| |
| |
Foundation Years May Bulletin | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 | |
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, also known as Martyn’s Law, received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025 and marks a significant step in enhancing public safety.
The act – named in memory of Martyn Hett, a victim of the Manchester Arena attack – requires events and public venues, including education settings, to assess and mitigate against terrorist attacks, and aims to protect the public by promoting preparedness, training, and clear action plans.
There is a 24-month implementation period to allow settings to plan and prepare, with the Security Industry Authority overseeing compliance with the new legal requirements and who will also provide advice, guidance, and support to settings.
For more information, please refer to the Home Office’s Martyn’s Law Factsheet and Toolkit. | |
| |
| |
Operation Encompass in Early Years | |
Operation Encompass is a police-led notification scheme enabling vital and next-day information sharing between police and education settings in cases of domestic abuse involving children. It recognises that children are victims of domestic abuse in their own right and supports settings in offering immediate support to them.
The Operation Encompass website hosts free training for safeguarding leads, although all staff may find the training helpful. The website also contains resources for educational settings including early years specific resources.
Operation Encompass is currently being extended to include early years settings across England. To find out if your local police force has extended Operation Encompass to early years settings, speak to your Local Authority who can provide further information. You may still sign up and complete the training to receive your certificate in advance of implementation in your area. | |
| |
| |
Do Something Big – Summer drive of Early Years Careers campaign | |
The next wave of the Do Something Big campaign will run from 19 May-14 September 2025, encouraging more people to explore a fulfilling career in early years and childcare.
New adverts include 15-second social videos that challenge common barriers to joining the sector, alongside new content specifically designed to encourage more men to consider working in early years roles. The campaign will be across TV, radio, digital, social media, billboards, and the rail network.
We’d love your support in amplifying the campaign - please keep an eye out for the new adverts and use the available resources in your own recruitment activity. Don’t forget the campaign website directs thousands of potential applicants to Find A Job every week and you can advertise your roles there for free.
Watch these video tutorials for help posting your jobs (make sure you include the term ‘early years’ in your job advert titles and select ‘Education and childcare jobs’ as the job category). | |
| |
| |
DfE announces fully funded Early Years SENCO training for 2025-26 | |
As part of the government’s plan to break down barriers to opportunity, improving outcomes for children in early years education, the Department for Education is very pleased to announce that Best Practice Network (BPN) has been selected as our delivery partner to provide 1000 SENCO training places in financial year 2025-26. The key aim of the programme is to increase the number of qualified SENCOs available to children in group-based settings and childminder settings, who have the knowledge and skills to properly fulfil the role of a SENCO described in the code of practice and in the role description. Training is available across England and is open to Early Years educators currently working as, or due to start working as, a Special Educational Needs Coordinator in their setting. Applicants from group-based private, voluntary or independent (PVI) settings must hold a full and relevant level 3 Early Years qualification. Childminder applicants must hold either a full and relevant Early Years level 3 qualification or have a level 2 Early Years qualification but have fully completed at least one level 3 Early Years training module and have significant experience of working in Early Years. Training will commence from June 2025 and recruitment is open now. For further information, and to complete your application, please see Early Years SENCO - Level 3 | Best Practice Network.
| |
| |
| |
| |
Ofsted blog: How we look at the use of Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) in our inspections of early years settings | |
We have published a new blog following guidance from the Department for Education and the Education Endowment Foundation about Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) funding. It explains:
- how we look at the use of the funding on inspection - the sort of questions we might ask - what you need to know if your setting has no children who receive EYPP | |
| |
| |
| |
Access fully funded professional development for your staff | |
The Education Endowment Foundation is looking for early years settings to take part in a new research project that aims to find out how effective Early Talk Boost is at improving young children’s speech, language, and communication skills. Developed by Speech and Language UK, Early Talk Boost is a nine-week, small-group programme designed for children who need extra help to develop these vital skills, so they can catch up with their peers and thrive. By taking part, your setting could receive fully funded professional development for staff, along with support to deliver the intervention with groups of six to eight children. Search your setting to be part of this important research. | |
| |
| |
| |
Sensory food education is a way for educators to help children engage with food in a healthy and positive way. It involves exploring food using all 5 senses and allows children to understand their own food preferences and experience new foods. This can lead to them trying and enjoying more healthy foods and encouraging lifelong healthy eating habits.
The charity TastEd provides free lesson plans and a training video for EY settings to get you started.
For more information on how to run sensory food education in your EY setting, visit the Help for early years providers : Sensory food education page and the TastEd website. | |
| |
| |
Marketing and promotion guidance for early years settings | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
Safer mealtimes – packed lunch policy and updated nutrition guidance | |
| |
| |
| |
NDNA’s free factsheet of the month: Outdoor play | |
| |
Children’s physical development is critical to their success through life. Physical activity helps children develop coordination and control of their large and small movements. Our understanding of its importance has increased in recent years along with our understanding of its impact on children’s all-round well-being.
NDNA’s free factsheet on outdoor play looks at supporting physical development through outdoor play, planning outdoor spaces, supporting risks in play and ways that you can expand children’s physical activity and time in nature, outside of your own provision when outdoor space is limited.
Download NDNA’s free factsheet of the month here: https://ndna.org.uk/my-resources/free-factsheet/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=foundation_years_newsletter&utm_campaign=NDNA_free_factsheet_of_the_month_19_05_25 | |
| |
Have you connected with your local Early Years Stronger Practice Hub? | |
| |
Are you an early years practitioner or leader in England? Did you know there is a wealth of evidence-informed support, insights and inspiration available locally from an Early Years Stronger Practice Hub?
Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs provide advice, share good practice and offer evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners.
Funded by the Department for Education, the Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs programme launched in November 2022 and is supported by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the National Children’s Bureau (NCB).
There are 18 Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs in England, with each Hub providing support and advice to improve quality in early years settings by sharing good practice and offering evidence-informed professional development for early years educators. The programme is funded until March 2026.
Find your nearest Hub at https://www.strongerpracticehubs.org.uk/hubs | |
| |
| |
Foundation Years is funded by the Department for Education and brought to you by Begin Bright. |
Our mailing address is: foundationyears@beginbright.com | | | |
