Worcestershire Virtual School are extremely excited to be launching our 2025 Early Years Training offer.

This offer is fully funded and available to all Early year’s practitioners, including nursery settings, childminders, and reception year teaching staff.

We are continuing our partnership with KCA (Knowledge, Change, Action) KCA is an expert provider of training and consultancy to organisations working with vulnerable children and young people.

The training will enable practitioners to:

• discover your role in supporting healthy brain development
• understand how you can support trauma recovery
• use emotion coaching to promote resilience in your setting

For staff new to the knowledge base there are 2 online core models to attend:

• core module: Five to Thrive and the Importance of Connected Relationships - 12 February 2025 (4pm to 6pm)
• core module: Understanding Toxic Stress and Trauma and Promoting Recovery during a time of Collective Adversity - 12 March 2025 (4pm to 6pm)

For staff who have attended the above training OR have recently received KCA delivered Attachment Trauma & Resilience training within the past 2 years then there are 3 further online optional modules available as follows:

• optional module: Emotion Coaching and Promoting Resilience - 9 April 2025 (4pm to 6pm)
• optional module: Transitions and Vulnerability - 21 May 2025 (4pm to 6pm)
• optional module: Choose your words with Care: Narrative, Shame and Identity - 25 June 2025 (4pm to 6pm)

Note: anyone who signs up to the core modules but then is unable to attend on the day will then subsequently be sent the link to the FTT and UT mop-up sessions. Similarly, anyone who attempts to book on to the core offer once the sessions are full (max 40 people) will be added to a wait list and then also subsequently be sent the link to the FTT and UT mop-up sessions via our system.

Download: Training for Early Years Practitioners flyer (PDF)

We look forward to welcoming our early years settings to these wonderful training opportunities.

To take part in this fully funded professional development opportunity please register by following the link. 

KCA: Reg form: Worcestershire VS Early Years Spring Summer 2025

Guidance on the progress check at age two

The Department for Education (DfE) has published new early years foundation stage (EYFS) guidance to provide support for early years practitioners when completing the progress check at age two.

This non-statutory guidance will help all early years practitioners working with children between the ages of two and three to make an accurate assessment of a child’s development and work closely with parents and other professionals to put in place appropriate support and intervention where it is needed.

• Progress check at age 2 (GOV.UK)

New videos on the three literacy resources on the DfE's Help for Early Years Providers online service have now been made available to view. The videos, focusing on reading comprehension, exploring words and writing, complete a suite of videos made available for all areas of learning.

The service aims to support childminders and staff in Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) settings to understand and implement the revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) reforms.

• DfE's Help for Early Years Providers (GOV.UK)

The Starting Well Partnership supports families, parents, children and young people across Worcestershire to lead happy, healthy and fulfilled lives. There is advice on parental wellbeing, courses and further learning for parents and carers, a link to ‘Parent Talk’ (Action for Children) and lots more information which you may find helpful.

• Starting Well Partnership (NHS)

DfE Development Matters is non-statutory curriculum guidance for the early years foundation stage applicable from September 2021. Development Matters is for all early years practitioners, for childminders and staff in nurseries, nursery schools, and nursery and reception classes in school. Development Matters (GOV.UK)

Birth to 5 Matters will support practitioners in all their statutory responsibilities within the EYFS areas of learning and development and educational programmes, and to help children make progress toward the Early Learning Goals (ELGs). Download or buy a copy – Birth to 5 Matters

• Framework for Evaluating Provision for Looked After Children (PDF)
• Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework (GOV.UK)

Learning, Playing and Interacting - Good practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage - This guidance from The National Strategies addresses these questions and clarifies the role of adults who support and enhance young children’s learning.

Help for early years providers - Department for Education - The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) has changed. Find guidance and practical support to help you with the changes. These resources are for childminders, nursery leaders and pre-school practitioners.

Birth to three matters, a Strong Child, Me, Myself and I

This focuses on realisation of own individuality including growing awareness of self, realising s/he is separate and different from others, recognising personal characteristics and preferences and finding out what s/he can do.

The reading framework: teaching the foundations of literacy from (GOV.UK)- This guidance from the DfE is for primary schools, ITT partnerships.  It focuses on the early stages of teaching reading and sets out some of the research underpinning the importance of talk, stories, and systemic synthetic phonics (SSP) in the teaching of reading

This set of resource materials from The National Strategies Primary is intended to help practitioners working with children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, to plan their mathematics provision and help children to secure some of the key mathematical ideas that they will use throughout the rest of their lives.

The Early Childhood Maths Group (ECMG) have produced a new toolkit on spatial reasoning, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Surrey. 

The toolkit is aimed at supporting practitioners with spatial reasoning, as in the new EYFS Mathematical Educational Programme. Following consultation, the toolkit includes videos and posters, as well as a learning trajectory for children from birth to 7. 

