Early Years News August 2026

29th July 2026

Welcome to Childcare.co.uk's latest newsletter. We hope you are having a good summer and coping with the weather.

Here is a round-up of the latest early years changes and updates so get yourself a cuppa and settle in:

Govt changes - a new Education Secretary

The new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a new Education Secretary - Lucy Powell. She has previously served as Shadow Secretary of State for Education where she specialised in early years, so we can only hope she has a good understanding of the needs of early years providers and will support us in the future. Childcare.co.uk will continue to lobby for change and support for all early years.

DfE - EYFS published for Sept 2026

The updated Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) has been published for use from September 2026. DfE states that updates cover:

  • New safer sleep requirements.
  • A requirement for providers to have regard to screen use.
  • Prohibiting childcare where banned dog breeds are present.
  • Other safeguarding clarifications.

The 'other safeguarding clarifications' are many and some will have a significant impact on early years providers including childminders. Childcare.co.uk has published a blog with a list of the main changes which are important for childminders.

Childcare.co.uk support - are you ready for change?

Childcare.co.uk aims to make it easy for members to manage the changes to many different documents including the EYFS, the Ofsted inspection toolkits, safeguarding documents and more. To support members, Childcare.co.uk has added a number of useful explanation and tick list documents to the website which will walk you through the main updates.

Childcare.co.uk updates - Safeguarding Policy

In readiness for September, Childcare.co.uk has carried out a full review of the current Safeguarding Policy and made some adjustments relating to latest safeguarding areas that are part of the Ofsted inspection framework. The revised Safeguarding Policy is now available on the website for gold members to use.

You should also keep an eye on your Local Safeguarding Partners website for 1. A revised model policy for September 2026 and 2. Any updates to local safeguarding focus areas.

Update - Birth to 5 Matters

The popular non-statutory sector guidance 'Birth to 5 Matters' from the Early Years Coalition has been updated recently and a new version is available free on the website. The core principles of the guidance are unchanged. Updates building on the original philosophy of the guidance include:

  • A focus on babies and how they learn including early attachment and the importance of responsive relationships.
  • New guidance on digital pedagogy, inclusion, belonging and sustainability.
  • A stronger evidence base with updates linked to latest early years research.
  • Continued focus on observational assessment rather than ticking lists.
  • A focus on the value of play, sustained shared thinking and high-quality interactions.
  • Support for leaders and their role in driving progress in the setting.

You can find a free download of the revised guidance here.

DfE - safer sleep - making changes

Some members have told us that they are struggling with implementing the new safer sleep requirements which will be added to the EYFS for use from September 2026 - note that DfE has said they should be in place now. Members might have sprung prams (no longer allowed except for sleep on outings) or sleep coracles (no longer allowed for babies under the age of 1 year). Other members tell us that they have bought new sleep mats, but some of the children are finding the transition hard. Other members are still trying to work out how children can safely sleep outside in all weather conditions. Note that if you want to retain outside sleeping, you might find the Childcare.co.uk Safer sleep outside blog useful. Childcare.co.uk has added a new blog to support members with making the changes.

Foundation Years has also recently released a safer sleep vodcast with a Q&A from Ofsted about what inspectors will be looking for during inspection.

Safeguarding - support and training

DfE has added a new safeguarding page to their 'Help for early years providers' website.

DfE also announced in the revised EYFS that they have now released free safeguarding training to cover the first section of Annex C - note you will also need to complete designated safeguarding lead (DSL) training if you work as a childminder.

Ofsted - recent regulatory complaints

As part of its early years remit, Ofsted carry out unannounced inspections as well as announced. Unannounced inspections usually follow either a whistleblowing call or after a setting has reported a change or incident to the inspectorate. Recognising the focus of recent regulatory cases can help you to improve your practice - for example, regulatory visits have been carried out due to concerns about:

Reflective practice - food for sensory play

Do you still use sensory trays full of oats, pasta, rice, spaghetti and other types of food? Sensory experiences are essential in the early years, but with the amount of food poverty and food insecurity within communities, we must ask whether we are doing the right thing using food as a disposable play material.

