Early Years

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Children starting school in September 2023 (children born between 1st September 2018 - 31st August 2019) parents/carers must make an application by 15th January 2023.

Please read the school admissions web pages for more information on the application timeline and how parents can apply.

Starting school poster for providers

Nursery letter for parents/carers

Childminder letter for parents/carers

Summer born children (April - August)

Parents of summer born children may wish to delay their child's start at school until after their 5th birthday. Parents should complete a school application as normal if they are unsure if they wish to delay and once a decision has been made the application can be withdrawn if necessary. 

Contacting School Admissions

Should your parents have any queries regarding applying for their child to start school they can contact the school admissions team via their contact us form

The LADO Service has made changes to the terminology used for LADO Meetings.  All LADO Meetings are now known as Allegations Against Staff & Volunteer Meetings (ASV Meetings).  These changes have been made in order to streamline process and ensure a clear separation between meetings about Allegations against Staff and Volunteers and Child Protection Strategy Meetings.

Following simple steps can help protect children, minimise the spread of illness in education and childcare settings and protect wider communities.

Flu and coronavirus (COVID-19) are currently circulating at high levels and are likely to continue to increase in coming weeks. High numbers of scarlet fever, which is caused by group A streptococcus, also continue to be reported.

Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said:

  • It’s important to minimise the spread of infection in schools and other education and childcare settings as much as possible. If your child is unwell and has a fever, they should stay home from school or nursery until they feel better and the fever has resolved.
  • Helping children to learn about the importance of good hand hygiene is also key, so practice regular handwashing at home with soap and warm water. Catching coughs and sneezes in tissues then binning them is another simple way to help stop illness from spreading.
  • Adults should also try to stay home when unwell and if you do have to go out, wear a face covering. When unwell don’t visit healthcare settings or visit vulnerable people unless urgent.

Remember that flu vaccination is still available for all eligible groups and is the best protection against the virus. We have seen good uptake in older age groups but vaccination among young children remains low. Flu can be very unpleasant and in some cases can lead to more serious illness. Getting your child vaccinated protects them and others they come into contact with, and it’s still not too late.

Eligible children include:

  • those aged 2 and 3 on 31 August 2022
  • all primary school-aged children
  • some secondary school-aged childrenWe would also like to remind Buckinghamshire schools that advice regarding risks to health or possible outbreaks of infectious disease is available from publichealth@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
  • You can get more information getting your child vaccinated against flu on NHS.UK.

Flu Leaflet

Flu Poster

Posters:

Updated posters for education and childcare settings have now been published.  There are 3 posters available at Infectious diseases: schools and other childcare settings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) which summarise some of the health protection guidance for education and childcare settings:

1. Poster 1 – Managing infections in schools (black background) – original posters design kept and wording aligned to education and childcare settings (removal of ‘school(s)’)

This is available for settings to order printed copies from Home - Health Publications (Managing infections in education settings - signpost poster V1 - Health Publications)

2. Poster 2 - Managing infections in schools (white background/green writing) – original poster design kept and wording aligned to education and childcare settings (removal of ‘schools’)

This format has a white background making it suitable for settings to print as required.

3. Poster 3 - Should I keep my child off school? (white background/green writing) – new poster created that summarises the exclusion periods for infectious diseases.

This format has a white background making it suitable for settings to print as required.

Respiratory Outbreaks:

The below action card aims to explain the key actions for managing respiratory infections in an education or childcare setting, in line with published guidance: Health protection in education and childcare settings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Respiratory Outbreak Action Card - GOV.UK

Useful tips for Online Safety, and Training Information and Online Safety Considerations for Managers and Practitioners

The Early Years Newsletter is a publication the Early Years team creates to assist with providers keeping up to date with any and all changes in the Early Years world.

08th June 2023

01st June 2023

25th May 2023

 

The Early Years SENCO updates covers national and local developments in all aspects of Special Educational Needs and Disability. Termly information including specific training, guidance and links to other services.

Summer SENCO Updates 2023

Spring SENCO Updates 2023

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