Birmingham Childminders: Do you know about the Childminder Inclusion Network?
Hello Birmingham childminders! We are very excited to be offering the Childminder Inclusion Network to support you in your practice of delivering high-quality care for children with SEND.
*Guest post written by Dwayne Burke from Birmingham City Council Early Years and Childcare Inclusion Team. If you have any issues or questions arising from the content of this post please direct them to the author and not BEYN: EarlyYearsSeminars@birmingham.gov.uk
Interested in writing a guest post for the BEYN blog? Visit the Write for Us page for more info.
Welcome to the first blog post of the newly formed Early Years and Childcare Inclusion Team. As part of the Early Years and Childcare Service, we aim to support the delivery of quality inclusion support services for the early years workforce, children and families.
Who are the Early Years and Childcare Inclusion Team?
Dwayne Burke is the Senior Inclusion Officer. Dwayne joined the Early Years and Childcare Service in 2006, having previously worked in the out-of-school sector. His previous role involved working as an EYC across the south of Birmingham.
As the Senior Inclusion Officer, his role involves the strategic delivery of inclusive services for children and families supporting Birmingham’s Children and Young People’s Plan and supporting the Birmingham SEND Strategy.
What is the Childminder Inclusion Network?
The Childminder Inclusion Network (CIN) is a project funded by ‘Innovate to Save’ and coordinated by the Early Years and Childcare Inclusion Team. The network aims to provide Birmingham childminders with a framework of support to help strengthen practice and improve outcomes for children with SEND eligible to take up their Early Education Entitlement (EEE) funded place.
The CIN is free to join — if you’d like to find out more and/or express an interest in joining the network, please email EarlyYearsSeminars@birmingham.gov.uk
What are the Aims of the Childminder Inclusion Network?
The CIN will:
Provide training and continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities to childminders in Birmingham;
Enable children with SEND to have their needs met in mainstream settings;
Support parents of children with SEND to take up their Early Education Entitlement (EEE);
Inform parents of the childcare options available to them;
Provide a long-term framework of inclusion support for childminders.
Childcare Brokerage
For parents/carers, finding childcare for any child can be daunting; finding childcare for a child with SEND can be equally if not more challenging.
The brokerage service aims to support parents/carers to access a suitable childcare place in their chosen district with a network childminder who has the skills and knowledge to support that child, giving confidence to the parent/carer.
Training for Childminders
Ofsted registered childminders (who are members of the network), have access to a package of training to help develop their skills and knowledge when working with children with SEND.
The training programme consists of:
Understanding Autism
Understanding Behaviour
Communication Methods
SEND – A Graduated Approach
Medical Needs
The training is completely free for all network childminders to access and will be funded until 31st March 2022. For more information, please contact EarlyYearsSeminars@birmingham.gov.uk
Childminder Inclusion Funding 2021/2022 – Apply now!
Network childminders can now apply for inclusion funding to support early years children aged two, three and four-year-olds with SEND taking up their early education entitlement.
Members can apply for £500 for a child with SEND attending their setting to meet their individual needs and improve their learning and development outcomes.
Funding rounds will be held monthly and must be received by the deadlines below to be considered at the next scheduled panel meeting.
Deadline dates are as follows:
This funding will only be available until 31st January 2022, so please send in your applications as soon as possible.
All applications must be completed in full and must meet the criteria for funding to be awarded. Applications will be moderated to access the level of need for the child and determine decisions on whether funding is to be awarded.
For further information please contact: EarlyYearsSeminars@birmingham.gov.uk
Monthly Network Meetings
Each month we will will be holding online network meetings via Microsoft Teams. These meetings will be an opportunity for childminders across the city to ‘meet up’ and offer peer support, sharing ideas and information. The meetings will also have guest speakers from other sectors to share information and processes with the childminders.
Dwayne Burke
Senior Inclusion Officer
Early Years and Childcare Inclusion Team, Birmingham City Council