There are many alternatives to food including sand, water, beads, gravel, small blocks, mud, shredded paper, fabric scraps, wood pieces and recycled materials. They all offer rich sensory experiences and most connect children directly to the natural world. All small parts play must be risk assessed and children must be closely supervised to check for choking and allergies.

Meanwhile we might think about whether we can save the food for meaningful and respectful purposes - for example, to prepare a meal together.

Safeguarding - voice of the child

The NSPCC has released some new Voice of the Child videos. They are a series of short professional training films created to support safeguarding practice, for social workers and practitioners working with children and families. The focus is to strengthen understanding of how children's voices should be recognised, recorded and acted upon in decision-making processes.

The videos explain that the 'voice of the child' goes beyond what a child says verbally. It includes non-verbal communication such as behaviour, emotional responses and body language. This is especially important for very young children or those who may find it difficult to express themselves directly. The key idea is that understanding a child's lived experience is just as important as gathering their spoken views.

The videos highlight why listening to children is so important in safeguarding work. When professionals consider a child's perspective, they are better able to identify risks, understand needs and make more informed decisions. This ultimately helps to protect children more effectively and ensures their rights are respected within the safeguarding system.

DfE - updated information about DBS checks

DfE has released updated information about DBS checks for volunteers and unpaid helpers. It is not aimed specifically at childminders because everyone over the age of 16 years in the home has to be DBS (or CRB / police) checked as part of their registration. However, it does include early years providers.

The main impact of the changes is to volunteers who are no longer considered low risk. If you have someone helping you who is not paid - for example a regular volunteer, a family member who comes round regularly to read books with the children, a student (age 16 or over) on placement or an unpaid assistant.

Previously, if they were always supervised by you, they might not have been classed as doing 'regulated activity' but from 1st September 2026, the supervision exemption disappears. If they teach, care for, supervise or instruct children frequently (more than 3 days in a 30-day period) or overnight, they will be considered as carrying out regulated activity and will need an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list information. Other steps you can take to ensure compliance include providing safeguarding training for volunteers and ensuring safer recruitment procedures apply equally to volunteers. Experts advise you treat this change as a safeguarding improvement opportunity remembering the adage, 'it might happen here.'

Data protection - GDPR update

Further to our updated information in a previous newsletter, UK data protection legislation changes are now in place. The changes state that all individuals will have a formal right to raise a complaint directly with an organisation about how their personal data has been handled. Organisations, including childminders, will be expected to have a clear process for managing and responding to complaints.

This should be stated in your Complaints Policy - if you have staff, you will need to ensure they are trained to know how to escalate parent concerns about data protection.

Childcare.co.uk updates - Privacy Notice

In response to the data protection requirement changes, Childcare.co.uk has revised the wording in the model Privacy Notice and added the new version to their website. The new version of the Privacy Notice reflects UK data protection legislation changes and includes information about how parents can make a complaint if they are concerned about how their data has been handled. You might want to point this change out to parents as it reflects a new legal duty.

This information is also reflected in the Childcare.co.uk Complaints Policy.

Ofsted and notification patterns

During 2024-2025 Ofsted risk assessed 11,900 notifications - a rise of 8% from the previous year.

Sir Martyn Oliver announced recently that Ofsted are going to 'crack down' on how early years settings handle - or fail to handle - statutory notifications. This applies to all early years providers including nurseries, pre-schools and childminders.

If you send in too many notifications, it might mean there are serious issues within the setting with the safeguarding culture or management problems and will raise a red flag - if you make too few notifications Ofsted will question why nothing has been reported - it might mean you are hiding something - and they will raise a red flag. Note that Ofsted has set out notification requirements in a recent blog.

