Legislation and regulation
National early years legislation, regulation, child protection and safeguarding guidelines with specific guidance for group-based providers, childminders, and wraparound care providers.
All early years and childcare providers must be aware of the relevant legislation and regulation
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Legislation
Additional guidance
- What is the Freedom of Information Act and are we covered? - ICO
- UK GDPR guidance and resources - ICO
- Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners - GOV.UK
- West Sussex County Council privacy notices - you should share the 'Parents accessing early years and childcare provision' privacy notice with families
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- Ofsted
- Ofsted update alerts - Sign up to alerts from Ofsted when they change or update documentation or guidance that affect you
- Ofsted Early Years videos - View Ofsted’s Early Years, EYFS and inspection video playlists on YouTube
- Ofsted safeguarding policy - GOV.UK
- Early years inspection handbook - GOV.UK
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All providers working with children in the early years must adhere to the regulations within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework and the SEND Code of Practice.
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All providers working with children in the early years must adhere to the regulations within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework. There is a specific EYFS statutory framework for childminders.
You can find useful information on the legal requirements of running a childminding business from Childminding UK.
If you are registered with a childminder agency, you can find useful information on:
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All providers working with children in the early years must adhere to the regulations within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework. There is a specific EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers.
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There is wraparound childcare guidance for schools which explains the role of schools and academy trusts in supporting parents to access wraparound childcare.
Safeguarding
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Ofsted requires every setting to have a child protection policy which should include the following:
- a named (designated) person who holds responsibility in the setting for all safeguarding and child protection matters
- clear internal procedures about how the setting will respond to any concerns raised about the well-being of a child or young person
- clear internal procedures about how the setting will respond to any allegation made against a member of staff
Every person working within an early years and childcare setting should know their individual responsibilities and what actions they must take.
They should be aware of their shared responsibility for the safeguarding and wellbeing of children and young people within their setting, and the point at which to act upon and report any concerns.
The West Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership and Pan-Sussex Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures provide additional guidance on the processes involved. These should be considered alongside your setting’s child protection policy and any locally agreed procedures.
From 1 September 2025 there will be safeguarding reforms applied to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework for all early years and childcare providers. This is the government’s response to the consultation on proposed changes to strengthen EYFS safeguarding requirements, which ran from 22 April 2024 to 17 June 2024.
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- Children's Integrated Front Door - how to raise a concern about the welfare of a child if you think they are being harmed, abused or neglected
- What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused - advice from GOV.UK on best practice for those who work with children
- Pan Sussex Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures Manual - safeguarding policies, procedures and best practice from West Sussex, Brighton and Hove and East Sussex Local Safeguarding Children Boards
- West Sussex Continuum of Need/Threshold Guidance - tool to help practitioners identify a child’s level of need and consider whether additional support may be necessary to help them achieve their potential and keep them safe
- Safeguarding children - advice from GOV.UK on how to safeguard children and young people in different situations and environments
- Safeguarding children and protecting professionals in early years settings: online safety considerations for managers - GOV.UK
- Child abuse concerns: guide for practitioners - GOV.UK
- Effective safeguarding record keeping: YouTube - this webinar explains why record keeping is an essential part of safeguarding practice, outlining principles of good recording and considering the sensitive issue of access to records
- ICON - information from West Sussex Safeguarding Children partnership on the ICON programme
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- Statutory Child Protection and Safeguarding Courses - refer to our training programme for early years and childcare providers
- West Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership - the WSSCP offer a range of safeguarding children training courses that Early Years providers can attend
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- Safeguarding poster for childcare providers (PDF, 102KB) - provides information on how to raise concerns about a child
- Tools and resources to identify and tackle neglect (West Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership)
- Template letter for settings to give to parents (Word, 24KB) - the letter explains your responsibilities as a childcare setting, and contact details and logos can be added as appropriate
Health and safety
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Early years and childcare providers should follow health and safety guidelines to ensure a safe environment for all children within their care.
- COSHH (HSE) - control Of Substances Hazardous to Health
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE) - health and safety guidance
- Health and safety law poster, free leaflet and pocket card (HSE) - poster must be displayed on all business premises
- Infection control - guidance on infection control in schools and other childcare settings
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR)
- Risk management - guidance on risk management from the HSE
- UK Health Security Agency - Health protection in children and young people settings, including education
- UK Health Security Agency - Specific settings and populations: additional health protection considerations (early years and pre-school children)
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- Paediatric first aid training - courses are available through the West Sussex Early years and childcare training and support programme
- Health protection in children and young people settings, including education - UK Health and Security Agency guidance, there is also information available to identify additional considerations for early years and pre-school settings
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- Food Standards Agency (FSA)
- Registering as a food provider - childcare settings on non-domestic premises should register with the local district or borough council if they provide or handle food (childminders will be contacted after registration)
- Clinical waste, environmental health and planning permission - contact your local district and borough council