Author: natalieelston

Devon Early Years and Childcare Service is excited to announce the release of an updated safeguarding safeguarding self assessment tool designed to help early years providers strengthen safeguarding practices and meet the standards expected by Ofsted.

Thank you to those who attended our briefing sessions which took place on 14th and 17th November. It was great that so many of you were able to attend and hear the key messages about the renewed framework directly from Ofsted. Please view the slides from the sessions.

Staff and children at Little Ones Childcare are enjoying a new extension to their nursery in Honiton. The children have loved watching the build and have even got involved!

We have recently been made aware of ‘The Baby Handbook Hub’, which has published a range of resources, articles, images, and advertisements offering infant care advice. Unfortunately, much of this content appears to be unsafe, misleading, and misinformed due to the lack of evidence-based guidance.

The Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989, requires employers to either display the HSE-approved law poster or to provide each of their workers with the equivalent leaflet.

View the latest jobs in early years and childcare.

We’re excited to share the success of Devon’s very first Out of School Play and Childcare Conference, held in September 2025. Thanks to funding from the Wraparound Childcare budget, this landmark event was offered free of charge to schools and settings across Devon.

On Monday 10th November Puffins nursery in Sowton, Exeter expanded from 36 to 74 places thanks to funding from the Early Years Expansion Budget. This growth will allowed them to offer significantly more spaces for children under 2, helping to meet increasing demand in the area.

The new Ofsted inspection framework will be implemented in November 2025. To support early years and childcare providers in preparing for these changes, Ofsted Senior HMI will be delivering two live briefing sessions in November (14 Nov and 17 Nov).

Have you recently taken over responsibility for using the Provider Portal, are new to funding or need a refresher? The Early Years Funding Team are running virtual sessions on how to complete your autumn amendment tasks and your spring headcount tasks. Dates running in November, December and January.