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The Early Years Alliance has today announced the launch of a new 'Welcome Back' resource pack for early years providers to support them in planning for the re-opening of their provision ahead of the anticipated easing of lockdown restrictions.

The 'Welcome Back' series contains three comprehensive resource packs designed to support nurseries, pre-schools and childminders to ensure their re-opened provision meets the needs of their children and families. 

Each 'Welcome Back' pack contains: 

• resource templates
• links to further information and resources
• a PowerPoint presentation for settings managers and leaders to share with their staff teams, where applicable
• facilitator notes to acconmpany the presentation

The programme is free to Alliance members, with a cost of £15 per pack (£40 for all three) to non-members. Packs will be available for download online on their individual release dates (detailed below), with the second and third packs currently available for pre-order, from the Alliance Shop:

The first pack 'Supporting practitioners, children and families to return to your setting' is available from today (Thursday 7 May) and aims to support providers in preparing to welcome children and families back, focusing on the mental health and well-being of children and staff returning to the setting. 

This course will look at how group settings can meet the needs of practitioners and bringing the team back together, as well as how all providers can meet the needs of children and families by supporting the transition back to normal attendance and re-establishing key person relationships.

It also includes a 'More About Me' sheet for parents to complete so providers can support a child's development, as well as ideas and resources to support mental health and well-being for practitioners, parents and families. 

The second pack 'Preparing your premises and the early years environment' will be launched on Monday 18th May and focuses on supporting providers in getting to grips with the practical considerations for re-opening a setting. Content includes:

• Health and safety considerations for buildings that have been empty.
• Considerations for the committee and or registered person.
• A manager's pre-opening checklist.
• Creating a welcoming environment for returning children.
• Identifying required changes to practice if restrictions remain in place.

The third pack, 'Opening the doors' will be launched on Monday 25 May, and will support providers with the settling-in and transition process upon return. This resource pack focuses on supporting transitions and building on the 'More About Me' resource; observation and assessment for a child's learning and development; recognising specific issues i.e. behaviour management, safeguarding, SEND; and maintaining the momentum of the home learning environment.

Alongside the 'Welcome Back' pack, the Alliance will be broadcasting a webinar on Thursday 14 May via YouTube, free to all practitioners. The webinar will be hosted by Alliance quality and standards manager Melanie Pilcher and director of quality improvement Michael Freeston and will provide an overview of the support available, inviting participants to consider the emotional wellbeing of children and staff and parents, as well as offering advice and practical guidance on issues the sector will face in re-opening the provision. 

Practitioners can register for the webinar via

The Alliance is also planning to run additional webinars (dates and times to be confirmed) focusing on the particular issues facing childminders in welcoming back children to their services, and the role of the committee members in supporting the opening up of charitable provision.

All webinars will be recorded and available for download from the Alliance's YouTube site:   

Speaking about the launch of the 'Welcome Back' series, Alliance director of quality improvement, Michael Freeston, said:

"Preparing to reopen a provision provides early years providers with an array of challenges. The Alliance has produced the 'Welcome Back' package of resources to help practitioners focus their planning on meeting the needs of the children and families they work with and making the transition from lockdown to setting as smooth as possible.

"The resources provide support on a range of issues including staff mental and emotional well-being, physical and environmental factors, and pedagogy and best practice. Alongside the resource packs, we're delighted to be delivering the 'Welcome Back' webinar series to provide further support and guidance for all practitioners in dealing with the challenges of re-opening provision. 

"Both practitioners and families will have had their own unique experience of lockdown, and we know that returning to some semblance of normality will take some time. These resources are an excellent way for practitioners to identify what key issues they should consider during this period, consider how they can best support children, families and colleagues, and feel confident that they can continue to deliver high-quality, child-focused provision during this transitional period."

Editor notes 

• The Early Years Alliance is the largest and most representative early years membership organisation in England. A registered educational charity, it also provides high-quality affordable childcare and education to support children and families in areas of deprivation throughout the country.

• The Alliance represents 14,000 members and supports them to deliver care and learning to more than 800,000 families every year. We deliver family learning projects, offer information and advice, produce specialist publications, run acclaimed training programmes and campaign to influence early years policy and practice.

• The Alliance website is