The voice of the child 

Reflecting on the recent high-profile child deaths, Emma David outlines why it is important to listen to the voice of the child and how we can do this.

• Characteristics of Effective Learning (words to help) (PDF)
• Early Years Pathway for Social Workers (PDF)
• Introduction to the role of the Early Years Area Learning Advocate (PDF)

Promoting positive behaviour management (PDF)
We have produced this guidance document on promoting positive behaviour and understanding aggressive behaviour in early years settings.

• Worcestershire Early Years Child Voice Guidance (PDF)
• Worcestershire EYFS SMART targets (Word)
• EYFS Assessment areas Guidance (PDF)
• Guidance for completion of SEND section of PEP (Word)

30 hours free childcare: LA and early years provider guide (GOV.UK) How local authorities (LAs) and early years settings should provide the entitlement for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds.

A Celebratory Approach to Working with Children with SEND (PDF)
Inclusive practice and effective support for children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disability should underpin all early years approaches to implementing the Early Years Foundation Stage framework (2021). This document has a particular focus on supporting children with Special Educational Needs and or Disabilities (SEND) and their families. The aim of this document is to provide information, exemplars, and links to relevant tools and/or services that will enhance practitioners’ knowledge and skills when working collaboratively with children with SEND and their families. 

Babies' adventures in Music from YouTube

BBC bitesize have produced resources to support learning at home.

B'Opera makes beautiful music for young ears, through high quality interactive musical experiences for babies, toddlers and their grown-ups.

Collar and Cuffs Co is an award winning inclusive sensory musical theatre.  The resources available are intended to be used by families as positive activities that support mental health and emotional well-being.  As a general rule of thumb, if you like CBeebies’ style of content, then these packs are for you.

Curriculum focused independent learning resource from TTS with over 120 learning activities all planned and prepared. With a combination of independent and collaborative learning activities, the home learning books provide a great opportunity for parents to learn with their children.

Early Arts is an internally acclaimed, award winning training, research and consultancy company to help early educators, cultural leaders, child minders and families develop relational approached to creative play, leadership, teaching and learning.

Early learning and development - Start for Life (NHS) on 15 January the Department for Education (DfE), in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), will launch the Better Health Start for Life 'Little Moments Together' Campaign. The campaign will aim to educate parents and carers about the importance of brain development in the first 5 years of a child's life, and the crucial role they play as parents and carers, with advice and tips available on the Start for Life website.

Early Years Professional Development Programme for support guidance for families whilst developing their 2 to 4 year olds communication skills, a comprehensive set of expert but fun and friendly guides, designed for parents, carers and the whole family.

Education Endowment Foundation has a Blog called Supporting parents to undertake brilliant book talk which gives ideas on how to advise parents on how they can talk to their children about their reading book.

Family corner free online learning for all the family. Parenting young children can be tough at the best of times and during this strange period in our history it can feel even more bewildering and stressful. That's why we are really pleased to be able to offer parents various free online sessions and courses. All  courses are delivered by professional early years experts to help you through this time and to learn more about their children's development, options include Let's Learn Together @ Home, Parent Connect, Let's Get Ready for School.

Feeling Better. A collection of short films from BBC Teach presented by Dr Radha Moghil that explore a whole range of feelings and emotions, as well as providing talking points and tools to feel better.

Hungry Little MInds these resources were commissioned by the Government and are a wealth of ideas and video clips from all ages from 0 to 5 to help children learn.

JABADAO has great ideas to help your baby and your children with their Development Movement Play (DMP).

Little Hands Little Bins for sensory recipes.

Oxford Owl has ideas to show parents how their child will learn to read at school and how they can help at home

Parenting Smart (Place2Be). The children's mental health charity, Place2Be, has launched a new website aimed at helping parents with typical situations they can find themselves in with their children.  Advice can be found on over forty topics including: Understanding sibling rivalry, My child is lying, what does it mean, what should I do?, My child has trouble going to sleep, My child says ‘I hate you!’, Cultural identity: who am I?

Second Hand Dance is a UK based Dance company that makes highly visual performances for children and adults .  The Night Tree Films are suitable for ages 3-7.  

Solihull Approach - FREE online parenting courses. Online parenting courses are a series of NICE approved resources for parents and carers who want to learn more about sensitive and effective parenting and building a positive relationship with their child. Parents are also helped to understand how they can influence their relationship with their child through play.

Spark Arts bring you a collection of creative resources and imaginative activities for families at home and schools. The site also includes resources for early years.

TailfeatherTV: *About TailfeatherTV* - YouTube is an exciting new You Tube channel for babies, toddlers and very young children with and without additional needs

Talent 25 is a long-term action research programme stretching over 25 years.  Babies should be aged between 3 and 12 months and families need to be living in certain areas of Leicester.

What to expect in the EYFS (PDF). This guide is for parents and carers of children from birth to five years old. It will help you find out more about your child’s learning and development in the EYFS.