Support your practice with free early years child development training
The Department for Education’s Early years child development training is a free, online programme designed by early years experts to support practitioners working with children from birth to reception.
School age childcare provider network meetings (HAF, Wraparound and free breakfast clubs)
These provider network meetings will offer a valuable opportunity to receive updates, access training, share key information, and network with other providers.
Special Guardianship Order (SGO) – lunch time presentation Weds 3 June 2026
Join the SGO Support team for a short presentation about special guardians and to cover their legal position, how they fit in with other services and examples of our work. Wednesday 3rd June 2026 12pm – 1pm.
Ofsted: early years – registering a childminder assistant: what you need to know
As a childminder, employing an assistant can enable you to expand your provision, take on more children, and help create more government-funded early years places for children. In this blog, we explain the process of registering a childminder assistant.
Early Years Foundation Stage conference: connection is the foundation – 8 October, Exeter
This year’s conference explores how we build and sustain meaningful connection across all the places it happens: in the adult–child relationship, through peer play, in partnership with families, and in the everyday routines and experiences that shape children’s sense of safety and identity.
Early years and childcare job adverts – w/c 18/05/2026
View the latest jobs in early years and childcare.
Funding Friday
It’s Funding Friday and this week we have funding information from: ‘Devon County Council: Locality Budgets 2026/27’; ‘Hall & Woodhouse Community Chest’; ‘Tesco Fruit and Veg Grants’ and ‘Crisis and Resilience Fund’.
Parents childcare survey summer 2026
Every year we send out a parent’s childcare survey to parents living in Devon to find out information about their use of childcare. Please share the survey with the families that you work with, your friends and your family. Closing date is 14 June.
Magic of childminding – celebrating the incredible work childminders do
This week is childminding week (11 to 17 May) and the theme for 2026 is ‘Magic of Childminding’. We met up with a group of north Devon childminders at a local event to find out why they love childminding. If you are thinking of becoming a childminder, why not book onto one of our childminder information sessions?
Product safety alerts, reports and recalls
There have been a number of recent recalls on children’s toys and products containing play sand. Please ensure that you familiarise yourself with the list and do not have access to any of these within settings, as well as sharing this information with parents and families.