Early Years and Childcare Service

News🗞️

(Older news items)

Published 27 March 2026 

Paediatric First Aid Training (PFA)

Dear Early Years Providers,

I am writing to update you on Gloucestershire County Council’s position regarding financial contributions towards Paediatric First Aid (PFA) training for early years staff.

Due to significant cost pressures and the need to prioritise essential statutory and grant‑funded activity, GCC is no longer able to provide a contribution towards Paediatric First Aid training. This decision has been made following a review of non‑statutory expenditure across the service, and unfortunately, we are not in a financial position to continue offering this support.

We recognise the importance of high‑quality paediatric first aid training within early years settings and understand that this may have an impact on your training budgets. However, this step is necessary to ensure we can continue to meet our core responsibilities and manage current budget constraints safely and sustainably.

Providers will continue to be responsible for ensuring their staff meet the statutory PFA requirements set out in the OFSTED framework. We will, however, continue to share information about available training options.

Thank you for your understanding, and for your continued commitment to delivering high‑quality early years provision across Gloucestershire.

Kind regards

Sarah Hylton

Head of Early Years and Childcare

Published 26 March 2026 

Meningitis Outbreak

We understand that recent news reports about the meningitis outbreak in Kent may be causing some concern for parents and staff working with children and young people. We would like to reassure you that there is no baseline increased risk outside of the specific outbreak in Kent at this time.  Currently there is no need for any setting to take any additional actions beyond routine good practice. There is no new or additional national guidance issued following the Kent outbreak. The existing national guidance already provides the framework settings need. Health protection in children and young people settings, including education - GOV.UK

Routine prevention - Please remind parents, carers and staff of the importance of keeping routine vaccinations up to date, including the MenACWY vaccine where applicable. The full UK routine schedule is available here: Complete routine immunisation schedule from 1 January 2026 - GOV.UK

Recognise the signs and symptoms - You, and parents and carers can find out about the signs and symptoms of meningitis here:

Meningitis and sepsis symptoms - Meningitis Research Foundation

What is meningitis? Symptoms, risks and how to protect yourself – UK Health Security Agency

If a suspected case of meningitis were ever identified in your setting, the UKHSA Health Protection Team would advise you directly on immediate steps, communication, and any required risk assessment.