Derby’s childcare recruitment
Recruitment guidance
Recruiting quality employees is the starting point to creating a strong workforce. Finding the right employee takes time and high employee turnover costs the childcare sector valuable time and productivity.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework states:
Suitable people 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 (including those living or working on the premises), are suitable.
One vital aspect of ensuring quality and safety in early years settings is the effective selection and recruitment of staff. EYFS safeguarding and welfare requirements states:
3.2 "Providers must take all necessary steps to keep children safe and well"
If you need to recruit new staff think about:
- The Job Description clarifies the key roles and responsibilities of the 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 make reference to the settings commitment to the safeguarding and welfare of children.
Accepting CV’s?
Childcare employers should give serious consideration to using application forms as a key 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 specification and therefore makes it easier to assess the suitability of the candidate against the specifications when shortlisting for interview.
Shortlisting
When all applications have been received and the closing date has expired senior or relevant staff members should shortlist against the person specification criteria. You may decide to score based on a point scoring process or a Met, Not Met, Partially Met basis.
- Note any gaps in employment.
- Invite applicants to interview.
- Interview letter should include date, time, place of interview.
- Details of any presentations the candidate may need to prepare.
- A sentence that’s 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.
Interviewing
- Agree an interview panel.
- Do agree, in advance, questions to be asked and by whom on the panel.
- Don’t ask questions that could be interpreted as discriminatory.
- Do agree how to score the answers given.
- The interview should take place in a quiet room with no interruptions.
- The Equality Act 2010 * prevents employers asking about the health of an applicant before making a job offer.
After the interviewing all the candidates, the panel should then compare notes and scores on each applicant so that a consensus can be agreed about who should be offered the post.
Once 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 probation period, regular supervision or induction meetings and agreed objectives.
ACAS offer lots of information and advice about employment law and can be contacted on 0800 464 0970.
Qualification checker
There are lots of suitable childcare qualifications out there. Check if your applicants have the right set of skills and qualifications by using the DfE qualification checker.