Training for parent and toddler group leaders

You do not need to do every course listed here. If you are a group leader receiving funding from the Early Childhood Community Fund (ECCF), we recommend at least attending:

Safeguarding children
Emergency Paediatric first aid

You can now book your place on any of our Training for Parent and Toddler group leaders on our "Norfolk Provider Portal" using your Norfolk Community Directory login. This is the only way to book our training. If you do not have a login, please contact Family Information using the email address fis@norfolk.gov.uk and they will be able to help.

The Portal now has a new Parent and Toddler Group contact type to enable you to book online. Guidance for The Early Years Provider Portal is available using the following links.

Please be aware that, before you can book courses for your team members, you will need to add the names of staff and volunteers who want to access any training to the Portal. More details of how to do this are in the Staff module guidance above.

If after reading the guidance you have difficulty booking the courses you wish to attend please contact earlyyearschildcare@norfolk.gov.uk

Safeguarding

Introduction to safeguarding children

This workshop will help you develop an understanding of safeguarding issues and processes. You will learn how these relate to your organisation's roles and responsibilities. At the end of the training, you will have:

An understanding of the different ways in which children and young people can be harmed, and the possible indicators of abuse
An awareness of the law underpinning safeguarding
Identified personal attributes and beliefs and their impact on the recognition and reporting of safeguarding concerns
An understanding of the appropriate processes to follow when a possible safeguarding concern is identified

Course dates and locations - Spring 2025:

All courses are online at 9.30am to 1pm.

N099 - Tuesday 21 January 2025
N100 - Saturday 25 January 2025
N101 - Friday 31 January 2025
N102 - Saturday 8 February 2025
N103 - Tuesday 11 February 2025
N104 - Wednesday 26 February 2025
N105 - Saturday 1 March 2025
N106 - Thursday 6 March 2025
N107 - Saturday 15 March 2025
N108 - Monday 17 March 2025
N109 - Friday 21 March 2025
N110 - Wednesday 26 March 2025

Updates can be found on the safeguarding training page on our schools website.

You can book your place on the Norfolk Provider Portal using your Norfolk Community Directory Login. If you have any difficulties in booking a course, please contact earlyyearschildcare@norfolk.gov.uk.

Peep and Peep TALK training courses

Learning Together through PEEP and PEEP TALK training courses are offered free to all community groups, please do take up these free training courses whilst they are on offer in Norfolk.

Peep TALK

The one-day Peep TALK training equips practitioners to:

expand your knowledge, skills and understanding in supporting parents with their young child's communication and language development, including those who are concerned about delayed language development
use the Peep TALK programme as a flexible toolkit, offering parents strategies and activities to boost their children's language and communication during everyday interactions in the home learning environment
deliver Peep TALK sessions with parents and children together, in one-to-one or group sessions.

Find the latest dates for training and book your place.

Learning together through PEEP

The two-day course will cover the why, what and how of the PEEP learning together programme (LTP). This will enable you to deliver it effectively to support the families that you work with. The LTP is an evidence-based programme. It helps parents and carers to support their young children's development by valuing and building on the play and learning opportunities in everyday life.

To express an interest in attending the Learning Together through PEEP two day training please contact familyhub@norfolk.gov.uk

Writing a good safeguarding policy for Safer members

Your safeguarding policy should set out what your group will do to keep children and families safe. It should also describe what to do when there are concerns about a child's safety or wellbeing.

This session will help you write an effective safeguarding policy.

Online course dates: To be confirmed

Safer members can book for this session on the Norfolk Safeguarding Children Partnership website.

If you are not yet a member of Safer you can sign up for free membership by completing the membership form and sending it by email to cs-0-5communityoffer@norfolk.gov.uk

Only those applications completed via us will receive free membership.

Setting up a parent and toddler group

This three-part course is for people who are setting up a new group. We recommend attending at least sessions 1 and 2.

Part 1 - Getting started

The first session covers the basics of getting your group up and running, including:

Choosing a venue
Selecting resources
Budget planning
Working out how much funding you need to get started and to keep your group running

Course dates:

On demand

Part 2 - Running your group

This session will help you think about how your group will run on a formal basis. This includes helping to decide which structure you will need for groups run by a committee, as well as those by a business/sole trader. It will support you with:

Your constitution or group rules
What policies and procedures you will need
Identifying where you need additional support or training

This session may also benefit those applying to the Early Childhood Community Fund. It will help you show how your group operates.

Course dates:

On demand

Part 3 - Writing a good application for ECCF funding

This session will support you in completing your application form for funding from the Early Childhood and Community Fund. Additional support is also available on a one-to-one basis to help you develop your project.

Course dates:

On demand

Keeping your Parent and Toddler group sustainable

Are you struggling to make ends meet? Are your outgoings higher than you can charge families to attend? We will help you plan your budget and identify how you might be able to reduce costs or increase income and support you when you need to fund raise or bid for additional funding.

Course dates:

On demand

Signposting to support

This session will give you an overview of the main agencies offering support to children with young families and what they do, including how you can signpost families attending your group to access their support.

Course dates:

On demand

Taking the fun and learning outdoors

This workshop will help you think about how families can benefit from playing and learning outdoors. The session:

Provides practical ideas for fun activities that can be done outside
Looks at what children are learning from those experiences
Offers ideas for families to use at home

Course dates:

On demand

Taking the fun and learning home

This workshop is designed for leaders to think about how families attending the group can also extend the activities into their home. This session will:

Provide practical ideas for fun activities for the group
Look at what children are learning from those experiences
Offer ideas for families to use at home

Course dates:

On demand

All welcome

This workshop will look at how you can promote your group to all. You will get advice on how to make everyone feel welcome, regardless of their background or individual needs. The session will look at:

Accessibility and inclusivity
Positive image promotion
Resources including toys and display materials

Course dates:

On demand

Level 3 Award in Emergency Paediatric First Aid

This emergency paediatric first aid course lasts for seven hours, face-to-face.

You can book a place directly with Adult Learning (opens new window).

There is a charge of £95 for this course for individuals who do not meet the criteria for this to be fully funded. If you are applying for Early Childhood Community funding this can however be included within your application.

Health and Safety

Dates for all our Health and Safety training can be found in our Summer 2024 Health and Safety training brochure (PDF, 402 KB).

We hope you will find something of interest. If you have any queries about any of these courses, please email cs-0-5communityoffer@norfolk.gov.uk

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