When they receive a notification, Ofsted risk assess and might call you to talk it through, visit you for a regulatory check or bring your inspection forward. In some cases, they put the notification on file to talk about during your next inspection.

What next? Review your notifications - do they reflect the reality of what's happening in your setting? Are you notifying Ofsted within the 14-day window (and ideally as soon as possible)? Are you keeping a record of notifications? Are you using the Ofsted online form (not email)?

Safeguarding - Leeds nursery (BBC news)

A childcare worker in Leeds was recently able to move role, pass a reference process, start work, build trust and gain regular access to children - without a DBS check.

This case has raised a few issues including the need for faster DBS checks. However, speed only helps if the risk has reached the system in the first place. A faster DBS check will not detect a false reference - it will not identify concerning patterns of behaviour - it will not show public online behaviour that has not been reported - it will not tell a setting that the risk picture has changed after someone has started work - unless someone has captured, assessed and shared that information.

Several recent nursery and childcare cases in the press point to the same problem - high-trust access to children and limited visibility, struggling to keep pace with real-world risk.

Early years providers must focus on safer recruitment and from September 2026 childminder settings must not start a new assistant until their suitability letter is received from Ofsted. Safer recruitment might mean, for example, doing an online due diligence check for shortlisted candidates (expected for schools but not in place for early years), requesting more than one written reference if the first is unclear and thorough interviews including asking searching questions about safeguarding.

Ofsted and suitability letters

As noted above, from 1 Sept 2026 childminders will need to receive an Ofsted suitability letter before an assistant, volunteer, student etc can start working for them. This is causing some concern for childminders given the current long delays in DBS and Ofsted processing times.

Childcare.co.uk has written to Ofsted to try and engage them in conversation about how to speed things up while maintaining safety. We will keep you updated in this newsletter and on the Independent Childminders Facebook group.

DfE - Inclusive Estates Guidance

The Department for Education (DfE) has published new Inclusive Education Estates guidance to help early years providers create more inclusive environments for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), ahead of wider SEND reforms. Designed as a practical roadmap, the guidance encourages settings to consider how their physical spaces can better support children's individual needs and wellbeing.

For early years settings, the recommendations include creating separate noisy and quiet activity areas, clearly defining learning zones, reducing visual clutter and providing low-stimulation quiet spaces. The guidance also suggests incorporating sensory and regulation spaces, improving access through features such as ramps and handrails and developing outdoor environments with sensory areas, climbing equipment and dens to support a range of developmental needs.

Alongside the guidance, the Government has announced a £47 million Inclusive Early Years Fund, which forms part of a wider £500 million investment in inclusive education. Some early years providers will be eligible for funding.

The new guidance has been generally welcomed by education organisations such as the Council for Disabled Children, which have praised its practical approach and focus on creating learning environments that promote inclusion, accessibility and belonging. However, there are concerns that the funding might not stretch far enough, childminders will miss out and there is nothing to address wider pressures on the early years sector.

Reflective practice - what does meaningful inclusion mean?

Following the release of DfE's non-statutory guidance on inclusion bases (June 2026) we see a renewed focus on building inclusive, high-quality provision where every child can thrive. DfE are clear that inclusion isn't somewhere children go - it is built every day in every space.

DfE talk about high expectations, children being included as part of the community, flexible learning environments, seeing behaviour as communication and responding with curiosity and planning predictable routines to reduce anxiety. However, critics remind us that meaningful inclusion is a sense of belonging and identity, consistency and ongoing reflection and that there are no short-cuts.

There is a focus on inclusion in the Ofsted early years inspection toolkit. During inspection, you might want to talk about how the updated guidance from DfE has informed your practice.

KCSIE and family help

The change in wording from 'early help' to 'family help' in Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) 2026 is significant. It reflects a reform in children's social care in England and aligns KCSIE 2026 with the 2026 revisions to Working together to safeguard children and the Govt Families Partnership Programme of reforms.

