Guidance and resources to support EYC settings to safely and effectively recruit staff in accordance with statutory guidance, the law, and best practice.
Safe and effective recruitment guidance
An essential aspect of ensuring quality and safety in Early Years and Childcare Settings is a robust and effective selection and recruitment process.
EYFS safeguarding and welfare requirements state:
3.2 “Providers must take all necessary steps to keep children safe and well”
Suitable People 3.9 - 3.13
3.9 “Providers must ensure that people looking after children are suitable to fulfil the requirements of their roles ‘’. ‘’Providers must have effective systems in place to ensure that practitioners and any other person who is likely to have regular contact with children are suitable’’
Early Years Foundation Stage Framework
Preparation needed before advertising a role
- The Job Description clarifies the key roles and responsibilities of the particular position and the expectations required for the role
- The Person Specification is based on the job description and sets out the essential and desirable skills, qualifications, and qualities needed to fulfil the role and if the post is or is not exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974)* and whether an enhanced DBS is required
- Ensure that the Job Description and the Person Specification refer to the setting's commitment to the safeguarding and welfare of children.
Application process
The advertisement should be based on the Job Description and the Person Specification and should include:
- The name and a brief description of the setting (can also include logo, charity/company number)
- A clear and appealing Job Title with hours and rate of pay
- Details of essential criteria/qualifications
- A commitment to Safeguarding Children
- A commitment to the Equality Act 2010**
- Details of how to obtain the job description, person specification, and application form with contact details
- Closing date for applications and interview dates
*The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (c.53) of the UK Parliament enables some criminal convictions to be ignored after a rehabilitation period. Its purpose is that people do not have a lifelong blot on their records because of a relatively minor offence in their past.
**The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and wider society. 3.20 Providers must follow their legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 including the fair and equal treatment of practitioners regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
Accepting CVs, are they robust enough?
Childcare employers are strongly encouraged and advised to use application forms as a critical part of their recruitment process. When a candidate completes an application form it ensures that information given by the candidate is presented in a consistent format against the person's specification and application criteria and therefore makes it easier to assess the suitability of the candidate against the specifications and application criteria when shortlisting for interview. A job applicant should always formally apply for a job not just send in a CV.
Shortlisting
- When all applications have been received and the closing date has expired recruitment panel should score and shortlist against the person specification/application criteria and note any gaps in employment.
Inviting applicants to interview
- The interview letter should include the date, time, and place of the interview
- Details of any presentations the candidate may need to prepare
- A sentence that asks if the candidate has any special requirements
- A request to bring original qualification documents
- A request to bring proof of identity to work in the UK
- DBS number if subscribed to online update service.
*pre-employment checklist (see Appendix 1)
Interviewing
- Agree on an interview panel
- Do agree, in advance, on questions to be asked and by whom on the panel, and prepare to ask about any gaps in employment or discrepancies in the application
- Don’t ask questions that could be interpreted as discriminatory
- Do agree on how to score the answers given
- The interview should take place in a quiet room with no interruptions
- The Equality Act 2010 prevents employers from asking about the health of an applicant before making a job offer
- After interviewing all the candidates, the panel should compare each applicant's notes and scores so that a consensus can be agreed upon about who should be offered the post.
- Once the employment has been offered and accepted subject to satisfactory references and enhanced DBS check the employer should prepare the induction process for the new employee. This will include a probation period, regular supervision/induction meetings, and agreed objectives. EYFS 2021 Section 3 – The safeguarding and welfare requirements safeguarding and welfare requirements. 3.20 - 3.23 Staff qualifications, training, support, and skills.
EYFS safeguarding and welfare requirements state:
3.12 “Providers other than childminders must record information about staff qualifications and the identity checks and vetting processes that have been completed (including the criminal records check reference number, the date a check was obtained and details of who obtained it). For childminders, the relevant information will be kept by Ofsted or the agency with which the childminder is registered.”
Appendix 1
Pre-employment checklist
Name of applicant:
Offer of employment sent subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks Y/N
Date:
|
Evidence (state documents seen) |
Date applied for/checked/received |
Name and signature of checker |
|
Identity/DOB |
||
|
Eligibility to work in the UK |
||
|
Enhanced DBS with barred list check |
||
|
Qualifications/certificates check (photocopy originals and date and sign) |
||
|
Overseas checks (please state) |
||
|
Professional status (please state) |
||
|
2 references to include the last employer (please state) |
Induction
Why do early years and childcare employers have to induct their staff?
