Early Years Service
The Early Years Service provides support and advice to all early years' settings in Kingston. It focuses on promoting high quality outcomes and provision for children and their families.
Early Years Advisors
There are four full-time and three part-time Early Years Advisors who work directly with all private, voluntary, maintained and independent settings.
Their support includes:
- encouraging quality improvement through engagement in the quality assurance process (QuILT)
- maintaining the Early Years Resource Base for all practitioners
- supporting settings to prepare for Ofsted inspections
- quality assurance of welfare and safeguarding requirements
- facilitating leadership and management meetings and EYFS training for practitioners
- monitoring the impact of the 2 year old offer for our most disadvantaged children
Early Education Funding
Ensuring that all settings accessing early education funding secure high quality provision for children and families is a key responsibility of the team
- overseeing the 15 hours free entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds and its funding.
- working with providers who wish to access early education funding within their setting. All providers named in our directory sign an annual early education agreement, which states clearly expectations of quality and provision
- implementing the Early Years code of practice.
The Kingston Early Years code of practice outlines our vision and commitment to securing a service which is high quality for all children and families, and meets the needs of our parents and communities
Business Support
Our Business Support Officer advises providers who are considering setting up a new business. She also works to ensure sustainability for all existing providers through bespoke financial planning and cash flow advice.
We work with local employers to offer advice and guidance for their employees. This includes advice about childcare vouchers, and brokering Early Years provision to meet individual needs.
Children’s Centres
The service has a designated advisory teacher, who supports the quality of provision in our eleven children’s centres. This focuses on direct advice to children’s centre facilitators, lead teachers and monitoring outcomes.
Family Information Team
The Early Years Service works closely with the Family Information Services team and this ensures that information to both families and providers is consistent, accurate and easily accessible. Training and development is coordinated with the Childcare Workforce Development Officer so that professional development for providers meets identified needs.
Details of all our training opportunities can be found in the Early Years training directory.
Contact Us
Family Information Services (FIS)
Guildhall 1
High Street
Kingston upon Thames
The FIS is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm
Telephone: 020 8547 5004
Email: fis@rbk.kingston.gov.uk
The STAR Centre
Surbiton
KT5 8SX
The centre is open 9am to 5.15pm Monday to Friday
Telephone: 020 8547 5215