One of the aims of the reforms is to bring together early intervention and statutory family support into one coordinated service, with a focus on identifying concerns early and greater emphasis on supporting the whole family through one integrated plan, one lead practitioner and stronger multi-agency working.

This approach aims to reduce duplication and means that families are less likely to fall through the gaps.

What does this mean for early years providers? The expectations remain largely unchanged. You should still identify children and families who might benefit from additional support, talk to the DSL (in settings) about your concerns, work with parents where possible, contribute to assessments and plans and understand local referral pathways. This might mean attending additional LA training to learn about who to speak to within your LA if you are concerned about a child or family.

You might need to update your documentation to refer to 'family help' and share information with parents about the changes.

Keeping children safe - staff deployment

As we read through recently published Ofsted inspection reports, we often see different themes coming through. One theme that stands out in recent reports reflects strongly in relation to both childminders with assistants and group settings - it relates to how staff are deployed through the setting.

This is important in relation to both ensuring ratios are secure and supporting children's learning in meaningful ways with appropriate attention given to both inside and outside learning opportunities, chatting to children, listening to children and providing them with high-quality care.

DfE confirm in their recent updates to the EYFS from September 2026 in 3.49 that ratio requirements apply to the total number of people available to work directly with children, across the whole provision, not just each room. However, childminder and group setting ratios have not been changed and we must balance this against what we are seeing in inspection reports.

Childcare.co.uk has addressed these points and more in a recently published Staff Deployment guide.

Safeguarding - The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 is now law. Most of the Act focuses on children's social care, schools, attendance and local authority responsibilities rather than early years providers. However, there are some changes that might affect early years providers and should be reviewed.

Mainly, the legislation means professionals working with children, including early years settings, must share information to help keep children safe - the Act strengthens multi-agency working and there are increased expectations around information sharing where there are safeguarding concerns.

Food hygiene - updating safer food better business

The EYFS 2026 will include a reference to the non-statutory 'Safer Food Better Business' guidance - 'childminders must be confident that they, or any assistants responsible for preparing and handling food, are competent to do so. Childminders may wish to refer to the guidance issued by the Food Standards Agency' - the link will be provided in a footnote.

The guidance includes a diary - when you are next updating your Safer Food Better Business diary, don't forget to make a note about the recent hot weather conditions. For example, whether the fridge and freezer coped with the high temperatures and maintained a safe temperature throughout, whether you did an extra pest check because you saw some ants outside - or perhaps you had to throw away some spoiled fruit and vegetables due to the extreme temperatures etc. It only takes a few minutes to update your diary and it is an expectation if your Environmental Health Officer (EHO) inspects you as a food business.

Reflective practice - sensory profiles for children

Following a recent webinar on sensory profiling (14th July 2026), Childcare.co.uk has provided some further written guidance on how to complete a sensory profile for each of the children in your care. Gold Childcare.co.uk members will find the guidance in section 4 of the EYFS resources page under the 'More assessment tools' tab.

Ofsted - inspectors and mobile phones

Ofsted has released clarification about inspectors using mobile phones in their updated early years inspection guidance. The key changes cover:

  • Inspectors will explain their phone use at the start of the inspection - during the notification/planning call, inspectors are instructed to tell the provider how they might use their mobile phone during the inspection and to be respectful of the setting's own mobile phone policy.
  • Inspectors will use Ofsted-issued mobile phones, not personal phones.
  • Ofsted-issued phones may be used to take evidence photographs. These images are transferred securely to Ofsted's systems and deleted from the device afterwards. Inspectors should seek permission first, but they also have legal powers to take photographs where necessary as part of an inspection. Photographs should not identify children or staff.
  • The guidance recognises that inspectors may need access to their phone during the inspection. This is intended to avoid misunderstandings where a setting has a strict 'no mobile phones' policy for staff or assistants. The inspector's use is for official purposes only and should be explained in advance.

