Early Years Advisors
Contact Details
The FlatClevesfeyre House
Lambton Road
Ferryhill
Co Durham
DL17 8BQ
Tel: 01740 650810
Fax: 01740 656317
Support and Development Work
Our range of flexible support and development services to providers of daycare, play, family support and registered nursery education is available to:- Childminders
- Day nurseries
- Playgroups
- Pre-schools
- Out-of-school clubs and holiday playschemes
- Parent-toddler Groups
- Toy Libraries
Other services for Children and Families
This support may be in the form of:- Informal telephone or face to face contact
- Formal, direct work work to address specific issues
- On-site training with individual or groups of providers
- Training workshops
- Provision of good practice guidance
- Toy and equipment loans to address specific issues
- Participation in steering and development groups
- Assistance to those planning new, extended or enhanced services
Our work in this area contributes directly to the achievement of the objectives of the the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership. Along with our colleagues in the Education Department and the private and voluntary sector we are working to extend the range and quality of childcare and related services available to children and families in County Durham.
We have a particular responsibility to assist providers in:
- Preparing for inspection.
- Developing action plans to address issues highlighted at inspection.
- Achieving standards required.
In this area our involvement may address:
- Environmental issues (room arrangement).
- Organisational issues (routines, staff deployment and administration, finance).
- Learning and development (in particular the 'Early learning Goals').
- Disabled children and those with special needs.
- Management of staff (development and training).
The Sponsored Daycare Scheme
Our scheme offers full or part-time daycare, for children who have been assessed as being in need of the service. A social work, health or education professional may make a referral using the Children In Need Procedures.
The service includes:
- Childminding.
- Private day nursery places.
- Playgroup and out-of-school club places.
Service providers are assessed and trained before taking part in the scheme and placements are monitored throughout. A leaflet containing more detailed information is available. Please contact us to receive one.
Admission
Once a daycare place has been offered a member of staff may telephone the referring officer or visit the family at home to exchange information and make arrangements for a visit to the identified service provider.
When everyone feels happy and ready, the process of settling the child into the placement can begin. All children are different and we will vary the way this happens to suit parents and children. Sometimes parents or carers stay with their children for the first few sessions.
Giving children time to settle well at this stage is important if they are to get the most from their placement.
Safety First
The safety of the children in our care is our first priority. Many of our policies and procedures have been written with this in mind. These are available for you to see on request. Service providers will also have their own information,this will be made available during the admissions process.The Creche Service
We provide a high quality mobile creche service to support the provision of family support services delivered by a range of agencies and organisations.
We use approved, staff and will identify a leader who is qualified to at least NVQ level 3. We will supply all toys and safety equipment if required and will carry out a premises check before agreeing to deliver the service.
The service may be accessed by contacting a member of the team who will provide further information and an application form.
