EYCC Noticeboard

Early Years and Childcare Update - 11 June 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.

Best Start Brum: Best Start in Life Strategy Launch – Thank You and Next Steps 

On Monday 8 June, Birmingham City Council’s Early Years and Childcare Service was proud to host the launch of the Best Start Brum: Best Start in Life Strategy, bringing together providers, partners and professionals from across the city. 

This milestone event reflects our shared ambition to give every child in Birmingham the strongest possible start in life. 

The event brought together colleagues from across the system to hear from a range of speakers, including Sue Lovelock from the Department for Education and keynote speaker Laura Henry-Allain MBE. Attendees also took part in a panel discussion and visited a busy marketplace, creating valuable opportunities to connect, share learning and explore support available for children and families across Birmingham. 

The event was a great success, with lots of positive feedback and a strong sense of shared commitment to improving outcomes for our youngest children. A big thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to making the day such a success. 

We encourage everyone to explore the strategy and continue to engage as we move into delivery. Working together across the system will be key to achieving our shared ambition of giving every child in Birmingham the best possible start in life. 

You can view the Best Start Brum: Best Start in Life Strategy here: 

If you attended, please take a few moments to complete our feedback form to help shape future activity: 

Business Support Tool for Early Years Providers 

The DFE have launched a set of business support materials on the Foundation Years webpage to provide practical support around the running of an early years provider business, bringing together guidance on business planning, finance, marketing and human resources in an Early Years context.  

The page signposts key national guidance, and highlights the importance of understanding local provider agreements, funding rules and consumer law when delivering childcare. 

It also brings together a range of practical business support tools which were developed by a local authority and kindly shared for wider use. This includes a business planning template, cashflow tools, occupancy calculators and marketing plans to support sustainability and growth.  

The tools can be accessed at: Setting up an Early Years provider business - Foundation Years  

Last Chance: Sign Up Before 30 June for £500 of FREE Early Years SEND Training 

Birmingham Early Years Professionals and Families - don’t miss out! 

You have until Tuesday 30 June 2026 to secure access to £500 worth of FREE online training from Dingley’s Promise. 

Why this matters? 

Dingley’s Promise, England’s leading specialist nursery provider for children under 5 with SEND, has developed 10 high-quality modules to strengthen inclusive practice across Birmingham, helping every child thrive. 

What’s on offer? 

Sign up by the end of June and complete any or all modules by December 2026: 

  • Introduction to Inclusive Practice 
  • SEND Transitions 
  • Behaviours That Challenge 
  • Intersections in Early Years Practice 
  • Difficult Conversations with Families 
  • Voice of the Child 
  • Leadership & Management for Inclusion 
  • Inclusive Curriculum & Assessment 
  • Supporting Communication Development 
  • Creating Inclusive Environments 

The training modules offer: 

  • Flexible learning – complete at your own pace 
  • Interactive resources – videos, activities, workbooks 
  • Certificate for every module completed 

Who should take part? 

This opportunity is open to anyone supporting children under 5 in Birmingham, including: 

  • Early Years practitioners and SENCos 
  • Childminders 
  • Family Hub staff 
  • Local Authority colleagues 
  • Parents and carers 

How to sign up 

Access the training via the Dingley’s Promise – Training Finder, located here: Comic Relief Early Years Inclusion Programme - Dingley's Promise (Select Birmingham and create an account) 

Deadline: Tuesday 30 June 2026 

Bonus Mark of Achievement for Settings 

Settings, including childminders, can earn the Dingley’s Promise Mark of Achievement, which is formal recognition for your commitment to inclusion.  To gain this, if your setting has: 

  • 4+ staff: 75% of staff must complete the Introduction to Inclusive Practice module + 2 other modules 
  • Under 4 staff (including childminders): The lead practitioner must complete the above 

When your setting has achieved the above, please notify Dingley’s Promise training team via email on training@dingley.org.uk   

Briefing: Driving Progress in Early Years Through Powerful Targets 

We’re calling all Early Years practitioners, leaders and managers! 

This is your final opportunity in the 2025/26 academic year to attend our ‘Driving Progress in Early Years Through Powerful Targets’ briefing (formerly Target Setting for Early Years Personal Education Plans (PEPs)). 

Birmingham City Council’s Early Years and Childcare Service, in partnership with Birmingham Virtual School, will deliver this session to support practitioners to set ambitious, clear and purposeful targets for all children - with a particular focus on improving outcomes for Birmingham’s children in care. 

The briefing session will:  

  1. Develop your understanding of the experiences of children who become looked after, and the important role early years practitioners play in promoting their progress, achievement and overall development  
  2. Explore practical approaches to setting ambitious and meaningful targets that support children to make the best possible progress from their starting points  
  3. Provide an opportunity to meet with a Birmingham Virtual School Early Years Advisor and gain insight into their role in supporting children in care  
  4. Support practitioners in meeting aspects of the requirements for completing children’s electronic Personal Education Plans (ePEPs)  

Note: This session is not a replacement for Birmingham Virtual School ePEP training but is designed to complement understanding. 

Why This Briefing Matters 

Too many care-experienced adults continue to face economic instability and limited life opportunities - a reflection of the early disadvantage they often experience due to disrupted attachments, trauma and/or instability. 

To change this narrative, we must act early and with purpose.  It is our shared responsibility to ensure that all children, including children in care develop in line with their peers and achieve well.  By doing so, we contribute meaningfully to the collective goal of giving every child the best start in life, as emphasised in national guidance and the Ofsted Early Years Inspection Toolkit, which calls for a robust and inclusive response from all providers. 

How to book your place 

Our final round of briefing sessions for this academic year will be held in July. We have morning, evening, afternoon and evening sessions which can be booked via the following link: 

Book your place via Birmingham Early Years Network  

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. 

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. 

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.

Early Education Entitlements

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 – 23 months, 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds. FSMs are not available for 9 - 23-month-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 

Flexible / Exceptional Funding Requests

The flexible funding request form enables a 2-, 3- or 4-year-old who has never accessed a funded place before to start at any point in the term meaning that if they missed headcount they did not have to wait until the next term before they could start at their chosen childcare setting. 

If a 9 - 23 month, 2-, 3- or 4-year-old approaches your setting after headcount date has passed and has not accessed a funded place elsewhere (in this local authority or another local authority) you can submit a flexible funding request. 

Please note that the exceptional agreement process is still in place for children that have accessed a place before but need to start at a provider mid-term due to exceptional circumstances, e.g. A move from another local authority, child protection plan, temporary housing move, multi-agency plan etc. Unfortunately, we cannot approve mid-term moves where parents have changed their mind about which childcare provider they want to use.  

Please do not include children on your claim if they start after headcount.  You must use the flexible or exceptional request.   

Forms are available on the BCC Google docs website: 4. Headcount & Portal Information - Google Drive (no password is needed).

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 10/06/2026.

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