In this section:
Every child in Portsmouth deserves the best possible start in life.
The Portsmouth Education Partnership is therefore committed to ensuring that all children get the best possible start through effective early nurture at home and high-quality early years education.
Portsmouth is proud to have a wide range of high quality early years and childcare provision. We have approximately 59 childminders, 66 group based settings and 17 school based nurseries. In July 2025, 95% of the registered provision has been judged by Ofsted to be good or outstanding.
All settings are encouraged to take a strongly directive approach to ensuring that vulnerable children, in particular, experience a varied programme of activities. This should give a high priority to ensuring regular one to one communication with children who need it most. It should also provide as much support and encouragement as possible to help parents nurture their children’s wellbeing and development at home.
Early Years Bulletin
Read our Early Years Bulletin for the latest news and updates.
Support
Workforce development
The 2025-26 early years training and development programme includes a range of new and exciting 2 hour early years workshops at just £70 each.
New face-to-face workshops: Science isn’t just gloop, cooking isn’t just fruit kebabs, maths isn’t just counting and compare bears, physical play isn’t just bikes, storytelling isn’t just about books.
New virtual workshop: Creating your climate action plan.
These new workshops are in addition to our existing range of wonderful workshops. You can pay as you go – all 2 hour workshops cost £70 and 3 hour workshops are just £80.
Programme at a glance
- Individual 2 hour workshops – £70
- Individual 3 hour workshops – £80
- 2 hour onsite visit – £265
- 2 hour onsite whole staff training – £265
- 2 hour whole staff virtual training – £160
- 3 hour onsite PSCP basic awareness safeguarding children training – £229
- Level 2 SEND Accreditation course: 1 x group based, 1 x childminder – £215
- Level 3 SENCo Accreditation – £1015
- Universal package – Free
Individual workshops
2 hour: £70
3 hour: £80
- Supporting Babies (3 hours)
- Supporting Toddlers (3 hours)
- Supporting EAL Learners (2 hours)
- NEW – Learning and Development in the EYFS (2 hours)
- NEW – Developing Effective Language Strategies (2 hours)
- SEN Support Strategies – Attention and Interaction skills (2 hours)
- SEN Support Strategies – Sensory Needs Parts 1 and 2 (2 x 2 hour sessions)
- SEN Support Strategies – Using Visuals to Support Language and Communication (2 hours)
- NEW – SEN Support Plans (2 hours)
- NEW – Early Years Science Isn’t Just Gloop! (2 hours)
- NEW – Early Years Cooking Isn’t Just Fruit Kebabs! (2 hours)
- NEW – Early Years Physical Play Isn’t Just Bikes! (2 hours)
- NEW – Early Years Maths Isn’t Just Counting and Compare Bears! (2 hours)
- NEW – Early Years Storytelling Isn’t Just About Books! (2 hours)
- NEW – Creating Your Climate Action Plan (2 hours)
More bespoke training
We are also offering opportunities for you to access more bespoke training that meets the direct needs of your setting.
You can purchase a 2 hour onsite training workshop for your whole staff team for £265. You can select a theme for your workshop. Below, you’ll find some examples of what you could choose…
A great place for communication, fantastic phonics, loose parts play, marvellous maths, outdoor play, supporting our EAL learners, a day in the life of year R, forest school experiences, neurodiversity in the early years setting, celebrating differences/diversity, parents as partners and the home learning environment, writers in reception, readers in reception, the role of the adult in play and developing quality interactions, magnificent mark making, gross and fine motor skill development (including fiddly fingers and dexterous hands), supporting schemas, behaviour management, what to expect in your inspection, wellbeing in the workplace, extending children’s learning, young minds matter, books as hooks, risky play.
Or you could opt for whole staff training to be delivered to your team virtually. The cost will be £160 and you can select from the above workshop examples.
You can purchase an onsite visit such as a learning walk, developing or monitoring policies, environment audit or quality audit for £265.
You can also purchase a 3 hour onsite PSCP basic awareness safeguarding children workshop for your whole staff team for £229.
To book your place at any of these workshops, please head to the Portsmouth Traded Services website or to book onsite training or visits, please email [email protected].
Universal offer
And we have our continued universal offer with free places on the following:
- Termly provider briefings
- Termly SENCo network clusters
- Termly getting to good learning sets
- I spy Ofsted webinar
- Termly PSCP basic safeguarding training workshops
- Termly new or returning to year R clusters
- Termly EYFS managers in schools clusters
- EYFS profile training
- Annual citywide transition meeting
Places for any of these that are relevant to your school or setting can be booked on the Portsmouth Traded Services website or by emailing [email protected].
SEND training
Level 2 SEND Accreditation – £215
Throughout this training course, practitioners will explore aspects of child development and developmental needs, personalised planning, SEN support plans and statutory guidance relating to SEND including the SEND code of practice, partnership working and effective communication. You will be supported to complete short tasks and develop a portfolio of work. Time to complete these tasks is included in the sessions.
- For group based settings – 3 x days, 9.30am – 4pm, Civic Offices – Book here
- For childminders – 6 x evenings, 6pm – 9pm, Microsoft Teams – Book here
Level 3 SENCo Accreditation – £1015
The course includes 12 full days face-to-face teaching and study time, visits to settings and specialist provisions in Portsmouth, external speakers and input from professionals across the sector, opportunities for networking and peer support and is assessed by an independent professional training organisation. Book your place.
Back by popular demand, Early Years Inclusion and Portage training collaboration…
Practical SEN Strategies:
Developing new provision
The early years and childcare team are able to support with a range of areas including business planning, reviewing accommodation, upskilling staff to support new age groups and increasing capacity of existing provision. For further information on the range of work we are able to support please contact [email protected].
Wraparound childcare
As part of the Government’s National Wrapround Childcare Programme, launched in 2023, we have been given funding to support wraparound providers expand their services and provide quality childcare services for working parents when and where they need it across the city. To date we have funded childminders, schools and PVI’s to build and develop their wraparound provision. The National Wraparound Childcare Programme was originally a two year project due to end March 2026. However, we are just preparing to deliver a range of free workshops for wraparound providers throughout 2025/26.
Early years funding
Early years education is the foundation for all future lifelong learning. The strong commitment to and high uptake of the two year old funding gives some of our most vulnerable children the opportunity to access high quality early education. One aim of this funding is to close the learning gap between disadvantaged children and their peers, and from a families perspective may enable parents to access employment and training opportunities. All three and four year olds can access early education funding supporting them to grow, develop and learn, whilst preparing for school.
The financial support that is available to parents to help with the cost of childcare is increasing. Read more on the upcoming changes.
Additional resources
Portsmouth’s Commitment to Early Language Development
We have developed Portsmouth’s Commitment to Early Language Development, explaining how early years settings, families, the council, health service providers and other partners aim to support early language development across the city.
Working in childcare
Information about working in childcare is published on the Portsmouth City Council website.
50 things to do before you’re five
50 things to do before you’re five is an exciting initiative full of ideas and activities for families with young children. The project offers a wide range of no cost and low cost activities from outdoor discoveries in the woods, to exploring how sound changes in different places, to sharing stories and water play!
For more detailed information and to download our fantastic free app, visit the website.