Note that you still need your own 'Mobile phone and camera' policy alongside these changes - Childcare.co.uk has a policy for gold members on the safeguarding policy page.

Safeguarding - child neglect

According to recent research from the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, child neglect remains the most common form of maltreatment in England, featuring in over 60% of recent serious safeguarding reviews. Unlike sudden crises, neglect typically deepens over time, with patterns building gradually through chronic, low-level concerns. Because it rarely appears as a single dramatic event, it is frequently under-recognised, inconsistently defined and responded to too late. To combat this, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel's recent thematic analysis, 'Why did it take so long to respond?', challenges all practitioners to move away from episodic responses and shift toward proactive, child-centred and trauma-informed practice.

Central to improving our collective response is the mandate to name neglect clearly when we see it. The Panel highlights that using minimising language - for example, citing 'poor home conditions' or 'parental challenges' softens the reality of the child's lived experience and delays vital intervention.

True protection requires a high degree of professional curiosity. Rather than taking parental accounts at face value or accepting superficial, temporary improvements, we must actively verify information across agencies, look beyond the presenting issues and explore the home environment first-hand to understand what daily life is genuinely like for the child.

Crucially, we must shift our focus away from isolated incidents and toward recognising cumulative harm. Small, recurring indicators - for example, fluctuating attendance, missed medical appointments or reliance on community food parcels must be linked together using shared chronologies and multi-agency information sharing to paint a complete picture. Throughout this process, the voice of the child must remain central. Children must be given safe spaces to be heard and seen alone, ensuring their direct experiences guide our assessments. By utilising structured, evidence-based assessment tools and maintaining a joined-up, multi-agency approach, we can work to overcome threshold confusion and intervene with the urgency these children desperately need.

You can find further information on child neglect from the NSPCC website.

NCB - school readiness best practice

The National Children's Bureau (NCB) has released a best practice guide and podcast about school readiness which is free on the website. The online guide offers practical examples and resources for early years settings practitioners, drawing on evidence from 5 A Better Start (ABS) partnerships. The guide also uses the UNICEF model of school readiness to explain the concept and to explore how each of its three dimensions can be used to achieve school readiness.

Monthly group planning for August 2026

This year, Childcare.co.uk monthly group planning is focusing on special days through the month, to build a planning library which can be archived and used in the years ahead.

Always bear in mind that planning should start with the child and what they already know and can do. In most early years settings, a 'book as a hook' is used to spark curiosity and discussions, with lots of open-ended questions, promote critical thinking. Planning can then be delivered at the appropriate age and stage level for the children in the setting at the time.

The themes for August 2026 in the Childcare.co.uk group planning guide cover:

  • Underpinning theme - sun safety.
  • Week 1 - Butterfly Count Day (5th).
  • Week 2 - World Elephant Day (12th).
  • Week 3 - Teddy bears and picnics.
  • Week 4 - Gormley's nature sculptures (30th).

Webinars for August 2026

Childcare.co.uk deliver free weekly webinars for all early years providers. The webinars are then recorded for Childcare.co.uk gold members to watch again at their own convenience.

Webinars planned for August 2026 cover:

  • 4th - Listening to children.
  • 11th - Safeguarding refresher - safeguarding and Ofsted inspection.
  • 18th - Planning for music and movement.
  • 25th - School readiness in 2026.

Childcare.co.uk aims to keep members updated and informed and regularly responds to member requests for new training, documents, policies, articles and blogs etc. If there is any guidance you would like to see on the website that would help you to do your job more effectively, please ask.


More information and resources

Childminder Guides

Childminder Paperwork

Childminder Policies

Childminder Organiser

Childminder Diary

Childminder e-books

Childminder Budget Planner

Safeguarding Quick References Cards

COEL Quick Reference Cards

Health & Safety Toolkit

Information Sheets for Parents

Early Years Safety Blog

Activities Ideas & Resources

Childminder Insurance
 

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