Introduction
Ladybird Pre-School Nursery is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff, volunteers, management committee members, trustees and students to share this commitment.
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.
“For those agencies whose job it is to protect children and vulnerable people, the harsh reality is that if a sufficiently devious person is determined to seek out opportunities to work their evil, no one can guarantee that they will be stopped. Our task is to make it as difficult as possible for them to succeed.” Bichard report, 2004, p12, para79
Aims
- 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.
- To operate such procedures consistently and thoroughly while obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about applicants.
- 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 Procedures
The Norfolk County Council early years safer recruitment toolkit, and the guidelines set out in the ‘Safeguarding in early years and childcare guidance’ and NSCP Safer Recruitment Guidance will be followed by Ladybird Pre-School Nursery to enable the development of a robust and secure recruitment process.
In order to ensure safer recruitment the Nursery will:
- 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.
- Ensure that the job description makes reference to the responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
- Ensure that the person specification includes specific reference to suitability to work with children.
- Require all applicants to complete an application form containing questions about their academic and employment history and their suitability for the role. A Curriculum Vitae (CV) will not be accepted in place of a completed application form.
- Scrutinise the information from applicants and follow up any discrepancies or anomalies.
- Obtain a minimum of two independent references. Detailed references will be requested that answer specific questions to help assess an applicant’s suitability to work with children and any concerns will be followed up. At least two basic references will be obtained that confirm job title and dates employed.
- Conduct a face to face panel interview (with at least one panel member who has completed safer recruitment training) to explore the candidate’s suitability to work with children as well as his/her suitability for the post.
- Include ‘Warner’ questions within the interview process (Norfolk safeguarding toolkit)
- Verify the successful candidate’s identity.
- Verify that the successful candidate has all the academic or vocational qualifications required for the position applied for and add a signature to application form to confirm verification.
- Check his/her previous employment history and experience.
- Verify that he/she has the health and physical capacity for the post.
- Process the successful candidate’s DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) through the Nursery’s preferred agency. (Currently GBG Online Disclosures).
- Ensure all checks undertaken are recorded on a single central record and kept under review.
- Ensure a detailed induction process is carried out with new staff members, volunteers and students, which include familiarisation to the Nursery’s safeguarding policy, child protection procedures and safer working practices.
