Safer Recruitment Policy

Policy Statement

Ladybird Pre-School Nursery is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff, volunteers, trustees and students to share this commitment.

Providers must ensure that the people looking after children are suitable; they must have the relevant qualifications, training and have passed any required checks to fulfil their roles. Providers must take appropriate steps to verify qualifications, including in cases where physical evidence cannot be produced. Providers must also ensure that any person who may have regular contact with children (for example, someone living or working on the same premises the early years provision is provided), is suitable. (3.13 Suitable People Statutory Framework for the Early Years foundation stage September 2026)

In this context it is vital that the Nursery applies recruitment and selection procedures that identify people who are unsuited to work with children. The measures described in this policy should be applied in relation to everyone who is involved with the care of children and those who regularly come into contact with children in a supporting or voluntary capacity.

Aims

1. To help deter, reject or identify people who might abuse children, or are otherwise unsuited to working with them by having appropriate procedures for appointing staff.
2. To operate such procedures consistently and thoroughly while obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about applicants.
3. To seek to secure an ongoing safe and secure environment for children by ensuring all staff are suitably trained in recognising and responding to signs of abuse and all students and volunteers are made aware of the signs and how to recognise these during the induction process.

Recruitment Guidance

Ladybird Pre-School Nursery will use the following guidance to enable the development of a robust and secure recruitment process.    

• The Early Years Foundation Stages Statutory Framework September 2026
• The Norfolk County Council early years safer recruitment toolkit
• ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026’
• ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education September 2026’
• NSCP Safer Recruitment Guidance.
• Equality Act 2010
• Right to work in the UK- Asylum and Immigration Act 1996- Immigration and Nationality Act 2006
• Disclosure and Barring checks- Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

Recruitment Procedure

In order to ensure safer recruitment, the Nursery will:

1. Ensure that when a post is advertised the advertisement makes clear the Nursery’s commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, staff, students and volunteers.
2. Ensure that the job description makes reference to the responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
3. Ensure that the person’s specification includes specific reference to suitability to work with children.
4. Ensure all applicants receive a application pack with covering letter, job description, personal specification, application form, safeguarding policy and information about the setting.
5. Require all applicants to complete an application form containing questions about their academic and employment history and their suitability for the role cross referencing to the job description and Personal Specification.  A Curriculum Vitae (CV) will not be accepted in place of a completed application form.
6. Scrutinise the information from applicants and follow up any discrepancies or anomalies by completing individual applicant shortlisting forms.
7. Obtain a minimum of three independent references. Detailed references will be requested using Ladybirds reference request form. This form has specific questions to help assess an applicant’s suitability to work with children and the suitability for the role. At least one of these references will be from a current employer, training provider or education setting and will have been completed by a senior person with appropriate authority. A follow-up phone call with one reference will take place and be recorded. We do not accept open references or references from family members. Any concerns such as vague or insufficient information will be followed up by phone calls to clarify content.
8. Compare and scrutinise the information on the application form with that in the references and take up any discrepancies with the candidate, such as reason for leaving previous post.
9. Conduct a face-to-face panel interview to explore the candidate’s suitability to work with children as well as their suitability for the post. All interview panel members will have completed safer recruitment training.
10. Include ‘Warner’ questions within the interview process (Norfolk Safeguarding Toolkit) alongside Competency and value-based questions.
11. Verify the successful candidate’s identity.
12. Ensure Candidate completes a self-disclosure form- declaring whether they have any information which may affect their suitability to work with children. (See appendix 1)
13. Verify that the successful candidate has all the academic or vocational qualifications required for the position applied for and add a signature to the application form to confirm verification.  Qualifications are checked to ensure relevance using the GOV.UK Early years qualification checker toolkit, this is recorded on a chart that is regularly checked for changes in relevance.
14. Check their previous employment history and experience.
15. Verify that they have the health and physical capacity for the post.
16. Process the successful candidate’s DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) through the Nursery’s preferred agency. Add candidate onto the DBS update service.
17. Ensure all checks undertaken are recorded on a single central record and kept under review.
18. Ensure a detailed induction process is carried out with new staff members, volunteers and students, which includes familiarisation with the Nursery’s safeguarding policy and safer working practices, including signs of abuse and referral procedures. A welcome pack is given to each new staff member, including relevant policies.
19. Ensure the monitoring of staff members during the 3-month probationary period

Appendix 1: Self Disclosure Form

Copies of all forms used during the recruitment process can be located in the safer recruitment file in the nursery office.