start in Life Strategy.

The event will bring together early years providers, professionals, and partners to share Birmingham’s vision for improving outcomes from pregnancy through to age five.

As part of the event, attendees will be able to hear presentations and explore an Early Years Marketplace, featuring support, insight, and resources from across the system – including a range of local and national early years partners.

  • Date: Monday 8 June 2026
  • Time: 10:30am – 1:30pm
  • Location: Banqueting Suite, Council House, Birmingham, B1 1BB

Register to attend: Best Start in Life Strategy Launch Event Registration – Fill in form

Please note that attendance should be strictly limited to one representatives per setting. The event is not intended for your whole setting to attend.

Booking is on a first‑come, first‑served basis, and the form will automatically close once we reach our capacity of 150 guests.

Providers are welcome to share the registration link with parents and carers of early years children who may be interested in attending.

If you are unable to participate in this session, please note that additional webinar sessions covering the content will be scheduled in the future. Monitor this space for upcoming updates and additional information.

Early Years Ordinarily Available Guidance (OAG) Webinar 

The Early Years Ordinarily Available Guidance (OAG) is full of “things you can try”. 

These are simple, practical ideas to help you support children in your setting, especially when a child may need a bit more help. 

Come and join us to look at the Early Years OAG together.   

We welcome anyone working in the Early Years sector to join one of the following sessions: 

  • Wednesday 10th June at 2.00pm 
  • Thursday 11th June at 4.00pm 

During the webinar, we will: 

  • answer questions you have about the Early Years OAG 
  • talk about what would help you use the OAG in your setting 

Book your place using one of the links below. Please select your preferred date: 

We look forward to seeing you there.

School Based Nursery Phase 3 Capital Funding Programme  

A fantastic opportunity for schools to increase the capacity of their existing nursery provision or create a new nursery provision subject to meeting eligibility criteria. 

The Department for Education has recently rolled out Phase 3 of the School Based Nursery Capital Programme. 

The purpose of the programme is for schools to either increase the number of early education places for (0 to 4 year olds) in their existing early years provision or create places at a new provision based on the school site to meet an unmet gap in the local area where the school is located. 

The funding will only support capital costs associated with the refurbishment or repurposing of existing space on the school site. 

The funding opportunity is aimed at all state funded schools e.g. Maintained Nursery Schools, Primary Schools and all through schools with Primary provision. 

If you are a school interested in this funding opportunity please email Kevin.Caulfield@birmingham.gov.uk and Rebekah.Horton@birmingham.gov.uk directly so we can set up a meeting to discuss your proposal and share information regarding the application process and eligibility.

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: 

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. 

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

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

Sign up to access the new courses here: https://forms.office.com/e/V3zvR1cPKr 

Other free courses available from Dingley’s Promise includes: 

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: 

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 

Early Education Entitlements

Disadvantaged 2-Year-Old Applications Summer 2026

For PVIs – group care and Childminders - Disadvantaged 2 year old funding application 

For Nursery Schools - Disadvantaged 2 year old funding application.  

Parents (or providers with parents’ permission) can apply for a disadvantaged 2-year-old code, using the links above. 

A parent may in some circumstances, meet the eligibility criteria for both the entitlement for families in receipt of additional support (the disadvantaged entitlement) and also the working parent entitlement.  

You MUST claim 15 hours disadvantaged entitlement and 15 working hours.  An eligible code will be required for both entitlements.  

If a parent has already applied for a working parent code, they should be encouraged to keep reconfirming as this will prevent them having to reapply in full when their child turns three. They will also need to keep reconfirming if they are using Tax-Free Childcare. Where a parent has been reconfirming, they will be able to smoothly transition to using the universal and working parent entitlement when the child reaches the term following their third birthday. 

If a parent did not have a code, or does not want to keep reconfirming, they should be reminded that they will need to apply for the working entitlement again when their child turns three or shortly before their child turns 3. If they do not re-apply for the working parent entitlement, they will only benefit from the universal 15-hours entitlement for 3- and 4-year-olds.

NRPFs Summer 2026

NRPFs Disadvantaged and Working Applications (PVI/LA) 

Early Learning 2s / Disadvantaged – As you are aware families who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF) may be eligible for 2 year funding. In these instances both parents need to have NRPF. If one parent does have recourse to public funds, then they would need to apply and be eligible under any of the other criteria e.g. universal credit and the income from work would be taken into account from the whole household. 

When a family with NRPF completes an eligibility application it will return as ‘not eligible’ or ‘eligibility not confirmed’ which means you have to contact us, confirming that the family is eligible so that we can override the code 

Eligibility applications for a place in a private nursery, Childminder or LA maintained nursery class / Academies completed: Funded childcare for 2 year olds | Free childcare and education for children aged 9 months to 4 years | Birmingham City Council 

With immediate effect for any new requests you will need to submit the completed application form to enable us to override the code. The form must be fully completed and signed by both the parents and you the childcare provider. Incomplete application forms will be returned and not processed. 

The form and guide are attached for your reference now but you will always find the most current version on document website.  

Working – Childcare / education funding isn’t a public fund, but the working parent entitlement does have residency requirements which can’t be met by someone with an NRPF condition attached to their visa.  

A parent who has leave to remain with a 'No Recourse to Public Funds' (NRPF) condition cannot apply for the entitlement but can be included in an application made by a partner who meets the residence requirements.  

If a parent is applying with their partner, the person who is applying must meet the residence requirement and both will need to satisfy the requirements relating to employment and income. For example, if one parent is a British citizen and their partner has leave to remain with NRPF, the British parent can make the application but both parents will need to be working and meet the income requirements. 

EYPP / FSM Summer 2026

If you wish to claim a Free School Meal for any eligible 2-, 3- or 4-year-olds you must ensure that you are delivering their early education entitlement place in line with the terms and conditions of funding which state: 

8.35. The Council will provide funding for Free School Meals (FSM) for eligible 2-, 3- and 4- year-olds. To access a FSM the child must be attending their EEE funded entitlement for a minimum of 5 hours during core hours (9am to 3pm), and parents/carers must be in receipt of specific benefits. (See Appendix 5). Please note children who are eligible for a FSM are also eligible for early years pupil premium (EYPP) therefore the Provider can claim for both for eligible children. If the provider cannot deliver a FSM as detailed above then they should just claim EYPP. 

This means that if a child only attends a morning session (e.g. 9am – 12pm) or only attends an afternoon session (e.g. 12pm – 3.00pm) you cannot claim a free school meal.  

For private nurseries or Childminders, please use the link Eligibility (sentinelpartners.co.uk) 

For maintained nursery schools, please use the link Online EYPP Application (cloudforedu.org.uk) 

Providers can apply on behalf of parents, with their consent. 

If a child is eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) they are also eligible for Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP). You can claim EYPP regardless of whether you are able to offer and claim a free school meal.   

EYPP can be claimed for all eligible children aged 9 to 23 months, 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds. FSMs are not available for 9 to 23 months olds. 

Looked after children will qualify for EYPP but will only qualify for a FSM if the carer meets the economic criteria and attend between 9am – 3pm 

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:

WellComm Data Sessions

For the attention of all EEE providers.

Come and join us for one of our online sessions to demonstrate how to use the WellComm data spreadsheet to collate your screening data and prepare for sharing your WellComm data with the Local Authority. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and be signposted to practical support if required.  

WellComm Data Sessions for Schools and Maintained Nursery Schools 

WellComm Data Sessions for Day Nurseries, Preschool Playgroups and Childminders 

This entry was posted by Jessica Wykes on 20/05/2026.

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

  • Share on linked in