Staff qualifications, training, support, and skills
Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
3.21. The daily experience of children in early years settings and the overall quality of provision depends on all practitioners having appropriate qualifications, training, skills, and knowledge and a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Providers must ensure that all staff receives induction training to help them understand their roles and responsibilities. Induction training must include information about emergency evacuation procedures, safeguarding, child protection, and health and safety issues. Providers must support staff to undertake appropriate training and professional development opportunities to ensure they offer quality learning and development experiences for children that continually improve.
Effective inductions should be timely, organised, inspiring, educating, and engaging to give a good first impression of a setting/company.
Planning an Induction
There are several important questions to ask when you are planning an induction programme.
- How experienced is your new starter? It's important to tailor your approach depending on who you're inducting so that the programme is fit for its purpose.
- How formal do you want it to be? You may not need a rigid structure if your setting is small.
- What first impression do you want to give?
- What do new starters need to know about the work environment?
- What policies and procedures should you show them?
- How can you introduce new starters to co-workers without overwhelming and intimidating them?
- What do you need to provide them with (clothing, equipment, special instructions, and so on) so that they're ready to go from day one?
- How can you make sure that the right people are available, so new team members feel informed and valued?
The completed induction checklist should be stored securely in the staff member's HR file as a permanent record and may need to be re-visited from time to time to ensure ongoing understanding/clarification of the job roles and requirements
What should an employer do if there are no staff induction records on file?
Other types of induction:
- Return to work from long-term sick leave, maternity leave, etc
- Induction into a new job role within the setting ie promotion, designated role, etc
- Volunteer Induction
References: Acas guidance | Starting staff: induction
For a copy of an induction template, please email alison.morris@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Staff DBS
Staff DBS
A member of staff should not commence employment before their DBS has been returned. The EYFS safeguarding and welfare requirements state:
3.11 “Providers must not allow people, whose suitability has not been checked, including through a criminal records check, to have unsupervised contact with children being cared for”.
In exceptional circumstances, where a new member of staff will need to work with ‘supervised’ contact with children before their DBS comes through, a risk assessment must be completed and agreed upon beforehand.
It is recommended that employers require staff to sign up for the update service, as this enables ongoing suitability checking. The update service enables staff to keep their DBS live and transferable, negating the need for a new DBS at the commencement of employment.
October 2020 Safer Recruitment update:
A conditional offer of employment is always given pending completion of all pre-employment checks and before a formal offer would be issued/confirmed.
Starting work before a DBS check is obtained
Ofsted will not register a person until they have obtained DBS checks on the person applying for registration and any other person who requires a DBS check because of their association, for example, a member of the childminder’s household, or a member of the committee running a playgroup. However, for other staff, where Ofsted does not decide on suitability, it may be possible in some circumstances for staff to start work before their DBS check is complete, subject to the following rules:
In exceptional circumstances, when to wait for the DBS check might disrupt the care of children, staff may start work before a DBS check is complete.
These rare situations may only happen when the DBS check has been applied for – if an application has not been made, the person may not start work.
Any unchecked person must never be left unsupervised with children, and all children must always be within sight and hearing of a checked person.
The employer (where there is one) must show Ofsted that there are robust recruitment and employment practices in place, including details of a DBS check on staff members.
If the employer cannot show that they have taken these steps, then the inspector will reflect this in the inspection judgement(s). If there is evidence that the employer has taken action in line with DBS check guidance, then this will not affect the inspection judgement(s).
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) carries out enhanced checks with barred lists checks on anyone working with children, to make sure the children are safe. gov.uk/guidance/criminal-record-checks-for-childminders-and-childcare-workers
It is best practice to ensure a member of staff does not commence employment before their DBS check and other pre-employment checks are returned. If however, you decide to start someone’s employment prior to checks being returned you must follow the guidance above and it is also strongly advised that you complete a risk assessment.
Please contact Alison.morris@cambridgeshire.gov.uk for a sample risk assessment template.
